From page 4 of the book: Brief History of the Album Cover The album ruled the Earth, or at least the record store, for over 40 years. When the long-playing vinyl record, or LP as it is better known, was driven out by the compact disk in the late 19080s, much was said about the improved sound quality and portability of the new format; yet little was said about the loss of one of the most widespread forms of popular culture in the 20th century.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An absolute hoot of a book,
By Robert Moore (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (TOP 100 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: The Worst Album Covers Ever (2004 publication) (Hardcover)
Every good library needs books that remind us of how many absurd things there are in the world. This book manages to collect some of the worst LP covers in the history of the planet, almost all of them by performers you have never heard of or never want to hear. I had heard of only about five or six in any way whatsoever (and that includes Nancy Walker, who I literally walked into on Washington Square once as we were both talking to people back over our shoulders--most remember her from RHODA and the commercials as "the quicker picker upper"). A disturbing number of the album covers were by Christian acts. Many were just flat out strange.
It would have been fun to see some albums that featured awful covers but contained good music. A good example of this is the Louvain Brothers gospel collection SATAN IS REAL, with featured the brothers cowering comically before a huge cardboard Satan (the disc contains their wonderful "The Christian Life," that Gram Parsons would perform, including his brief stint with the Byrds). All in all, this is a great book either for making yourself laugh, for leaving around to make others laugh, or for buying for others a a gift. I defy anyone to look through it with a straight face.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An absolute riot: I laughed until I cryed!,
By MAMA MIA (New York,NY) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Worst Album Covers Ever (2004 publication) (Hardcover)
I received Nick DiFonzo's THE WORST ALBUM COVERS ever as a birthday gift from my best friend. I am a huge music fan...not that I've ever heard of any of the "artists" in this book. It seems the guy who wrote the book has quite a record collection and his favorites are trashy $1 bin records no one has ever heard of: Christina artists, ventriliquist acts, weird acts aimed at children, singing midgets, etc.
If you like to laugh at "What were they thinking????" humor this is the book for you. I couldn't put it down and laughed til I wept. I urge you to find a copy and buy it. You'll bust a gut.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dear Cheap-n-Easy, baffle no more.....!,
By Curly Q. Link (Somewhere Out There) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Worst Album Covers Ever (2004 publication) (Hardcover)
This is a hilarious book. One thing that did not improve with the advent of CD's is the cover art; the good ol' 12"x12" LP cover really was a unique art form---how are you gonna use "The Square"? This book highlights the ABUSES, intentional or otherwise, of record cover art. To Cheap-n-Easy (earlier review below), allow me to solve for you the mystery of "why buy this book when you can get it online?": because, my dear friend, there is a unique phenomenon in this world that apparently you have never heard of, a ritual activity that the overwhelming majority of the human race has participated in at one point or another in their sojourn on this planet known as Earth, but you are evidently not among this majority, and have not yet had the good fortune to participate in this activity...... it's called: giving a GIFT. And this book makes a very good gift, assuming the recipient has a sense of humor.
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