• Open The Door Book

On back: 'Produced by Alan Simon & Roger Hodgson' printed in red letters. Has this credit printed in black letters.Back tray insert:Publishing: Red Spear Production / Emi Music Publishing ℗ 2000 Red Spear Production © 2000 Red Spear Production. 'Epic' is the exclusive trade-mark of Sony Music Entertainment Inc.

'All rights of the producer and of the owners of the recorded work reserved. Unauthorized copying, public performance, broadcasting, hiring or rental of this recording prohibited.' Distribution Sony Music.www.sonymusic.fr / www.rogerhodgson.comHUMAN DO design.

Photos Marc RibesDisc:'Epic' is the exclusive trademark of Sony Music Entertainment Inc. Distribution Sony Music. Made in Austria. EPC 49392000 'All rigths of the producer and of the owners of the recorded work reserved. Unathorized copying, public performance, broadcasting, hiring or rental of this recording prohibited.' ℗ 2000 Red Spear ProductionBooklet:Recording at studio 'Arpege', Les Sorinieres (France)Recording at 'Unicorn' studio, Nevada City (USA)Strings part recorded at 'Barrandov' studio, Prague, Republic CzechMixed at studio 'Mulinetti' Recco (Italy)Mastered at studio 'Dyam', Paris (France).

Just what is it that makes an album cover great? The weight of public opinion counts for a lot and undoubtedly the quality of the music helps our mindset on the matter, but there’s also that little old thing called subjectivity.We have gone far and wide, consulted numerous books and websites and taken into con-sideration the views of Team uDiscover to bring you the 100 greatest album covers.We’ve stuck, in the main, with rock and pop, because the jazz arena is so full of wonderful covers that we’re going to do a separate jazz 100 think of all those lovely Blue Note, Verve, Prestige and Impulse coversAnyway, back to the matter in hand. Some of those you may be a little puzzled. For instance, 90s French band Fredericks Goldman Jones – what makes this so special?

Well, the live album we’ve chosen was in a metal box that had die-cut holes in it; a work of considerable engineering and also a very creative idea. Just like Isaac Hayes’s cover for Black Moses, a double album from the early 1970s. It folded out into the shape of a cross with Isaac having his arms stretched wide, like thisAudacious or what?Most of those albums date from the era of the long-playing record – none too surprising re-ally given that the medium was part of the message and are part of what encouraged us to spend our hard earned cash.Now we bet most of you will have, at some time or another, bought an album because of the cover. It was also a badge of pride to be able to walk around carrying LPs, cover face outwards, in order to show how ‘cool’ you were.In 1961, when Mick Jagger met Keith Richards on Dartford railway station, Keith was carry-ing Chuck Berry’s One Dozen Berrys and see what that spawned.You’ll find album designs by legendary names in the ‘business’ of art.

There’s Andy Warhol, Hipgnosis (and not just Pink Floyd covers either), Rick Griffin, Robert Crumb, Peter Blake, and Roger Dean. Added to which, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan and Captain Beefheart even painted the pictures that adorn their albums.We’ve not tried to list these in any order as it is way too subjective, but we have highlighted what are generally considered the top 10 greatest album covers.Now, we have no doubt that you will have some ideas as to what should be included and we’d love to hear what they are, but we also want to know why. When you have commented to let us know, we will publish your 100 greatest album covers we live in a democracy, you see.So here they are, the 10 albums generally considered to be the Best of the Best as far as album design is concerned.

These too are not in any particular order. The so-called “White Album” was innovative; the first LP cover to come out with no picture! It was creativity to the nth degree, man!

Without it, AC/DC’s “Back In Black”, for example, would not have been created. If you had any serious knowledge about The Beatles and their influence on the entire world with fashion, language, music and more, you would not ask this question. Read some good books about them.

Explore their music with more than just one ear and you’ll discover that they were not only unique and groundbreaking, they WERE music for a period of time. Everybody since has been influenced by their music and creative style.

If you had actually lived through the 60s you would know what it meant to the world of music. Breakfast in America is one of my all time favorite albums that I can listen to over and over. Roger Hodgson’s title track is as fresh today as when it was released. Can’t wait to see Roger, the voice and co-founder of Supertramp, on his tour this summer in Europe. I have planned my holidays around his tour dates.

Hope to see him when he comes to the US and Canada next month and in Dec, too. Anyone who was or is a fan of Supertramp needs to see Roger’s show – it’s fantastic – his voice is incredible and what a band he has. Check this out –. I think what’s going on here is some of these albums became really popular hence the covers became somewhat iconic. I’m thinking of ACDC’s back in black, come on, it’s hardly a great cover. Arc of a diver? Even better than cream’s disraeli gears which is almost an eyesore is their wheels of fire cover, same artist, but way less of a dogs breakfast, cleaner and classy and silver, a refined version without the cliche dayglow.how about moby grape’s wow!

Or beach boys smiley smile, or beach boys live in concert double lp from ’73, never mentioned as one of the cheekiest, or even rudest covers ever! Dennis wilson holding the mikestand from his crotch into the audience with that look on his face. Come on, nobody noticed? Or endless summer, their comp from 74 that put them back on top of the world!

Hilarious drawing of a bunch of hairy guys supposed to be the beach boys, i think, tho i have no idea who is who! My thoughts exactly.

If you’re doing the 100 Greatest Rock Album Covers, I could see excluding Whipped Cream and Other Delights because Herb Alpert and the TJB probably wouldn’t be classified as “rock.” If, however, you’re not putting sideboards on the category, Whipped Cream and Other Delights should be in there somewhere. Iconic is a great word to describe that album cover. It’s probably responsible for more teenage boys wanting to join the high school band and more trumpet sales than any other single event. What are you trying to prove? Are you saying she wasn’t naked? That cover is supposed to suggest she WAS naked because she could easily have been.

Maybe it’s not a rock album but it’s certainly one of the most iconic covers of all. It has really good music also. Have a mono and a stereo copy. Many of Alpert’s albums are excellent.

Anyway, the WCAOD cover is lot more iconic than quite a few of those 100 covers in that dumb review. XTC’s Drums and Wires because of the way the band’s name is incorporated into the portrait. The Police’s Ghost in the Machine’s minimalist digital portrait of the band members. The Band’s brown album (The Band) is a break with the period’s psychedelic imagery and music. Everything in the cover, from the sepia tone photo, to the clothes to the typography was the antithesis of the sixties aesthetic and announced a new music rooted in the past.

Steely Dan’s Aja cover is a mysterious minimalist image with a striking slash of red and white fabric on black background, partial profile of an Asian woman and brush stroke typography of the title which suggests Japanese calligraphy, all of which is a play on Aja/Asia. Talking Heads’ The Name of This Band is Talking Heads is a double live album with the quartet on one album/cover and the 11 piece band on the second album/cover. The two covers tell you everything you need to know about the band’s duality and the sound of each album in the set. You included the original/European cover Jimi Hendrix’ Electric Ladyland, which Hendrix hated. I’d suggest the cover with the red/yellow profile picture of Hendrix which was used in North America. It’s striking, captures the psychedelic spirit of the times, is an iconic image always associated with Hendrix and it’s the cover most people are familiar with. While everyone of these are worthy, there are so many that could be included that a top 100 best covers list seems woefully inadequate.Example: ANYTHING by either Storm Thorgerson, Hipgnosis or Roger Dean as an album cover deserves consideration.Captain Beyond: Sufficiently BreathlessThin Lizzy: JailbreakNazareth: Hair of The DogAttempting to limit a list to only 100 covers overall is ridiculous.

Select a genre and a sub-genre, let the winners of the fight decide which artists should be included in that genre/sub-genre and THEN pick the top 100 album covers for each might be a way to be a bit more fair all around, but it would still leave so many deserving visual artists out of the final mix it would be pointless. Many good picks here and I was happy to see perhaps my favorite album ever,The new riders “the adventures of Panama red, although I,m not sure if it deserved it. But how could they leave off the album of one of the most iconic and longest playing bands of the late 20th century with perhaps their most identifiable icon on it,s cover,The Grateful Dead,s “Steal your face”?! In any case, there was no way to do this list without SOME argument was there? Next time shoot for 250 and you,d still better prepare for some flack.

Thank You for such a wonderful list even though you overlooked some of my personal favourites. Alice Cooper – Billion Dollar Babies. Luxurious Snake skin cover with a fabulous interior, lush with band portrait,Lyrics and One Billion Dollar Bill. Jackson Browne-Late for the Sky. Suburbia meets Rene Magritte.

The Byrds- Sweetheart of the Rodeo. An ultimate Nudie back patch with intricate stitching as befits the Dandy 60s Combo.

Open The Door Book

Bob Dylan-Blonde on Blonde. The most extra terrestrial capture of El Zim casting further questions on just what planet did Bob arrive from? Genesis-Nursery Cryme. Fear and Surreal apprehension in an English Country Garden. Croquet Anyone? Alice Again-School’s Out.

Desk Graffiti, Girls Panties and All. No wonder they had Questions in The House. And Finally, the Mona Lisa of Rock and Roll Pavlov’s Dog-Pampered Menial. Luscious embossed gatefold featuring Edmund Landseer’s celebrated depiction of Scottish Highland ‘Low Life’. ELO-Discovery, anything by Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, or Megadeth, Huey Lewis & the News-Sports (since Born To Run made the list), Police-pick an album cover, KISS-many to choose from, RATT-Out Of The Cellar, INXS-Kick, Duran Duran-Rio, Red Hot Chili Peppers-Blood Sugar Sex Magik, David Lee Roth-Skyscraper, Scorpions-pick an album cover, Quiet Riot-Metal Health, and a couple hundred others that I can’t think of at the moment.

I don’t know why I keep looking at these top 100 lists, they always annoy me with who they have on the list and who they leave off. There are some truly great album covers here, but one hell of a lot of these are great albums with OK covers. This is not even close to 100 of the greatest covers. What about the Mom’s Apple Pie album? It is possibly the most pornographic album cover ever, but subtle enough to circulate for a long time before someone noticed and it received new censored artwork. Most people don’t even notice the details of this cover at first.

I framed it and hung it on my wall. It’s sublte ambiguity makes it a great cover, even though the music wasn’t great.Speaking of censorship, what about the uproar over Blind Faith’s album? It wasn’t just the banned cover, but the freshness of the young girl, the invoking up the future with the rocket-like model, and the underage girl who appeared in place of her older sister, and with her parent’s consent. And a great album too. There are quite a few Arguably, not to mention Questionable choices here.The Led Zeppelin “III” cover is a far more Original and Iconic Cover even though “HOTH” is one of Hipgnosis’ most beautiful designs. It should, however, have been pictured with the “Belly-Belt”.Jethro Tull’s “Living In The Past” with its “Book” design (The Hardback one!) and Textured Goldprint rather than “Aqualung”.Wings’ “Band On The Run” is missing.Really, it IS!Rolling Stones’ original “Beggars Banquet” Cover is Missing. It was banned for decades and should really have been here.As a Personal request, I’d say that Roy Harper’s “Lifemask”, with its split centre -and-fold-back Definitely’s got a place amongst the 100 most Unique Record-Covers.Deep Purple’s “In Rock” Mount Rushmore- Cover’s Truly Is a Unique Record Cover and on of Rock and Roll’s most Famous ones.

(Suddenly I’m in doubt; Is it actually there?).I totally Agree with the one that Requested “Crime Of The Century” rather than “Breakfast In America” of Supertramp’s Covers.However; In the end, such Lists are Tough choices, Luckilly! Album covers that give me good feelings besides quite a few in the presented list: Allman Brothers Band -Brothers ans Sisters;Emerson Lake And Palmer first album; Fairport Convention- What we did on our holidays;Gram Parsons-GP;J.J.Cale-Naturally;Jefferson Airplane-Volunteers;The Kinks-Percy,and Lola versus Powerman & Money go round; The Mamas & The Papas-Deliver;Neil Young-Everybody knows this is Nowhere; The Lovin’ Spoonful -Best of the Lovin’ Spoonful (with the cartoon immages);Dylan -Blonde on Blonde; Doug Sahm-Doug Sahm and Band.