Today's entry is the album cover art for the 1973 record album "Tubular Bells" by Mike Oldfield. A bent pipe floats above the seashore instead of a rock with a castle on it.
Fine print on the cover contains this ominous warning: "This stereo record cannot be played on old tin boxes no matter what they are fitted with. If you are in possession of such equipment please hand it into the nearest police station."
The cover art was by Trevor Key, and originally came from the idea of a bell which had been destroyed. The bent-bell emblem ended up appearing on several more albums, and Oldfield ended up using it as his logo-symbol. I've been unable to find out which ocean shore this photo was taken at. Other album art by Trevor Key included Peter Gabriel's "So".
The iconic 'Tubular Bells' cover is from the golden years of record album cover at. This whole field took a blow with CDs replaced LP records. And now... well, you just don't have cover art for MP3's do you? And this is what passes for cover art now.
Also see this link
Does anyone have any favorite old record covers they'd like to mention? Or even modern CD covers?
11 comments:
Record cover art was a wonderful thing! I do miss the cover art. Other covers that come to mind... most of the Yes albums, Santanna's album with Black Magic Woman and the Led Zep album with the kalidascope wheel that changed the images in the tiny windows. They came out with a later version of the cover that you could not turn the wheel to change the pics. Sometimes the art was better than the music. =:]
I remember one of Heart where they were dressed like a Renaissance women.
I do love the covers of the Demon Hunter cd's. though.
I miss cover art as well... it's a dying art.
Steely Dan's "Can't Buy a Thrill" (mucho sexual imagery) and "The Royal Scam" (skyscrapers with dragon heads overlooking some bum sleeping on a park bench) and Miles Davis's "Bitches Brew" (African imagery) - those are the 3 that immediately come to mind.
I am an old fart. My favorite album covers (art and liner notes) were Bob Dylan, Beatles and Jefferson Airplane. Your post, may I say, is totally tubular. Remember when people said that? (What on earth did it mean?) I can’t resist any post that includes the name Magritte, and that reminds me of a favorite Paul Simon song, “Renee and Georgette Magritte and Their Dog After the War.” Thanks, dmarks.
I always liked the Physical Graffiti cover. Also I still get a kick out of seeing who I can see on the Sgt. Peppers cover.
Steely Dan has great cover art, including their two most recent "albums" Two Against Nature and Everything Must Go.
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy... now that was a cover!
BTW I expected some Baranski today ;-)
Silly: I remember the Led Zeppelin albums, not not any Santana. thanks for the comment!
Leticia: I seem to remember that Heart album.
Cube: Book cover art is going to take a big hit, I think, thanks to the Kindle/etc.
Will: I will have to look for those!
PJ: Tubular was from valley-girl talk. It had to do with good waves for surfing. And the phrase actually caused sales of "Tubular Bells" to increase.
I love album cover art, but Tubular Bells scared the hell out of me when I was a kid.
So are books, I'm afraid.
Cube: Captain Fantastic is a great album cover. Hopefully some Baranski tomorrow!
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