# Great Album Covers -A Lost Art **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 25, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-album-covers-a-lost-art/526374 "2010-01-25T16:57:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-album-covers-a-lost-art/526374/1 "2010-01-25T16:57:34Z")
Vinyl albums had fantastic artwork. They often had double covers that folded out. Sadly, CD’s are tiny and the artwork doesn’t have the same impact. It’s a shame because a lot of very creative people created album artwork. I’ve been searching for a hi-res site with album covers. No luck so far. ☹ How about naming a few favorite Covers and links? Here are a few of mine. Sorry for the low res. ☹ I’m not having any luck finding decent quality images. The printing on Album Covers doesn’t scan well. Abby Road [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/42/Beatles_-_Abbey_Road.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/42/Beatles_-_Abbey_Road.jpg) Willy and the Poor Boys [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/85/Willy_and_the_poor_boys.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/85/Willy_and_the_poor_boys.jpg) Bayou Country (I’d love to have a scan from the original photo. Scans from the printed cover don’t do it justice) > **[Concord | Independent Music](https://concord.com/)** > > Concord is the independent, worldwide leader in the development, management and acquisition of sound recordings, music publishing and theatrical performance rights and narrative content, representing nearly 900,000 songs, composed works, plays,... You Don’t Mess Around With Jim [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Jim_Croce_-_You_Don%27t_Mess_Around_with_Jim.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Jim_Croce_-_You_Don%27t_Mess_Around_with_Jim.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2010, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-album-covers-a-lost-art/526374/2 "2010-01-25T17:05:53Z")
Apparently record companies do NOT want hi-rez versions of album art readily available on the web, and take action against sites that post them. Recently I did a Sgt. Peppers pastiche for a holiday card and there were no hi-rez images to be found online. Fortunately I had a book of album art and was able to scan what I needed. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2010, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-album-covers-a-lost-art/526374/3 "2010-01-25T17:13:59Z")
The one thing I really miss about vinyl albums is the artwork and add-ons that sometimes accompanied them. I always looked forward to [new](http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/styx-tgi.jpg) [Styx](http://sweensryche.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/album-styx-pieces-of-eight.jpg) [albums](http://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/56d77ef44897114e1f6e898ed9a768e7/4682.jpg) as much for the art as anything else. [Pink](http://images.art.com/images/-/Pink-Floyd---Wish-You-Were-Here--C10086114.jpeg) [Floyd](http://www.artforall.co.uk/images/CCA/tho_TREEOFHALFLIFE.jpg) [too](http://van-holiday.com/wp-content/gallery/album-covers/pink-floyd-animals-cover-art.jpg). Let’s not forget [Led](http://www.classicrockmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/LedZeppelinFourSymbols.jpg) [Zeppelin](http://stefano.altervista.org/images/Cover/Led%20Zeppelin%20-%20Houses%20Of%20The%20Holy%20-%20Back.JPG). ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-album-covers-a-lost-art/526374/4 "2010-01-25T17:16:12Z")
> [@](#): > > Apparently record companies do NOT want hi-rez versions of album art readily available on the web, and take action against sites that post them. It’s a shame. The record companies have the original negatives. They’re the only ones that could produce any hi-res images. You’d think they’d want to celebrate the artwork. It would generate new sales for the music. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-album-covers-a-lost-art/526374/5 "2010-01-25T17:27:20Z")
Unofficial website featuring Hipgnosis stuff: [http://www.hipgnosiscovers.com/](http://www.hipgnosiscovers.com/) [Storm Thorgerson’s website](http://www.stormthorgerson.com/) has more than just his album cover work. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-album-covers-a-lost-art/526374/6 "2010-01-25T17:30:59Z")
I’m partial to the work of 23 Envelope/v23. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2010, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-album-covers-a-lost-art/526374/7 "2010-01-25T17:34:07Z")
_Virgin Kill_… OK, just kidding. The album cover for [_Full Circle_](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/87/The_Doors_-_Full_Circle.jpg) by The Doors was pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![troub](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troub/32/14802_2.png) [@troub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troub)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-album-covers-a-lost-art/526374/8 "2010-01-25T17:35:46Z")
I think there are still plenty of bands and artists out there collaborating on fantastic album art. The only problem is that yeah, the format is unfortunately much smaller (or even non-physical at all with increasing digital distribution). Examples from recent albums I have: Baroness, _The Red Album_ and _The Blue Album_: [http://fiak.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/6120sqvz3sl\_ss500\_.jpg](http://fiak.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/6120sqvz3sl_ss500_.jpg) [![](https://theonlythingiknowforsure.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/blue_record.jpg) ](https://theonlythingiknowforsure.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/blue_record.jpg) And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, _Worlds Apart_ and _The Century of Self_: [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7b/And_You_Will_Know_Us_by_the_Trail_of_Dead_-_Worlds_Apart.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7b/And_You_Will_Know_Us_by_the_Trail_of_Dead_-_Worlds_Apart.jpg) [http://jonnyleather.com/blog1/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/the-century-of-self.jpg](http://jonnyleather.com/blog1/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/the-century-of-self.jpg) The Mars Volta, _Frances the Mute_, _Deloused in the Comatorium_, _Octahedron_: [![](http://www.mercurypedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/3-frances_the_mute.jpg) ](http://www.mercurypedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/3-frances_the_mute.jpg) [![](http://www.amazingincredible.com/pictures/50-5.jpg) ](http://www.amazingincredible.com/pictures/50-5.jpg) [![](https://media.photobucket.com/image/the%20mars%20volta%20album%20covers/DandelionL2/marsvolta_new.jpg) ](https://media.photobucket.com/image/the%20mars%20volta%20album%20covers/DandelionL2/marsvolta_new.jpg) Actually, almost all The Mars Volta albums have great art, with multiple panels and foldouts, wraparounds, etc. Many of them by very famous artists (at least in terms of album art) – the first two TMV covers linked here are actually by Storm Thorgerson, who among others did a lot of the Pink Floyd album covers (including Dark Side of the Moon). ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2010, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-album-covers-a-lost-art/526374/9 "2010-01-25T17:40:30Z")
The first thing that popped in to my head was Jethro Tull’s “Thick As A Brick” with the fold-out newspaper. Also, Roger Dean’s “Yes” album covers were awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-album-covers-a-lost-art/526374/10 "2010-01-25T17:48:20Z")
[Tool](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tool_%28band%29#Album_artwork) has some great artwork, not just on the covers, but also inside the package. A notable one - their album [10,000 Days](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f8/10000Days.jpg) has a nice cover, but also stereoscopic lenses that let you look through the inside artwork and see it in “3-D”. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2010, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-album-covers-a-lost-art/526374/11 "2010-01-25T17:55:47Z")
I like Howard Finster’s paintings, so I thought of [The Talking Heads](http://fineartamerica.com/images-medium/talking-heads-little-creatures-artist-signed-record-album-package-howard-finster.jpg) and [REM](http://artistsblog.artistsnetwork.com/content/binary/REM_Reckoning_cover.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-album-covers-a-lost-art/526374/12 "2010-01-25T18:09:12Z")
Mom’s Apple Pie, the only group who were famous for their album cover. 😉 Albums often had fancy covers and souvenirs that CDs don’t bother with. **The Who Live at Leeds** had a ton of things that came with the disk (the CD version duplicates them, to an extent, but there’s no full-sized poster or a copy of the Who’s contract for Woodstock, for instance. I’m really partial to Hypngnosis covers. Two of my favorites are [Flash in the Pan](http://images.uulyrics.com/cover/f/flash-and-the-pan/album-flash-and-the-pan.jpg) and their second album **[Lights in the Night](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51wFJRuZZXL._SS500_.jpg)**. If you look closely at the second album, you’ll see the artwork for the first album peeking through the “scratch” on the cover (it’s a bit easier to see on the cover instead of pictures of it). It was also noticeable under the black ink if you looked closely. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-album-covers-a-lost-art/526374/13 "2010-01-25T18:20:13Z")
[Depeche Mode’s “A Broken Frame”](http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/B000002KYL/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_2?ie=UTF8&index=2) had a photo (taken specifically for the cover) that ended up winning some award or something like that. It’s a great picture. I also like [Recoil - Liquid](http://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Bonus-Tracks/dp/B000VILU8M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1264443553&sr=8-1). ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2010, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-album-covers-a-lost-art/526374/14 "2010-01-25T18:23:19Z")
I think my all-time favorite is [**Cheap Thrills**](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cheapthrills.jpeg), but that’s because I’m such a fan of R. Crumb! ---
**Author:** ![HoboStew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f17d59/32.png) [@HoboStew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoboStew)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2010, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-album-covers-a-lost-art/526374/15 "2010-01-25T18:31:04Z")
I find it interesting that the thing that really rekindled my interest in album art was my iPhone, because it slaps the album art up as wallpaper while the song is playing. As a result I’ve seen some new stuff I like: White Rainbow - New Clouds (Great album, too - spacey electronica): [http://www.mbvmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/whiterainbow.jpg](http://www.mbvmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/whiterainbow.jpg) Emeralds - Living Room: [Photo and Video Storage | Photobucket](http://media.photobucket.com/image/emeralds%20living%20room%20art/thenoiseis/emeralds.jpg) A Sunny Day in Glasgow - Ashes Grammar: [http://www.mbvmusic.com/images/sunny-cd.jpg](http://www.mbvmusic.com/images/sunny-cd.jpg) Califone - All My Friends are Funeral Singers: [http://www.mbvmusic.com/images/calidoc.jpg](http://www.mbvmusic.com/images/calidoc.jpg) Theres lots more. I actually think album art on the whole is improving. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2010, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-album-covers-a-lost-art/526374/16 "2010-01-25T19:12:58Z")
I like the cover forE. Costello’s [Imperial Bedroom](http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/imageviewer.asp?ean=602517260856), but just for the illustration… the typography is pretty meh. _Cheap Thrills_, already mentioned by **Labdad** is a lot of fun. And _Houses of the Holy_. My favorite covers are the Reid Miles designed Blue Note jazz albums, but that’s true for pretty much every graphic designer in the western world. Low budget art that defined cool. [Freddy Hubbard](http://s3.amazonaws.com/designrelated_inspiration_book_entry_file_item/2e7ee019408678d34b5ec9b2d07a8b64a780189c) [Lou Donaldson](http://lpcoverlover.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10.resized/17ee_3.JPG) [Sonny Clark/Cool Struttin’](http://lpcoverlover.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09.resized/nbn1-182.jpg) [Sonny Rollins](http://us3.pixagogo.com/S5IEYyQk2x03R9fk9w4dAdSOQpAlk2pJE-v0cVwU9oNPmDJmcYGTt3EImGONML60xibZHRbkneZ!tX9XhTYD2Dj2tb0rvjFmmSn!hAKU6az6s_/0077778155829.jpg) Supposedly the designer liked classical, didn’t really care for jazz, rarely listened to the records, and would trade off his samples for other albums. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-album-covers-a-lost-art/526374/17 "2010-01-25T19:19:44Z")
The first one I think of is King Crimson’s _In the Court of the Crimson King:_ [http://tralfaz-archives.com/coverart/K/king\_crimson\_court.html](http://tralfaz-archives.com/coverart/K/king_crimson_court.html) ---
**Author:** ![Promethea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Promethea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Promethea)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2010, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-album-covers-a-lost-art/526374/18 "2010-01-25T20:08:26Z")
My all time favourite is Frank Zappa’s [Weasels Ripped My Flesh](http://www.dejavoodoo.com/zappa/images/Weasels_Ripped_My_Flesh.jpg), as illustrated by Neon Parks. Runner up, cover to [This Leaden Pall](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/316013J0F6L._SL500_AA240_.jpg)by Half Man Half Biscuit. I can’t find a decent image of it for love nor money for the reasons outlined earlier. Shame. It means the little bit of cheer in the midst of that rather grim yet evocative image is lost, that of the bicycle tire that someone has managed to throw over the lamp post, hoopla style. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2010, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-album-covers-a-lost-art/526374/19 "2010-01-25T21:26:17Z")
> [@troub](#): > > Baroness, _The Red Album_ and _The Blue Album_: > [http://fiak.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/6120sqvz3sl\_ss500\_.jpg](http://fiak.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/6120sqvz3sl_ss500_.jpg) > [: Image](http://theonlythingiknowforsure.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/blue_record.jpg) > > And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, _Worlds Apart_ and _The Century of Self_: > [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7b/And\_You\_Will\_Know\_Us\_by\_the\_Trail\_of\_Dead\_-\_Worlds\_Apart.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7b/And_You_Will_Know_Us_by_the_Trail_of_Dead_-_Worlds_Apart.jpg) > [http://jonnyleather.com/blog1/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/the-century-of-self.jpg](http://jonnyleather.com/blog1/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/the-century-of-self.jpg) > > The Mars Volta, _Frances the Mute_, _Deloused in the Comatorium_, _Octahedron_: > [http://www.mercurypedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/3-frances\_the\_mute.jpg](http://www.mercurypedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/3-frances_the_mute.jpg) > [http://www.amazingincredible.com/pictures/50-5.jpg](http://www.amazingincredible.com/pictures/50-5.jpg) > [Photo Storage](http://media.photobucket.com/image/the%20mars%20volta%20album%20covers/DandelionL2/marsvolta_new.jpg) Some nice illustrations. I like. > [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > [10,000 Days](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f8/10000Days.jpg) Also nice. > [@HoboStew](#): > > I find it interesting that the thing that really rekindled my interest in album art was my iPhone, because it slaps the album art up as wallpaper while the song is playing. > (…) > I actually think album art on the whole is improving. More pretty links there, and I agree about better graphic links these days. iTunes now shows albums covers in a variety of ways when you play or search for a song. It’s a good thing. > [@Promethea](#): > > My all time favourite is Frank Zappa’s [Weasels Ripped My Flesh](http://www.dejavoodoo.com/zappa/images/Weasels_Ripped_My_Flesh.jpg), as illustrated by Neon Parks. That’s one of my favorites. And here’s a slightly larger [Leaden Pall](http://www.divshare.com/download/6485896-af0) image. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@Mister\_Owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Owl)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2010, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-album-covers-a-lost-art/526374/20 "2010-01-25T21:32:14Z")
I’m with cjepsom on this. I also have this suspicion that the decline of marijuana with seeds was in part caused by the inability to clean one’s dope on a CD cover. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-album-covers-a-lost-art/526374.md?page=2)