Being the third and final part of this current series on album design legends Hipgnosis, in which your host and Mark Blake, author of the new book Us And Them: The Authorised Story of Hipgnosis, choose some of their favourite album covers and disagree about folk-rock.
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These first two illustrate the wit and humour that permeates Hipgnosis album cover art. The first is Mark’s choice, a cover also loved by several readers. The second a long time Vinyl Connection favourite.
UFO — Phenomenon [1974]
Al Stewart — Time Passages [1978]
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While Mark professed enjoyment of the ‘punk’ feel of the Sabb’s Never Say Die and AC/DC’s Dirty Deeds Hipgnosis covers, I have a soft spot for the garish juvenility of the Acca Dacca original.
The typeface on the Black Sabbath cover is a corker, isn’t it?
AC/DC — Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap [1976]
Black Sabbath — Never Say Die! [1978]
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Trees were a relatively short-lived group whose British folk-rock music was spiced with bursts of spiky electric guitar. One of the great overlooked folk-rock outfits (according to Vinyl Connection), their second LP boasted beguiling (and slightly unsettling) artwork by Hipgnosis. And that’s where MB and VC agree. It’s a great cover. As is the Peter Gabriel, which I think many would consider a classic.
Trees — On The Shore [1970]
Peter Gabriel — Peter Gabriel [1980. AKA PG3 and Melt]
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A key aspect of the Hipgnosis catalogue is the extraordinary variety of styles and ideas. One result is the difficulty in creating a visual ‘brand’. Unlike the signature style of, say, Roger Dean, Storm and Po’s covers proclaim an assertive eclecticism.
XTC — Go 2 [1978]
Dire Straits — Communiqué [1979]
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A couple more LPs with pastoral themes. The Genesis has a distinct chilly feel while Jukka Tolonen’s Crossection is a personal favourite for its warmth and serenity. Or maybe it is a tinted photo of a Finnish winter?
Genesis — Wind And Wuthering [1976]
Jukka Tolonen — Crossection [1975]
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We have barely scratched the surface of the amazing Hipgnosis album portfolio. Passed over for this post were a stunning pair of Hollies covers and the fabulous story of the disappearing lovers on another UFO sleeve. Perhaps cries of ‘Encore!’ will elicit a further selection, but in the meantime I hope you have enjoyed the series.
A final thanks to Mark Blake. Fans of album cover art should consider his book compulsory (and very entertaining) reading.
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Part 1: 10 HYPGNOTIC ALBUM COVERS
Part 2: UNDER HIPGNOSIS — THE MARK BLAKE INTERVIEW
Part 3: 10 MORE HYPGNOTIC ALBUM COVERS
vinylconnection.com.au 
Bloody encore!
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I remember a calendar free with Classic Rock magazine, featuring a load of more recent and some unused covers. I used it then recycled it, sadly.
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Yeah, I wanted to cover the entire history, but there are simply too many! One later Hipgnosis cover that I really liked was Rick Wright’s “Broken China”.
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Yup its a goodie. They did some good work with a band called Catherine Wheel too, the covers were better than the tunes though, sadly
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Will investigate. Ta. So far three votes for an Encore! edition.
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Yes! ‘Happy Days’ is particularly striking.
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Not wishing to hog the comments section but I’ve got a real soft spot for Communique. Some of their best tunes and feel on that LP.
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Possibly the most under-appreciated Dire Straits album? Nice cover, too.
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Some cool covers for sure. Always liked Never Say Die even the album itself. Great post
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Thanks deKE!
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Give me garish juvenility any day.
A very nice series.
Thanks
DD
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It really was a specialty of the AC/DC brand. 😆
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Fun series and many cool covers!
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Glad you enjoyed it Christian!
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Now we’re talking! Three of my all-time favorites are here, for UFO, Genesis and Trees and a few other good ones, too. And no ugly toes!
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Phew! Glad I redeemed myself, Rick. I did find one more disturbing one that I’ll keep in reserve in case there is a call for an Encore! post. Just for you. 😉
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Definitely some interesting covers you’ve picked. That Trees photo, though, yikes! not sure “slightly unsettling” does that justice, how about Freaking Terrifying. I just know behind the neatly pruned shrubbery that kid’s got a machete and chain saw stashed, maybe the remnants of her nanny.
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If you go down to the woods today, you better not go alone…
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[…] Part 3: 10 MORE HIPGNOTIC ALBUM COVERS […]
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I’m more familiar with the ones in this group than the 1st one where I hardly knew any of them. I’ve always loved all of these, I think there’s 4 of them that I’ve owned myself. And there’s only 1 that I never saw. A few of them I only know by the cover and not the name cuz I used to see them in the used record stores all the time. And they’re the kind of covers that stick in your head even if you don’t know what album is.
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And that last sentence is Hipgnosis’s greatness, isn’t it?
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Absolument!!
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It’s alway surprising the range of styles they covered, forever shifting and changing and always humorous. Encore indeed
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Cheers, Neil.
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Assertive eclecticism indeed! Really like that Dire Straits cover. Always up for a post that highlights the album art, so count me in for an encore!
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I think that prior to this series, I’d kind of skimmed over Communiqué; ‘Oh yes, it’s blue’. But it rewards a few moments contemplation, doesn’t it?
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I love this one too.
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This is one of their most successful. Pops up in Mark’s book regularly.
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I remember trying to come up with stories to explain what’s going on in those pictures. On the front cover i would say that they are a married couple and either the wife is telling the husband that she knows he’s cheating on her, or vice versa, he is the one who found out she’s cheating. And on the back cover i think that it’s some sleazy detective trying to blackmail the stewardess or whatever that woman is. But you got to remember, it’s called How Dare You, so in each case somebody has to be saying How dare you. And both of my explanations would do that.
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I’ve never seen that On The Shore album cover before…that one will stay with you.
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It’s a corker, isn’t it?
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Yes it is.
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I always wanted to be in the Ummagumma pic. Those first Floyd covers were my intro.
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[…] In a related story, Bruce Jenkins has posted a pair of fine articles he’s titled “10 HYPGNOTIC ALBUM COVERS” that digs deep into the Hipgnosis catalog and selects ten of their most-interesting covers, highlighting their creativity and desire to develop their own brand of surrealism, to share with us, along with comments and quotes from the studio’s co-lead Aubrey Powell – https://vinylconnection.com.au/2023/03/10/10-hypnotic-hipgnosis-album-covers/ and https://vinylconnection.com.au/2023/03/17/10-more-hipgnotic-album-covers/ […]
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