Over the past 5-6 decades, album covers have become more and more
artistic, to the point where the best of them deserve a place in this
blog. They featured prominently in the past, and of course they will be
present in the new set-up. I have gone for a grouping per years of
release (covering 2-3 years per post). I will try not to include the
most famous album covers (like Sergeant Pepper, Dark Side of the Moon,
Nevermind), but focus on more obscure but very good examples. Also the
aim is no duplication of acts within one post. These posts are meant to
be illustrative only, not necessarily my personal top twelve for the
time period. The image above is created via
Photofunia and is free from copyright issues.
Bulletproof Heart by Grace Jones (1989)
Bulletproof Heart is the ninth studio album by Jamaican singer, songwriter and model Grace Jones. The haunting futuristic cover is credited to French graphic designer Jean-Paul Goude who worked closely with the singer for many years, consulting on her image, choreographing her live stage performances, directing her music videos, and creating her album covers.
Passion by Peter Gabriel (1989)
Passion is an album by the English singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel. It was originally composed as the soundtrack album for the film The Last Temptation of Christ, but Gabriel spent several months after the film's release further developing the music, finally releasing it as a full-fledged album instead of a movie soundtrack. The highly effective cover art for the album is a mixed media composition by the artist Julian Grater.
The Sensual World by Kate Bush (1989)
The Sensual World is the sixth studio album by the English art rock singer Kate Bush. Of all the thousands of album covers I have seen, this is my favourite. Of course having such a good looking singer to work with makes it easier, but the pose and the choice for black and white is brilliant. It is surprisingly difficult to find clear information about the design and the photography, but it looks like it was done by Bill Smith Studio with Kindlight.
The Stone Roses by The Stone Roses (1989)
The Stone Roses is the debut studio album by English rock band the Stone Roses. It is generally considered one of the greatest albums of all time. The iconic cover displays a work by the band's guitarist John Squire, in this case a Jackson Pollock-influenced piece titled "Bye Bye Badman", which makes reference to the May 1968 riots in Paris. The cover was named by Q magazine as one of "The 100 Best Record Covers of All Time."
Presto is the thirteenth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush. The album's sleeve was designed by Rush's longtime collaborator Hugh Syme: a black-and-white design depicting a levitating magician's hat on a hill with a rabbit emerging from it. The band had devised its concept and presented it to Syme who then produced several ideas depicting what they suggested. Guitarist Lifeson recalled the moment when they saw the design they went with: "We all started laughing hysterically, 'This is great, it's perfect!'"
A case of déjà vu maybe? I also used this cover in a post about the Year of the Rabbit three days ago. But it is too good not to include it here as well.
The Burning World by The Swans (1989)
The Burning World is the sixth studio album by American experimental rock band Swans. The cover concept and design is credited to the band's leader Michael Gira. The photograph of the Calla lily flower was taken by Robert Mapplethorpe.
I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got by Sinéad O'Connor (1990)
I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got is the second studio album by Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor. It contains her version of the Prince song "Nothing Compares 2 U", which was released as a single and reached number one in multiple countries. The striking cover was designed by John Maybury; photography is credited to Dave Hoffman and Dominique Le Rigoleur.
Violator by Depeche Mode (1990)
Violator is the seventh studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, the album that propelled the band into international stardom. The art work is by Anton Corbijn, the Dutch photographer, film director and music video director, who is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2.
Erpland by Ozric Tentacles (1990)
Erpland is the second studio album by British psychedelic rock band Ozric Tentacles. The cover matches the feeling of the music extraordinarily well. It is curious that the usual sites (Wiki, Discogs) fail to give any information on the cover. The only information I could find was at the ProgArchives site, where the artwork is credited to Blim. A bit more searching showed that Blim is a female artist who has been the album cover artist for the Ozic Tentacles for many years.
Spiderland by Slint (1990)
Spiderland is the second and final studio album by the American rock band Slint. I had never heard of the band, but the cover came up in the internet searches I did in preparation for today's post. The black-and-white cover photograph, which depicts the members of the band treading water in the lake of an abandoned quarry at lake in Utica, Indiana, was taken by Will Oldham.
She Hangs Brightly by Mazzy Star (1990)
She Hangs Brightly is the debut studio album by the excellent American alternative rock band Mazzy Star. The band themselves are credited with the cover design, presumably based on a photograph by Merlyn Rosenberg
Gold Mother by James (1990)
Gold Mother is the third studio album by English rock band James. It's a band I never got into, and the cover is another example of finding it in a web search - but it is a beauty. The credits list Vladimiar Bagrianski and Adrian Wilson for photography and Christopher Lord for design.
Copyright statement: posting lower quality album covers is deemed fair use.
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