Album Covers 1991-1992

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.

 

 

Laughing Stock by Talk Talk (1991)

 

Laughing Stock is the fifth and final studio album by English band Talk Talk. As with the previous albums (and singles) the art work is outstanding. It was once mroe designed by English visual artist James Marsh. He initially painted a cover depicting a group of threatened birds forming the shape of a larger bird in flight over a desolate landscape. However, group leader Mark Hollis later felt the artwork should feature a tree, to create a visual connection to the preceding album Spirit of Eden. The final cover featured the same birds in a spherical tree forming the shapes of the Earth's continents. 

 
 

Rain Tree Crow by Rain Tree Crow (1991) 

Rain Tree Crow is the sole album released by English band Rain Tree Crow, a reunion project by the members of the new wave band Japan. The atmospheric cover photograph was shot by Shinya Fujiwara.

Solace by Sarah McLachlan (1991)

Solace is the second studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan. The art work, depicting the singer in a striking example of chiaroscuro, is credited to Kharen Hill Album photography. 

Leisure by Blur (1991)

 

Leisure is the debut studio album by the English rock band Blur. The striking cover photograph was taken in May 1954 by Charles Hewitt, for a Picture Post fashion feature on bathing hats, "Glamour in the Swim".

 

 

 

Shepherd Moons by Enya (1991)

Shepherd Moons is the third studio album by Irish singer, songwriter and musician Enya. It is not difficult to make a beautiful cover when the artist is beautiful herself, but this artistic design goes a step further. Writer Molly Burke wrote about the album's artwork: "Shepherd Moons features Enya in what can only be described as an opera gown she could be twenty or forty but her delicate beauty is intact. There is a sense of timelessness here bathed in the dark but fragile blue of sorrow". The photography is credited to David Scheinmann.

 

 

Why Do Birds Sing? by Violent Femmes (1991)

 

Why Do Birds Sing? is the fifth studio album by Violent Femmes. The special cover was designed by Hanson Graphic. 

 

 

Love Deluxe by Sade (1992)

 

Love Deluxe is the fourth studio album by English band Sade, named after their lead singer, Sade Adu. She is of course also the model for the album cover, with photography by Scottish fashion, celebrity and art photographer Albert Watson.

 

 

Angel Dust by Faith No More (1992)

Angel Dust is the fourth studio album by American rock band Faith No More, their best-selling album to date, having sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide. And I have no clue what it sounds like, but I like the cover, depicting a soft blue airbrushed great egret on the front cover (photographed by Werner Krutein).

Erotica by Madonna (1992)

Erotica is the fifth studio album by American singer Madonna, released simultaneously with Madonna's first book publication Sex, a coffee table book containing explicit photographs featuring the singer. Given the title and circumstances, the cover is restrained and highly artistic. Credit given to Siung Fat Tjia (art direction, design) and Steven Meisel (photography).

Ferment by Catherine Wheel (1992)

 

Ferment is the debut studio album by English alternative rock band Catherine Wheel. Another band and album that I have never listened to. The cover is based on a photograph by Alastair Thain.

 

 

Nurse by Therapy? (1992)

 

Nurse is the first major label album released by the rock band Therapy?... and you guessed it, again no clue what it sounds like. The cover did come up in searches for the year 1992 and it is indeed an eye catching image. The design is credited to Jeremy Pearce and Simon Carrington, with photography by Andrew Catlin, who is responsible for scores of album covers.

 
 

99.9F by Suzanne Vega (1992)

 

99.9F° (Ninety-Nine Point Nine Fahrenheit Degrees) is the fourth album by American singer and songwriter Suzanne Vega. The design is by Jean Krikerian and Len Peltier with photography by Melodie McDaniel.

 

 

Copyright statement: posting lower quality album covers is deemed fair use.

The Art of Tamara de Lempicka

Tamara de Lempicka, was a Polish painter who spent her working life in France and the United States. She is best known for her polished Art Deco portraits of aristocrats and the wealthy, and for her highly stylized paintings of nudes. As usual, I select a dozen paintings in addition to the self portrait posted above (her iconic work Tamara in the Green Bugatti from 1925). Unfortunately, I could not include many of my favourite paintings by de Lempicka, because anything created after 1928 is still under copyright.

Double 47 (1924)

Portrait of Marquis Sommi (1925)

Portrait of the Duchess of La Salle (1925)

Portrait of the Marquis d'Afflito (1925)

Kizette On The Balcony (1927)

La Belle Rafaela (1927)

Rafaela sur Fond Vert (1927)

Young Ladies (1927)

In The Middle Of Summer (1928)

Maternity (1928)

Nude with Dove (1928)

Portrait of a Man or Mr Tadeusz de Lempicki (1928)

 Copyright statement: images all in public domain.

Agatha Christie Book Covers [3]

 

 

Agatha Christie's detective novels were among my favourite books when I was a teenager. Decades later, I enjoyed them again in their TV renditions. These books have been reprinted numerous times, but there is something about the covers of the Fontana paperback series issued mainly in the sixties and seventies that is very appealing. The consistency in the illustrations suggest they were all done by the same artist, but unfortunately I could not find out who it was (or were). There are so many of them (link) that this is already the third post with this subject. In contrast with the first post on this theme, and in line with my new year's resolution for the blog, I'm not adding text to these book covers. The image above was created via Photofunia. 

 

 

The Mysterious Affair at Styles

  

Murder on the Links

 

 

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
 

 

The Big Four
 

 

The Secret of Chimneys

 

  

The Mystery of the Blue Train

 

 

The Seven Dials Mystery

 

 

The Man in the Brown Suit

 

 

The Sittaford Mystery

 

 

The Mysterious Mr Quin

 

 

The Thirteen Problems

 

 

Lord Edgware Dies

 

 

Copyright statement: posting lower quality book covers is deemed fair use.

The Compositions of Jean Sibelius

Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods, and is widely regarded as Finland's best and one of the greatest composers all time. Although he composed in many different genres, he is mainly admired for his orchestral work - something he agreed with himself. Although he lived to a respectable age of 91, he did not compose anything that survived after 1929.

 

As with all posts dedicated to one composer, I will select my 12 favourite works, listed in chronological order. All depicted CD's are from my own collection. Text is sometimes copied from the Wikipedia entries.

 

 

The Swan of Tuonela (1900) 

 

The Swan of Tuonela (Tuonelan joutsen) is an tone poem by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. It is part of the Lemminkäinen Suite (Four Legends from the Kalevala), Op. 22, but is often performed on its own - and indeed the quality of the work clearly exceeds the rest of the suite. The version shown above is by the Berliner Philharmoniker under Herbert von Karajan on a Deutsche Grammophon CD.

Symphony No. 1 (1900)

 

Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39, was started in 1898, and finished in early 1899, when Sibelius was 33. It is a confident work to start his symphonies cycle - one of the better first symphonies ever composed. The version shown above is by the Philharmonia Orchestra under Vladimir Ashkenazy on a London CD.

 

 

Symphony No. 2 (1902)

 

Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43, was started in the winter of 1901 in Rapallo, Italy, shortly after the successful premiere of the popular Finlandia, and finished in 1902 in Finland. Sibelius said, "My second symphony is a confession of the soul." It is one of the last great romantic symphonies, with Sibelius destined to become one of the composers to start modernism. The version shown above is by the Berliner Philharmoniker under Herbert von Karajan on an EMI CD.

 

 

Valse Triste (1904) 

 

Valse triste (Sad Waltz), Op. 44, No. 1, is a short orchestral work that was originally part of the incidental music he composed for his brother-in-law Arvid Järnefelt's 1903 play Kuolema (Death). It has become far better known as a separate concert piece. The version shown above is by the Berliner Philharmoniker under Herbert von Karajan on a Deutsche Grammophon CD.

 

 

Pelléas et Mélisande Suite (1905)

 

Pelléas et Mélisande was composed as incidental music Maurice Maeterlinck's 1892 play. Sibelius composed in 1905 ten parts, overtures to the five acts and five other movements. He later slightly rearranged the music into a nine movement suite, published as Op. 46, which became one of his most popular concert works, and one of my favourites in his work. The version shown above is by the Berliner Philharmoniker under Herbert von Karajan on a Deutsche Grammophon CD.

Violin Concerto (1905)

The Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47 was originally composed in 1904 and revised in 1905. It is the only concerto by Sibelius, and one of the best violin concertos of the twentieth century. The version shown above is by Shlomo Mintz and the Berliner Philharmoniker under James Levine on a Deutsche Grammophon CD.

Symphony No. 3 (1907)

 

Symphony No. 3 in C major, Op. 52, is a symphony in three movements. Coming between the romantic intensity of Sibelius's first two symphonies and the more austere complexity of his later symphonies, it is a good-natured, triumphal, and deceptively simple-sounding piece. Perhaps the first in which his individual voice starts to show. The version shown above is by the Philharmonia Orchestra under Vladimir Ashkenazy on a London CD.

Symphony No. 4 (1911)

 

Symphony No. 4 in A minor, Op. 63, is in four movements. It is the symphony where one heard Mahler influences more than in any other of the cycle. The symphony briefly had a nickname, Lucus a non lucendo, an expression that literally means "a grove from not shining", suggesting, in this case, a place where light does not penetrate.Very fitting for this masterpiece of bleakness. My favourite of the seven symphonies. The version shown above is by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra under Neeme Järvi on a BIS CD.

Symphony No. 5 (1919)

 

Symphony No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 82, is in three movements. Sibelius was commissioned to write the symphony by the Finnish government in honour of his 50th birthday, 8 December 1915, which had been declared a national holiday. The symphony was originally composed in 1915; it was revised in 1916 and 1919. It is widely seen as one of his best works. The version shown above is by the Philharmonia Orchestra under Vladimir Ashkenazy on a Decca CD.

 

 

Symphony No. 6 (1923)

 

Symphony No. 6 in D minor, Op. 104, was a work of long gestation, and finally completed in 1923. Although the score does not contain a key attribution, the symphony is usually described as being in D minor; much of it is in fact in the (modern) Dorian mode. Although many music lovers consider it one of the weakest of the cycle, I think it is one of the best. The version shown above is by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra under Paavo Berglund on an EMI CD.

 

Symphony No. 7 (1924)

 

Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 105, is notable for being one of the first one-movement symphonies. It has been described as "completely original in form, subtle in its handling of tempi, individual in its treatment of key and wholly organic in growth" and "Sibelius's most remarkable compositional achievement". Although many consider it his best symphony, I prefer many of the others - it is still excellent though. The version shown above is by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra under Neeme Järvi on a BIS CD.

 

 

Tapiola (1926)

Tapiola (literal English translation: "The Realm of Tapio"), Op. 112, is a tone poem written on a commission for the New York Philharmonic Society. Tapiola portrays Tapio, the animating forest spirit mentioned throughout the Kalevala. It is the last major composition by Sibelius, and in my opinion his very best. The version shown above is by the Berliner Philharmoniker under Herbert von Karajan on a Deutsche Grammophon CD.

Copyright statement: posting lower quality album covers is deemed fair use.