what's your favorite album cover?


i love aoxomoxoa by rick griffin for the grateful dead. so very trippy.
tda44
Osibisa by Osibisa -- flying elephants in a forest. I bought it for the cover and got hooked. Osibisa may not be the best African "rock" band, though they are quite good, but they introduced me to a new world of music.
"In Search of the Lost Chord" by the Moody Blues. The depiction of the "life cycle" is VERY cool! Another favorite cover, again by the Moody Blues, is "A Question of Balance" - Einstein's cigar smoke morphing into clouds - gotta love it!
The original cover to the mono release of Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique (Munch/BSO) on RCA. Reproduced once again on the Classic Records 45rpm reissue.
http://www.classicrecords.com/images/all/ACF69.jpg (picture)
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For some reason I like Supertramp album covers. "Crime of the Century" was cool, "Crisis, What Crisis" was somewhat tongue in cheek, and of course "Even in the Quietest Moments" is a classic. I love the piano sitting on a mountain top, with the sheet music open to Fool's Overture. Liked it so much I got the album cover tatooed on my shoulder!

Yes did some pretty interesting album covers, all followed a common look and feel to them. My all time favourite album cover artist was Cal Shenkel, he did some great work on Zappa's albums. Anyone going to nominate Dark Side?
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Interesting and cluttered. Like much of the music on it.
I've always enjoyed most of Eloy's especially "Metromania" and "Silent Cries and Mighty Echoes". Very 70's prog - lots of great ones in that genre. On the YES theme - "Olias of Sunhillow" by Jon Anderson. Killer gatefold.
In The Court Of The Crimson King - King Crimson.
Flamin Groovies - Flamin Groovies.
Any album by Julie London.
London Calling - The Clash.
They Say I'm Different - Betty Davis (Miles' ex old lady)
Trout Mask Replica - Captain Beefheart.
House On The Hill - Audience.
Any album by Fausto Pepetti.
Any album by Martin Denny (almost any album).
No Way Out - Chocolate Watch Band.
Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass - don't remember the title, but definitely remember a beautiful woman covered in whipped cream!
Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass - don't remember the title, but definitely remember a beautiful woman covered in whipped cream!

... that would be "Whipped Cream and Other Delights"
The original Electric Ladyland by Jimi Hendrix is not bad, those who have seen it will know where my head is at...

Ashra, you stole my thunder with,
In The Court Of The Crimson King - King Crimson
it was the first album to come to mind for me :)

all the best,

Phil
Santana - Abraxas
The Beatles - The White Album - I could always find it in the pile.
Liked that Herb Alpert one too!- Whipped Cream
Physical Grafitti by Led Zep was always the coolest cause you have 6 different sets of window seens. One brownstone was in The Village (NYC) and the other in London but they looked like they belonged next door to one another.
Inside of Tarkus and Eat a Peach.I agree with Eloy Albums especially Ocean and Floating.In General a lot of Prog and Psych covers.......JD
The LP cover for "Undercurrent" by Bill Evans and Jim Hall is one of my personal favorites.
Tom Waits, "Mule Variations" (I love Matt Mahurin's photography, illustration and film)

For graphic design:

Filter, "Short Bus"

Marco
Be Bop Deluxe "Sunburst Finish". A naked woman in a glass cylinder holding a flaming guitar above her head. Ahhh...the memories!
Earl Hooker, Theres a Fungus Among Us. Forgot the artist but thtis increases the value of the album.
No doubt about it..."Cheap Thrills" by Big Brother & the Holding Co. Great R. Crumb artwork and fun to look at in any state of mind.
Great Thread! Santana Lotus has got to take the cake IMHO.
King Crimson "Lizard" "Wake of Posideon"
Also Moody Blues "Seventh Sojourn"
How about all of the very artistic graphic designs of the ECM jazz label during the 70's? very avante garde modernism.
Joe Jackson trying to look like Sonny Rollins on "Body and Soul"
The solo recordings of Anthony Phillips "private parts and pieces I,II,III" if not for the music, certainly for the covers.
Abraxas - Santana
Bitches Brew - Miles Davis
Their Satanic Majesties Request - The Rolling Stones
Sgt. Peppers - The Beatles
Aqualung - Jethro Tull
and
John and Yoko's first album. (gotta be a collector's item)
Ohio Players' Honey was always one of my favorites growing up.

http://homepages.culver.edu/faculty/jcoelho/CoverArt/OhioPlayers_Honey.jpg
The Roger Dean Yes covers(Fragile, Views of Topographic Oceans) or Brain Salad Surgery by ELP (Geiger)
Call me shallow, but I've been partial to Bran Van 3000's Discosis, simply because they use this drawing from Boris Vallejo as the cover. Album's a huge dissapointement (although their first is actually good), but can't argue with their choice for cover art....
I forgot about the Roger Dean covers! I loved those so much, I purchased the Roger Dean Album cover book in the '70's.
Ashra
The Clash 'London Calling' was a total ripoff of the first Elvis LP.
The original LP cover for 'Ogden's Nut Gone Flake' by Small Faces, which was a round tobacco tin affair. It unfolded like a paper doll into eight illustrated sides. The later pressings were a standard album sleeve...
The Clash "London Calling", ripoff or homage? Well at any rate, some kick-ass rock and roll!
Anyone remember the classic b&w covers of the avant-garde jazz releases of the ESP label in the 60's?

Anyone remember the ledgendary "Mom's Apple Pie" cover of 1972(?).
"Mad Shadows" by Mott The Hoople

It is a mirror image of flames burning in a fireplace. The result is kind of creepy!

http://www.angelair.force9.co.uk/sjpcd158.htm
Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass - "Whipped Cream and Other Delights". Made quite an impression on me as a young boy...
The original cover of Pink Floyds Ummagumma with the Gigi LP. With all the new technology things like that are pretty easy, but for the time it was cool, and well executed.

Rainbow 'Rising' is a cool picture too. The hand coming out of the water holding a rainbow along with all the other little things in there that a person really has to look for to find.

How about Paul McCartney's 'Band on the Run' LP with the stars mixed in the band?

I don't know what I'd say was my favorite though.
weasel ripped my flesh is totally irresistible. that grin on his face... you cant but love it.
hakon