July 6, 2012
Greg's Top Ten Favorite Album Cover Art
1. Van Halen - 1984: The famous cover was created by obscure graphic artist Margo Nahas who had originally been asked to create a cover featuring four chrome women. While browsing Nahas' portfolio the boys from Van Halen came across the now famous angel painting and decided it was their favorite. The kid who was the model for the piece was Carter Helm - the child of one of Margo's friends.
http://onealbumeveryday.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/1984.jpg
Here's the original picture of Carter Helm that became the cover art for Van Halen's 1984:
http://www.feelnumb.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Van-Halen-1984-Angel-Margo-Nahas.jpg
2. Duran Duran - Rio: You just knew this had to make the cut on my list of top album covers. It's the iconic album cover of the 1980s featuring one of the most prominent artists of the decade - the late Patrick Nagel. Interestingly enough, Duran Duran had chosen a different Nagel piece for the cover of Rio before eventually choosing the cover below:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51HaLUBfp-L._SL500_AA300_.jpg
For your satisfaction, the original album cover Duran Duran had chosen:
Duran Duran - Rio (Alternate Cover)
http://images.wikia.com/duranduran/images/d/dc/AlternateRioalbumcover.jpg
3. The Cars - Candy-O: Alberto Vargas drew up the popular cover art for The Cars 1979 record "Candy-O" which would be a multi-platinum smash. Vargas was known for pieces that ended up on the noses of World War II aircrafts. It's easy to see how his particular piece might have found its way onto a bomber heading overseas:
http://ginavivinetto.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/the-cars-candy-o1.jpg?w=538
4. Iron Maiden - Killers: IT'S EDDIE!!! Iron Maiden's beloved mascot has made his way onto all of their albums and singles ever since he debuted as a simple kabuki head above the drum riser during their early tours in 1975. His appearance on their second album "Killers" is by far my all-time favorite Eddie cover. It just screams terror and is the perfect representation of their fierce metal sound.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61iuaWquQdL.jpg
5a. Deborah Harry - Koo Koo: Both this record and the record featured below on 5b were drawn by Swiss surrealist painter, sculptor and designer H.R. Giger, who is probably best known for being the inspiration for many of the sets in the movie Alien. In fact, Giger won the Academy Award for Best Achievement in Visual Effects for his work on Alien. I've always been a huge fan of surrealism and aside from Salvador Dali, there's nobody who's work I admire more than Giger's.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS_6P3H_rvRtRoU1b5zJ6xktgxIFpNgyFnKzAoIowLISbObmxXtXmzl63v93bd0gg-cemHPUBcELHNo8-jfQCFsd39qHHkN-X_6nKuAfuhYqVJPaYIcfPAicboXfnzn6s9AFmISqQS7JyS/s1600/kookoo.jpg
5b. Emerson Lake & Palmer - Brain Salad Surgery
http://onealbumeveryday.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/1984.jpg
Here's the original picture of Carter Helm that became the cover art for Van Halen's 1984:
http://www.feelnumb.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Van-Halen-1984-Angel-Margo-Nahas.jpg
2. Duran Duran - Rio: You just knew this had to make the cut on my list of top album covers. It's the iconic album cover of the 1980s featuring one of the most prominent artists of the decade - the late Patrick Nagel. Interestingly enough, Duran Duran had chosen a different Nagel piece for the cover of Rio before eventually choosing the cover below:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51HaLUBfp-L._SL500_AA300_.jpg
For your satisfaction, the original album cover Duran Duran had chosen:
Duran Duran - Rio (Alternate Cover)
http://images.wikia.com/duranduran/images/d/dc/AlternateRioalbumcover.jpg
3. The Cars - Candy-O: Alberto Vargas drew up the popular cover art for The Cars 1979 record "Candy-O" which would be a multi-platinum smash. Vargas was known for pieces that ended up on the noses of World War II aircrafts. It's easy to see how his particular piece might have found its way onto a bomber heading overseas:
http://ginavivinetto.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/the-cars-candy-o1.jpg?w=538
4. Iron Maiden - Killers: IT'S EDDIE!!! Iron Maiden's beloved mascot has made his way onto all of their albums and singles ever since he debuted as a simple kabuki head above the drum riser during their early tours in 1975. His appearance on their second album "Killers" is by far my all-time favorite Eddie cover. It just screams terror and is the perfect representation of their fierce metal sound.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61iuaWquQdL.jpg
5a. Deborah Harry - Koo Koo: Both this record and the record featured below on 5b were drawn by Swiss surrealist painter, sculptor and designer H.R. Giger, who is probably best known for being the inspiration for many of the sets in the movie Alien. In fact, Giger won the Academy Award for Best Achievement in Visual Effects for his work on Alien. I've always been a huge fan of surrealism and aside from Salvador Dali, there's nobody who's work I admire more than Giger's.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS_6P3H_rvRtRoU1b5zJ6xktgxIFpNgyFnKzAoIowLISbObmxXtXmzl63v93bd0gg-cemHPUBcELHNo8-jfQCFsd39qHHkN-X_6nKuAfuhYqVJPaYIcfPAicboXfnzn6s9AFmISqQS7JyS/s1600/kookoo.jpg
5b. Emerson Lake & Palmer - Brain Salad Surgery
http://image.lyricspond.com/image/l/artist-lake-palmer-emerson/album-brain-salad-surgery/cd-cover.jpg
6. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon: The iconic cover art is probably the most widely recognized album of all time. Even your mother knows who's album art this belongs to. The cover represents three elements: the band's stage lighting, the album lyrics and keyboardist Richard Wright's request for a "simple and bold" design.
http://www.allaccess.com/assets/img/editorial/raw/da/darksideofthemoon.jpg
7. Beastie Boys - License to Ill: I had to place this cover on my list. I simply wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't. It's without a doubt the first album cover I was enamored with as a kid. It took me forever to figure out that the numbers and letters on the side of the plane's hull spelled out "EATME" when spelled backwards. The band's logo is also a loose translation of the Harley Davidson logo. When the album's gatefold is opened up it reveals the plane crashed into the side of a mountain.
http://img.listal.com/image/1579716/600full-licensed-to-ill-cover.jpg
The gatefold version of the album, revealing the crash:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kt1eZPDsPJo/T6Q3jaePW2I/AAAAAAAABYw/yphR27eRlzk/s1600/lti.png
8. Metallica - Master of Puppets: The original 17" x 17" piece by artist Don Brautigam sold on Ebay a short while ago for a cool $7,000 after Megaforce record label founders Jon and Marsh Zazula decided to part with the masterpiece.
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/uponsun/assets_c/2011/03/master-of-puppets-thumb-500x500.jpg
9. Aerosmith - Draw the Line: No question about it, the first artist I became attached to when I was kid was Al Hisrchfeld. He had a knack for making charicatures of everybody from Frank Sinatra to Buster Keaton. If you look closely, he always made sure his daughter's name "Nina" made it into most every single piece since her birth in 1945.
http://www.recordrevolution.com/sites/default/files/album_covers/album-draw-the-line.jpg
The name Nina is hidden where the hair of Tom Hamilton (bottom left) and Brad Whitford (bottom right) intersect:
http://www.shugarecords.com/images/products/large/bcb1cc4b-479c-4125-8340-e38b00508f0a-0.JPG
10. Supertramp - Breakfast in America: A waitress disguised as the Statue of Liberty, the city skyline is made up of cups, plates and other pieces of diner hardware and the waitress vaguely resembles the outfit Arnold Schwarzenegger was wearing in Total Recall. What's not to love?
http://cover7.cduniverse.com/MuzeAudioArt/Large/80/148480.jpg
6. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon: The iconic cover art is probably the most widely recognized album of all time. Even your mother knows who's album art this belongs to. The cover represents three elements: the band's stage lighting, the album lyrics and keyboardist Richard Wright's request for a "simple and bold" design.
http://www.allaccess.com/assets/img/editorial/raw/da/darksideofthemoon.jpg
7. Beastie Boys - License to Ill: I had to place this cover on my list. I simply wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't. It's without a doubt the first album cover I was enamored with as a kid. It took me forever to figure out that the numbers and letters on the side of the plane's hull spelled out "EATME" when spelled backwards. The band's logo is also a loose translation of the Harley Davidson logo. When the album's gatefold is opened up it reveals the plane crashed into the side of a mountain.
http://img.listal.com/image/1579716/600full-licensed-to-ill-cover.jpg
The gatefold version of the album, revealing the crash:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kt1eZPDsPJo/T6Q3jaePW2I/AAAAAAAABYw/yphR27eRlzk/s1600/lti.png
8. Metallica - Master of Puppets: The original 17" x 17" piece by artist Don Brautigam sold on Ebay a short while ago for a cool $7,000 after Megaforce record label founders Jon and Marsh Zazula decided to part with the masterpiece.
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/uponsun/assets_c/2011/03/master-of-puppets-thumb-500x500.jpg
9. Aerosmith - Draw the Line: No question about it, the first artist I became attached to when I was kid was Al Hisrchfeld. He had a knack for making charicatures of everybody from Frank Sinatra to Buster Keaton. If you look closely, he always made sure his daughter's name "Nina" made it into most every single piece since her birth in 1945.
http://www.recordrevolution.com/sites/default/files/album_covers/album-draw-the-line.jpg
The name Nina is hidden where the hair of Tom Hamilton (bottom left) and Brad Whitford (bottom right) intersect:
http://www.shugarecords.com/images/products/large/bcb1cc4b-479c-4125-8340-e38b00508f0a-0.JPG
10. Supertramp - Breakfast in America: A waitress disguised as the Statue of Liberty, the city skyline is made up of cups, plates and other pieces of diner hardware and the waitress vaguely resembles the outfit Arnold Schwarzenegger was wearing in Total Recall. What's not to love?
http://cover7.cduniverse.com/MuzeAudioArt/Large/80/148480.jpg
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