Category b) Seventies [1970 – 1979]
DUNE, CHAPTER FOUR
This Dune music series is longer than a deep desert worm. That odd opening sentence might cause some to wonder about a book producing such a welter of creative musical responses. How could Dune be described? Dune. The planet Arrakis. No rain but plenty of sand. What, though, is Frank Herbert’s novel about? Power and politics […]
DUNE, CHAPTER THREE
“Another Klaus Encounter” In an article a few months back, Vinyl Connection dipped into the massive Klaus Schulze catalogue for the first time (here). One of the reasons it took so long to write about this key electronic artist was the sheer quantity of high-class albums Herr Schulze has produced since his 1972 debut. Fortunately, […]
VERTICAL OVERLOAD
The last instalment* of the series on gatefold album covers that open vertically. Enjoy. * Keef Hartley Band – Halfbreed [Deram 1969] May Blitz – May Blitz [Vertigo 1970] The Peddlers – Birthday [CBS 1969] Muddy Waters & Howlin’ Wolf – London Revisited [Chess 1974] Queen – News Of The World [Elektra (US) / EMI […]
YES, MR WILSON
After my first listens to Steven Wilson’s remixes of five core seventies albums from the Yes catalogue, I confess I was ambivalent. It was not easy to pin down what was preventing a full-hearted embracing of Mr Wilson’s work. Perhaps it was simply different, and I was uncomfortable with the changes to sounds I’ve enjoyed […]
VERTICAL RETURN
We’re back with the vertical gatefold sleeves for a couple more instalments. This should not be construed as an attempt to show every specimen, but simply present further examples that have caught this record collector’s eye. First off we have a very recent addition to the genus. Bob Masse is a legendary Canadian-born artist and […]
VERTICAL VOYEUR
This next instalment in the ‘vertical gatefold’ series brings together a varied collection of LP covers that feature, um, bodies. A progression from Buffalo’s body parts, you might say, though each is a little challenging or even risqué in its own way. First up is a double album of the Velvet Underground recorded live in […]
ERUPTION DOWNUNDER
As has been related elsewhere, I met Black Sabbath, Uriah Heep and assorted seventies noise-makers in Rod Amberton’s bedroom. I also encountered a band less well-known outside these sunburned shores: the hard riffing Sydney band, Buffalo. Buffalo’s first two albums were popular amongst teenage boys of a certain age, and although I managed to find […]
VERTICAL PURPLE
The quest to unearth further 60s vertical gatefold album covers produced many nominations of 70s covers that do indeed open up in ‘portrait’ format, but only one addition from Sixties-land. The LP was the third Deep Purple release, their self-titled record from 1969. Many thanks to Arterrorist for the reminder. I say that because the CD […]
VERTICAL HOLD
There are plenty of books on album cover art on the Vinyl Connection bookshelves, but none of them could tell me which record had the glory of being the first gatefold pop/rock album. Everyone knows Sgt Pepper was the first LP to have the song lyrics on the cover—the back, incidentally, not inside in the […]
DANNY’S BLUES
With the recent passing of guitarist Danny Kirwan, I’m re-posting an edited version of a survey of the early 70s Fleetwood Mac albums, including—indeed, highlighting—those that feature Mr Kirwan. * By the beginning of the 70s, Green had left Fleetwood Mac. This was widely considered a damn shame, as the mercurial guitarist was the central […]
KLAUS ENCOUNTERS
Berlin native Klaus Schulze formed his first band—Psy Free—in 1967. He was part of the birth of Tangerine Dream, playing on their debut Electronic Meditation, joined Manuel Göttsching in Ash Ra Temple for a while, and was an important part of the Cosmic Couriers team. Although revered for his role as a major innovator and […]
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This glorious autumn weather seems to have gone on forever. Approaching the fag-end of April and we’re still getting cool hazy mornings opening up into amber afternoons. Today offered yet another deeply varnished red-gold platter. I got home after some errands (that may or may not have facilitated the acquisition of a few records) and […]
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