Back in the days before MP3 downloads, albums were about more than just the music, it was the whole package that mattered (that's why they were called ALBUMS). So, what album cover has struck you most powerfully and why?
To get you started, one of mine is the cover to the debut Black Sabbath album. It is evocative on so many levels, and clearly supports the musical identity of the album itself.
So, over to you? Which is yours! And yes, you can have more than one, but keep it one per post!
I love the cover for Somewhere In Time by Iron Maiden. I love the way they hid little clues to parts of their career upto that point.
One of my favourite album cover sets is that produced by Psygnosis. I love their work- and the Alan Parsons Project probably used them to best effect on their early albums. Here's the cover for Pyramid which I think captures both the mystery of the Pyramids themselves, but also the pyschobabble that was so prevalent in the late 70s about them.
Another of my favs is this little one. With artwork by Guy Peellaert it's kinda creepy, but you can't help but stare. Especially with the title track banging out the stereo ;-)
There were so many iconic album covers that came out in the 70's, but one of the highlights for me were those where the artwork was done by the brilliant Roger Dean. There were so many, but my favourite was Tales From Topographic Oceans by Yes, from 1973. It just exemplified all that was Yes at that time. 4 tracks (1 for each side of the double album) - all from the mind and pen of Jon Anderson And Steve Howe. Not to everyone's music choice, I know, but an amazing album cover.
So far as evocative album covers go i don't think you can beat Asia, the artwork is stunning and they certainly stood out against many other album covers. I have chosen the cover of Alpha as an example.
One that certainly stood out for me but possibly not the most evocative in most peoples opinion is the Quo Live album from 1977. This was for 2 reasons firstly i think it is one of the best live albums ever and secondly i was at the gig when it was recorded
As a rare Punk/Oi! concept album, That's Life by Sham69 was a great take on inner city teenage life at the time. The cover is just a brilliant collage of s#!t (and some not so s#!t) things that life threw at the 1970's working class family...