Category ART AND ABOUT

ALBUM COVER SPECIAL: IN THE CAN

Sadly, Can The Can doesn’t get a guernsey. Still, there are a number of other LPs that deploy the humble tin can on their covers. Here is a selection. * The debut from Britain’s blues outfit came out in 1968 and reached #12 on the UK albums chart. The band were formed by Stan Webb […]

PICKS AND PICS

Having launched into Instagram during lockdown, I kind of lost my appetite for its rapid digestive cycle after a year or so. More an icy pole than a proper meal, if you get what I mean. But a current September “challenge” caught my eye and so I decided to throw some records into the ring. […]

DEPARTURES | SECOND QUARTER 2023

A late posting, in every respect đź–¤ Barry Humphries 17 February 1934—22 April 2023 đź–¤ Broderick Smith 17 February 1948—30 April 2023 đź–¤ Andy Rourke (The Smiths) 17 January 1964—19 May 2023 đź–¤ Tina Turner 26 November 1939—24 May 2023 đź–¤ Gordon Lightfoot  17 November 1938—1 May 2023 George Winston 26 December 1949—4 June 2023 […]

ROUND LIKE A RECORD

During the 1970s “Sampler” LPs were a staple of record company marketing. Compiling a variety of tracks from various artists on their roster, these albums usually sold for much less than the prevailing price point of a new record. In fact, a number of companies called them, with disarming candour, “Loss Leaders”. There are a number […]

TORN BETWEEN TWO COVERS

When the Vinyl Connection collection finally moved into its new post-renovation space I was certain there was room enough to house at least five years of acquisitions. After all I was periodically doing a little weeding and pruning and the rate of purchasing had dropped substantially from an average of five LPs per week  to […]

BACK AT THE CREASE

So much sport. So much music. Time to multi-task. Although not as dramatic as the Ashes tests, Wishbone Ash’s 1974 album There’s The Rub is a corker. Perhaps their last truly complete LP and my second favourite. Perfect for watching Australia clean up England in the first two tests. (Don’t mention the third.) The eccentric British troubadour-poet […]

GOOD(BYE) FRIDAY

Jeff Beck 24 June 1944—10 January 2023  đź–¤ Yukihiro Takahashi  [YMO] 6 June 1952—11 January 2023 đź–¤ Renee Geyer 11 Sep 1953—17 January 2023 đź–¤ David Crosby 14 Aug 1941—19 January 2023 đź–¤ Tom Verlaine [Television] 13 Dec 1949—28 January 2023 đź–¤ Burt Bacharach 12 May 1928—8 February 2023  đź–¤ Wayne Shorter 25 August 1933—2 […]

10 MORE HIPGNOTIC ALBUM COVERS

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. * These first two illustrate the wit and humour […]

UNDER HIPGNOSIS — THE MARK BLAKE INTERVIEW

Every record collector of a certain age knows the album covers of legendary British design studio Hipgnosis. Now, thanks to a new book by Mark Blake, we can dive into the colourful history of the crew who gave us so many memorable record sleeves. The author kindly agreed to talk to Vinyl Connection. Vinyl Connection: […]

10 HIPGNOTIC ALBUM COVERS

Founded by Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey “Po” Powell in 1968, British design company Hipgnosis created album covers for some of the major acts of the rock era. Many are so iconic as to be instantly recognisable, even if you didn’t know they were the products of the fertile, experimental minds at Hipgnosis. A couple of […]