70′s Album Art – Just for the Record!

beatles2

Before vinyl became fodder for the retro revolution- album covers were justifyable coming into their own as ‘art’.

The 70′s in particular were a dynamic era in rock art where the marketing needs of the record industry and the aesthetics of rock & roll came together in an often spectacular visual marriage.

OK – so the purists will point to cover design - especially in the jazz field as being the ‘real deal’ as far as pioneers in thei field in the album art – which preceeds even efforts such as The Beatles and their Sgt Peppers or Abbey Road covers.

In fact, Rolling Stone magazine surveyed a panel of distinguished art directors, designers, photographers and editors for what can only be described as a highly subjective list of the 100 greatest album covers of all time – with a number of suprises.

 

brick

The twelve-inch album cover may be (in the main) dead and buried – but its artistic legacy endures to this day even if it is in miniature on compact disc.

For the record – some of my personal favourites include

Hotel California – The Eagles

Breakfast In America – Supertramp

Dark Side of the Moon – Pink Floyd

Candy-O – The Cars and

. . . and the definitive Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album by Elton John.

Would love to hear if you have any personal favs?

sticky