Category ACROSS THE DECADES
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 […]
ANOTHER DAYBREAK (ART ON YOUR SLEEVE #4.1)
In a recent post, blog friend JDB of Augenblick introduced the famous Maxfield Parrish painting ‘Daybreak’ and we looked at a 1984 record by Dali’s Car that borrowed it for the cover. Here are two further eighties album covers inspired by Parrish’s iconic painting. BOBBY WOMACK — SO MANY RIVERS [1985] Bobby Womack was a […]
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 […]
ART ON YOUR SLEEVE #4 − “DAYBREAK”
Some time back (2015, actually), Vinyl Connection was delighted to have fellow blogger JDB of Augenblick contribute to a series about fine art on album covers called Art On Your Sleeve. After something of a hiatus, we’re back with edition #4 and the world’s most famous poster. (No, not the one of the girl tennis […]
ALBUM COVER QUIZ—THE EIGHTIES
The album cover quiz posted a few weeks ago seemed to be enjoyed by many. In fact, a series of ‘Decade’ themed quizzes was proposed. Here is the first: THE EIGHTIES Below are fourteen album covers (CD sized) resting on a 12″ LP. All were released between 1980 and 1989. The task is to identify […]
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 […]
V (2) ASTRONOMER
SIDE ONE Most of the discography of Johannes Kepler was produced in the early sixteen hundreds. His first producer, Prince Hans Ulrich von Eggenberg, helped him move beyond teaching to become a major player in the scientific revolution of the 17th-century. Kepler’s early genre was mathcore, though he dabbled in spiritual jazz (astrology) and progressive […]
V
The thing with progressive music is, it’s a bit more complex and structured. Which means, depending on what prejudices you bring to the argument, that it is either (a) music for wanky poseurs, or (b) something to spend a bit of time with before passing judgement. No surprises that, as a card-carrying wanky poseur, I […]
5
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 […]
A MENTAL FOIBLE
It’s an album that looks both forward and backwards yet is entirely of its time. Infused with a spirit of exploration, it manages to sound uncertain and confused. A new player is feeling his way while the ghost of a departed leader haunts every groove. Flashback… Pink Floyd manager Peter Jenner was convinced Syd Barrett […]
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