Last week I came across a tiny record shop on the long stretch of Mass Ave. in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The shop’s window displayed a collection of 15 records ranging in year and genre. But when taking a step closer, the thread that tied them together was their thematic imagery: reflections.
Within each cover, you’ll see an assortment of mirrors, abstract iterations of reflections, and split personalities. I could add another handful of covers off the top of my head, from Pink Floyd’s Ummagumma “repeated” album cover to an array of Brian Eno covers (his love for the abstract apparent early on), and Roger Daltrey’s One of the Boys. The list goes on:
Blood, Sweat & Tears eponymous album released 1968 on Columbia. Back cover photographed by Bob Cato. Design by John Berg.
Eno’s Here Comes the Warm Jets, released 1973 on Island Records. Photography by Lorenz Zatecky. Design by Carol McNicoll.
Fripp & Eno’s (No Pussyfooting) released 1973 on Island Records. Photography and design by Willie Christie.
Pink Floyd’s Ummagumma released 1969 on Harvest Records. Cover by Hipgnosis.
Roger Daltrey’s One of the Boys released 1977 on Polydor. Photography and design by Graham Hughes.
Billy Joel’s Glass Houses released 1980 on Columbia. Photography by Jim Houghton.
With this past Sunday officially beginning the Summer season, I thought I’d create my own small window display of record covers that pay homage to the season. I made an executive decision that The Beach Boys can only appear once.
Trickster’s Back to Zero released 1979 on Jet Records. Art Direction by Martin Poole, photography by Fin Costello.
Gal Costa, “Água Viva” released 1978 on Philips. Artist credits are unknown.
Grover Washington, Jr.’s Mister Magic released 1975 on Kudu. Photographed by Alen MacWeeney. Designed by Bob Ciano.
Marie Laforêt, Marie Laforêt released 1974 on Polydor. Artist credits are unknown.
Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew released 1970 on Columbia. Artwork by Mati Klarwein. Designed by John Berg.
Neil Young’s On The Beach released 1974 on Reprise Records. Art direction and design by Gary Burden. Photography by Bob Seidemann.
Barbra Streisand’s Wet released 1979 on Columbia. Photographed by Mario Caselli. Art Directed by Tony Lane.
Eric Clapton’s 461 Ocean Boulevard released 1974 on RSO. Art Direction by Bob Defrin, photography by David Gahr.
The Beach Boys’ Surfin’ Safari released 1962 on Capitol. Photography by Ken Veeder.
I’m looking for this to be a free educational source since there has yet to be full documentation on the art history of album art. But, if you have $5/ month to spare, it would be super helpful in furthering my research. Or if you think a friend might enjoy this, the best way to pay it forward is by sharing!
