Hipgnosis Album Art

April 6, 2005 8:53 PM

The art of Hipgnosis defined the look of album covers during the 'classic rock' period. The first work of lead designer Storm Thorgerson was Pink Floyd's A Saucerful Of Secrets. Other familiar works include Led Zeppelin's Houses Of The Holy and Montrose's infamous Jump On It (marginally NSFW). I discovered these galleries while trying to pin down the identity of #3 in this week's entry of Stylus Magazine's Album Art Challenge. [via Owl-Stretching Time]
posted by mischief (15 comments total)

Hipgnosis also made some bad covers such as Def Leppard's High 'n' Dry.
My favourite cover artists are Andy Airfix/Satori and Hugh Syme & Nels Israelson.
posted by riffola at 9:33 PM on April 6, 2005

Two, no, several questions.

1) How does Ashra (Correlations), and Cochise get past the censors?

2) Did Flash put out an album without some (sexual and/or fetishized) feminine flesh on the cover?

3) Is that really Sylvester Stallone and Charles Bronson on the cover of "Wish You Were Here"? It is an awesome album cover in any case, but would be that much cooler if it's them.

4) Is the "Venus and Mars" cover the best thing (including music, but excluding breaking up) that Wings ever did?

5) "The Asmoto Running Band" by Principal Edward's Magic Theatre... anyone? anything?

6) Styx, trying to evoke Pink Floyd on the album art or just coincidence?

and finally... Pink Floyd's "Ummagumma" simply awesome.
posted by oddman at 9:46 PM on April 6, 2005

Neener, neener...I was able to ID the Sparks "Interior Design" album cover.

I remember seeing that Montrose album on display at record stores when I was in junior high school...I wondered what a woman's crotch had to do with music...silly me.
posted by Oriole Adams at 10:00 PM on April 6, 2005

One of the two main designers of Hipgnosis, Storm Thorgerson, has a very nice web site.
posted by svenni at 10:13 PM on April 6, 2005

As they say in the classics, [This is good]
posted by bdave at 10:42 PM on April 6, 2005

Thogerson also did the back catalogue poster for Pink Floyd. Great pic. Hearsay is it's painted and not digital. Nice links, thanx mischief.
posted by peacay at 2:55 AM on April 7, 2005

Boy, they liked 'em some butt crack, didn't they? Butt crack was the mid-riff of the Seventies, I guess
posted by bendybendy at 4:03 AM on April 7, 2005

And a photographer/junior member of Hipgnosis was Peter Christopherson, a.k.a. Sleazy, a part of Throbbing Gristle and half of Coil, with the late John Balance.
posted by Grangousier at 4:33 AM on April 7, 2005

Oh. The Back Catalogues poster is on Storm Thorgenson's site and it IS body paint. hit the icon below right for info.
The hearsayists were right for a change.
posted by peacay at 5:50 AM on April 7, 2005

Butt crack was the mid-riff of the Seventies, I guess

The poster was 1997. But butt transcends eras.
posted by peacay at 5:51 AM on April 7, 2005

This is where I really feel that CDs lose something. Sure, you get 30 or 40 minutes of music and to these ears it does sound better than an LP but forget about the cover art and liner notes. Buying a new album was as much a visual experience for me as a teenager as an aural one. The first listening was always done while poring over the details in the slip case and liner notes.
posted by substrate at 5:57 AM on April 7, 2005

Man, they did a lousy job for the Scorpions, didn't they? Not to mention that terrible Mars Volta cover. On the other hand, this is the best album cover I've ever read and this is totally bitchin'. Great links...a total walk down memory lane, and I had no idea Hipgnosis were still a going concern.
posted by The Dryyyyy Cracker at 5:57 AM on April 7, 2005

One of the wildest hard rock bands of it's era.

And you can never have enough (female) butt crack. Midriffs are just boring.
posted by jonmc at 6:50 AM on April 7, 2005

Not to mention that terrible Mars Volta cover.

So that's what was in the briefcase in Pulp Fiction.
posted by kirkaracha at 7:05 AM on April 7, 2005

So much for not laughing during any scene in Pulp Fiction where someone opens the briefcase and looks inside...
posted by The Dryyyyy Cracker at 7:59 AM on April 7, 2005