Musicians make great music, but what about the artists that create the album covers? What is your favorite album cover?

[debm55]

[multigraincracker]

1. I had a great coffee table book, The Art of Rock.

Lost it years ago in a flood. Always looking for another copy.

[debm55]

4. Thank you very much. multigraincracker. I hope you find a copy.

[justaprogressive]

58. Printed by Abbeville Press

https://www.abbeville.com/products/the-art-of-rock

https://www.amazon.com/Art-Rock-Posters-Presley-Punk/dp/0789212501

[multigraincracker]

63. Thanks, I just checked it on Amazon.

I had an early edition, in no hurry.
Use to collect, buy and sell 60s event rock posters. Still have 3 left. 2 Grande Ballroom ones from 1966 and a really nice Detroit Rock and Roll Revival at the State Fair Grounds sign by the artist, Gary Grimshaw who passed away a few years ago..Ticket Price $3.50 for about 20 bands.

[FalloutShelter]

2. This is my fave

[debm55]

6. Thank you very much, FalloutShelter. That is mine, too.

[FalloutShelter]

7. Ha... great minds Deb.

[odins folly]

3. Leftoverture

Or anything by Hipgnosis

[debm55]

10. Thank you very much, odins folly

[C_U_L8R]

5. There is none blacker than...

?si=eLjQvRhjWTyNdomK

[debm55]

17. HAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAH. Thank you C_U_L8R

[k_buddy762]

8. Everything You've Ever Wanted to Hear on the Moog

(but was afraid to ask) is a sweeeeeeeet album cover.

[AllaN01Bear]

12. ""

https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Always-Wanted-Hear-Moog/dp/B003UJ88OI
play the five tones

[debm55]

18. Thank you k_buddy762.

[AllaN01Bear]

9. i liked all the covers on all forms of recorded music

[debm55]

13. Thank you very much, AllaN01Bear.

[boonecreek]

11. The Grateful Dead "skeleton" album.

Unfortunately, this image only shows a little more than half.

[debm55]

20. Love it, thank you very much boonecreek

[Botany]

24. One more Saturday Night

Now everybody's dancin' down the local armory
With a basement full of dynamite and live artillery
Temperature keeps risin', everybody gettin' high
Come the rockin' stroke of midnight, the place is gonna fly

[debm55]

27. Wow,great album art. Thank you Botany.

[911cat]

14. Anything by Roger Dean. (Yes, Asia)

[debm55]

22. Thank you very much, 911cat.

[Botany]

15. Morrison Hotel

Well, I woke up this mornin'
And I got myself a beer
Well, I woke up this mornin'
And I got myself a beer
The future's uncertain
And the end is always near

[debm55]

23. Thank you very much, Botany.

[electricmonk]

83. I love the story behind that one

They took it on the sly after being denied permission to shoot in the hotel.

?si=PbFsU7-qW1lL844N&t=417

[debm55]

95. Thank you very much, electricmonk. Very interesting.

[Diamond_Dog]

16. These two album covers are iconic, esp. Abbey Road but I always loved Santana's Abraxas cover art

[debm55]

29. Yes, I had both of these albums. Great cover art. Thank you Diamond_Dog

[FalloutShelter]

32. Love both of these.

[hlthe2b]

19. Someone will undoubtedly mention PF: Dark Side of the Moon, but I likewise love "Its a Beautful Day"--a classic

My fav: It's a Beautiful Day



But as a Coloradoan who loves our wildlife (and JD), I have to include John Denver's Aerie in the top five as well:

[debm55]

30. Beautiful art work, each using a different style.Thank you, hlthe2b

[Botany]

36. The back is awesome too.

https://www.dead.net/archives/1974/artwork/skeletons-closet-lp-back

[debm55]

41. Yes it is. thank you, Botany.

[surfered]

21. Not in any order

Sometimes the album cover caused us to buy the record without knowing anything about the band. That was the case with my roommate buying Jimmy Buffet’s first album.



Dark side of the moon
https://i.ibb.co/TqnsLQnP/IMG-7582.webp

Procol Harum
https://i.ibb.co/zHNM8b3s/IMG-7580.webp

St. Peppers
https://i.ibb.co/KMC3LnL/IMG-7581.webp

Let It Bleed

[debm55]

42. Thank you very much surfered, for your choices.

[Coventina]

25. Echo & the Bunnymen: Ocean Rain

[debm55]

47. Thank you very much, Coventina. Great work

[marble falls]

26. Klaus Voorman

[surfered]

33. Forgot about that one, but in my defense, I've forgotten a lot.

[marble falls]

64. Only one I really remember!

[debm55]

48. Very creative. Thank you marble falls.

[AZJonnie]

28. Roger Dean already mentioned but if I have to pick one it's Yes - Relayer

It's a gatefold sleeve (like a double album would have though it's a single disc) with one big image spanning the back and front.

[debm55]

55. Thank you AZJonnie. I really liked the cover art for Yes.

[electric_blue68]

96. A fave, but I'm so entranced with the rock visualizes; I'm not sure I ever noticed the riders!

[EYESORE 9001]

31. From the Mothers

A brilliant satire of Sgt. Pepper’s album cover.

[Prairie_Seagull]

35. Zappa in a skirt, lovely.

[debm55]

53. Thank you, EYESORE 9001. I was just going to post it was like the Sgt Pepper album.

[Prairie_Seagull]

34. Works of art deserving of framing in many cases.

Unless one wore them out cleaning pot on them like I did.

Had, had a large collection until I bought into DAT (digital audio tape)

Talk about a regret.

[debm55]

45. Thank you Prairie_Seagull. I agree. My collection was ruined when my basement flooded

[turbinetree]

37. Uriah Heep............

Demons and Wizards Cover art by Roger Dean.



Magicians Birthday Album Cover Art by Roger Dean



He also did art work cover albums for Yes and Asia

[debm55]

44. Thank you very much, turbinetree. Beatiful covers by Roger Dean.

[turbinetree]

66. And seeing them with Manfred Mann's Earth Band was awesome

[debm55]

70. Thank you very much turbinetree.

[turbinetree]

71. Your welcome

[surfered]

38. Meant to post this one...Cheap Thrills

[debm55]

43. Thank you very much, surfered.

[Jrose]

39. Most Moody Blues album covers, especially...

In Search of the Lost Chord
Days of Future Passed
A Question of Balance

[debm55]

40. Thank you very much, Jrose. Great album covers.

[YorkRd]

46. Joni Mitchell has many great ones

https://www.thisisdig.com/feature/joni-mitchell-paintings-self-portraits-album-covers/

[debm55]

51. Yes, she does. I think at least one was painted by her.

[CTyankee]

49. Does anybody remember Janis Joplin? Her album "Pearl" was wonderful!

The link didn't show but you can find it on Google...

[debm55]

50. Thank you CTyankee. I loved the cover of Joplin's "Pearl"

[LastDemocratInSC]

52. Any album cover that unfolds open like a book

because it makes it easier to separate the stems and seeds out from the good stuff.

[debm55]

54. HAHAHAHHAHAHAH. Thank you very much.LastDemocratinSC.

[DBoon]

81. "Stand Up" by Jethro Tull

You open the album and there are pop-ups of the band members, standing up

[debm55]

87. Thank you very much. DBoon

[OmegaX]

56. Not an album cover but inside gatefold:

Led Zeppelin - "Houses Of The Holy"

[debm55]

57. Thank you very much,OmegaX. Beautiful

[justaprogressive]

59. Osibisa

Roger Dean!

[debm55]

60. Famtastic, Thank you justaprogressive; Roger Dean was an artist

[OmegaX]

61. Another one...

Tool - "Lateralus"

[debm55]

62. thank you OmegaX. That is wonderful

[mobeau69]

65. ⬇️

[debm55]

69. Thank you very much mobeau69. I loved the songs and the cover.

[IcyPeas]

67. XTC

[debm55]

68. Oh, I like that. Thank you IcyPeas.

[liberaltrucker]

72. The Dark Side of the Moon

Designed be the great Storm Thorgerson.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storm_Thorgerson

[debm55]

74. Thank you very much, liberaltrucker.

[WestMichRad]

73. Sometimes I prefer more subtle artwork, such as

https://i.discogs.com/97RGFKE4tpYDqIZVDLZ7dkhbwu3XQho9nIsi9A1jqyg/rs:fit/g:sm/q 0/h:601/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTgxNjMw/MDMtMTUxMzExNDk3/Ni0zNDk3LmpwZWc.jpeg

[debm55]

75. Thank you WestMichRad

[Captain Zero]

76. I have these album covers framed

Stevie Wonder - Musicquarium
Ry Cooder - Borderline
The Beatles - Revolver

And I learned today (on YouTube) that Stu Sutcliffe did the artwork on Revolver. I never knew that before. He was a friend of Lennon's from art school and was actually in the band for a while early on.

[debm55]

88. WOw, Thank you very much Captain Zero.

[Tarzanrock]

78. The iconic photograph of Patti Smith by ...

Robert Mapplethorpe on Patti Smith's 1975 "Horses" album.
https://www.vintag.es/2023/03/patti-smiths-horses.html

[debm55]

90. Thank you very much, Tarzanrock. I sometimes like black and white photos over color in some instances'. in makes the

subject more prominent

[Buzz cook]

80. I have simple tastes

[debm55]

91. HAHAHAHAH, Thank you very much Buzz cook. I remember that album cover.

[DBoon]

82. The Germs

[debm55]

92. Simplicity at its best. thank you very much, DBoon

[electricmonk]

84. It's one of the things that seems obvious now

but the first few decades of music sales they just came in brown or white paper sleeves. It wasn't until 1938 or 39 (I've seen both dates) that the first graphic sleeve was released.

I couldn't pick a favorite album cover, there's just way too many great ones. Two that come to mind though are an old one and a newer one and they both give off a Southern Gothic vibe, The Allman Brothers Band- Brothers and Sisters and Ethel Cain- Preacher's Daughter. Fun side note about the Allman Brothers one. That's Vaylor Trucks son of drummer Butch Trucks. Vaylor now has a YouTube and TikTok account talking about music that he says he missed but should have heard.

https://www.youtube.com/@VaylorTrucks

[debm55]

93. Thank you very much,electricmonk. I had that Allman Brothers Band album. Always liked it. Thank you very much for all

your information.

[yonder]

85. Grahame Berney's work, hands down.

Someone already covered R. Crumb's artwork so I'd say Mr. Berney. I always liked his unique style found on covers from the late 60's to mid 70's. Illustrated panels, arcs, ribbons, etc., in a kind of English pastoral style. I had trouble tracking down many examples but here are a few:







And since we're talking album art how about this gorgeous Mooncrest label?



Somehow, you just knew you were in for a treat when putting an LP with this label on the turntable.

[debm55]

94. Beautiful artwork, Thank you very much for sharing with us.

[applegrove]

86. Bruce Coburn "Night Vision" borrowed a painting from Alex Colville: horse and train

https://images.app.goo.gl/XnJxkHBdGiKi4JhM8

[debm55]

89. Thank you very much applegrove. I hope the horse is okay.

[electric_blue68]

97. Tommy - a bold, somewhat mysterious cover.

There's another Yes cover.
Not sure if it's Yessongs - if that is actually a record title for them.

To the right a B/Gray/W bulbous rocky form with a spiral "road" around it. Then all cool colors of greens, and blues towards the left in the distant horizon a rocky formation rising up thin-ish at the bottom expanding to a much wider top. Then a half a b/g/w form to the left edge.

I was lucky to catch an Art show of R Dean's work in the very early '70s, or very late '60s.

[debm55]

98. Thank you very much, electric_blue68/ Wonderful selections.