Classic Rock Bottom

CLASSIC ROCK BOTTOM SPRING TOURNAMENT (BEST ALBUM COVER) - FINAL ROUND

Kansas

Point Of Know Return

vs.

Iron Maiden

Somewhere In Time

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Kansas

The detail in the Iron Maiden album cover is far and away better than the Kansas cover.

 

IRON MAIDEN ALL THE WAY!

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

  • One of the most famous, if not the most famous, cover in rock history, Sgt. Pepper was devised by Paul and John, working with longtime photographer Robert Fraser and art designer Peter Blake. The idea was to recreate an ancient brass band photo, working from a family photo of Jim McCartney posing with his jazz band, but splashed with psychedelic color. To achieve this Paul made several drawings of the fictitious group posing in front of portraits of their heroes, but Blake suggested it would be better to use life-size photo enlargements of famous people, tinted and glued to hardboard. Paul, John, and George, as well as Fraser, made short lists of the celebrities and historical figures they wanted, but Blake and his wife and partner, Jann Haworth, chose many of the figures.
  • Next, three-dimensional figures were brought in for the front row, in order to hide the two-dimensional reality of the "crowd." Most of these were wax figures from Madame Tussaud's famous museum, including four of the early "moptop" Beatles. Haworth added a Shirley Temple doll wearing a sweatshirt that said "Welcome the Rolling Stones, Good Guys." The florist for the shoot suggested making a guitar out of hyacinths (bottom right). Other statuary and figures were brought in to fill in the front space; the final touch was a drum head with a fictitious band logo painted by a circus artist named Joe Ephgrave. On March 30, 1967, the Beatles arrived at the shoot in their satin band uniforms, designed by Manuel Cuevas at the famed Maurice Burman theatrical agency in day-glo colors hand-picked by the group: John wore chartreuse, Paul electric blue, George tangerine, and Ringo magenta. After approximately three hours, they had about a dozen different shots, including the famous one we know today.
  • Wanting to make the album packaging as much of an experience as the record, the band had their London designer friends, collectively called The Fool, come up with a gatefold sleeve design, but it was judged a little too busy, and instead replaced with a sitting shot of the four Beatles in Pepper garb. (The Fool instead designed a psychedelic inner sleeve in various shades of red.) The band wanted a packet of free goodies enclosed with every LP, but as that was not cost-effective, went instead for an insert with cardboard military and brass-band images that could be cut out, like paper dolls. Another designer, Gene Mahon, came up with the idea of printing the lyrics on the back cover. All these innovations were new to rock albums, and most had never been tried on any LP package.

Mike

Next thing you know, Mike's gonna be telling us how great the movie was...

Watch it "under the influence".

Oh no, that movie was terrible.

On a quiet night, I can still hear it sucking!

Mike

I actually had the soundtrack. Yes, I had the soundtrack years before I picked up the real album. 

Jesus Jon, just when did you start dropping acid, lol?

No excuse for that!
Mike

I know. To this day I must make amends.

Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden

Beatles  (mine is a protest vote)

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