Category Cover Art
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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: […]
ALBUM COVERS | A BRIDGE 2 FAR
Album cover posts seem to generate great interest and enthusiasm, which is fantastic. They also tend to proliferate as further albums fitting the theme are suggested. Thanks in no small part to the memory-mining efforts of Cincinnati Babyhead (CB to his friends) we are delighted to present a second instalment in the ‘Bridges on Album […]
ART ON YOUR SLEEVE #5 − GENESIS
In 1769, the Royal Academy of Art in London held its first Summer Exhibition of contemporary art. Between 26 April and 27 May, 14,008 visitors took in 136 works by 54 artists, including Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds. The Exhibition has been held every year since, even during World War II. Leaping forwards to […]
8 ALBUM COVERS WITH GROUP PORTRAITS
From the time TheBeatles opted to use Klaus Voorman’s charming portraits of the fab four on their seminal 1966 album, bands have commissioned visual artists to represent themselves on their musical offerings. Here is a selection. * With graphics by Linda Guymon and Art Direction by Richard Roth, this 1975 compilation of Rolling Stones ‘Rarities’ […]
COVER ART | ON THE CHAIR II
Sharing some of the spins that have been enjoyed at Vinyl Connection HQ over the past little while. Any favourites amongst these? The third LP in the ‘trilogy’ of this particular period of King Crimson. While not as startling as Discipline, it remains an under-rated album from Robert Fripp’s Jedi knights. Rick Wakeman’s solo debut […]
SOME PROGRESSIVE TREATS (1975 EDITION)
Although variety is a hallmark of Vinyl Connection, the heart of the matter is a love of all things progressive. Inspired by a posting of the fourth Greenslade album on a fb group, I found myself diving down a 1975 rabbit hole. It was great fun, with progressive jazz-rock being a wobbly kind of through-line. […]
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