Photographs as album covers

[Alex Benjamin]

One thing that has disappeared in this digital music world of ours is the publication of great photographs as album covers. Sometimes its the photograph of the musician — there's some absolutely fantastic photography made for jazz album covers in the 50s and 60s — but also, and even more interestingly, photographs borrowed from great — or not so great — photographers.

I think it possible that many in my generation started appreciating photography and its evocative powers not through magazines of books but, somewhat unknowingly, through their record collection — I'm talking vinyl, or course.

For example, I've always loved this album jacket. As much as the music that's on the album (big Tom Waits fan here). But only recently have I learned who the photographer was, what his work was, where the photo actually came from.

Now I do have to work a bit to look at it as a photograph totally unrelated to the album cover. It's a great photo. But I already knew that.

Anders Petersen, "Lily & Rose, Café Lehmitz, Hamburg", 1970

Tom Waits, "Rain Dogs", 1985

Any others that come to mind ?

 

[mcfitz]

The photo of Patti Smith taken by Mapplethorpe

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

Besides the picture on the cover, vinyl albums included who wrote each of the songs, the lyrics (often), where produced and other great stuff. Even DVD's often had a slip-in paper with this information and a smaller version of the photo on the cover of the disk case. Now we only get 1's and 0's.

 

[AnselMortensen]

Scorpions "Lovedrive" comes to mind immediately.
Actually, many album covers by Hipgnosis.

 

[jeffreyg]

Alex
I don’t know if any were used for album covers but my late friend Mario Algaze once worked for Rolling Stone and photographed many musicians. Check out Mario Algaze Musical Roots The Seventies.
Just a note… about twenty years ago I printed a limited edition of four of his images in platinum/palladium/gold. Twelve each plus an artist proof and printers proof. None of musicians.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

Alex
I don’t know if any were used for album covers but my late friend Mario Algaze once worked for Rolling Stone and photographed many musicians. Check out Mario Algaze Music Roots The Seventies.
Just a note… about twenty years ago I printed a limited edition of four of his images in platinum/palladium/gold. Twelve each plus an artist proof and printers proof. None of musicians.

Thanks for this. I'll look it up.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

There are a whole bunch by William Eggleston

 

[Alex Benjamin]

Eggleston again

 

[Alex Benjamin]

Two more by Eggleston

 

[Alex Benjamin]

"Blinky and Tony Forever" (2009) by Deana Lawson on a 2016 Blood Orange cover.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

Garry Winogrand on an Interpol cover ("Marauder")

 

[Alex Benjamin]

The photo of Patti Smith taken by Mapplethorpe

View attachment 406895

That's a great one.

 

[loccdor]

Rocky Schenck

 

[loccdor]

Akino Arai's Sora no Mori - Hidekazu Maiyama

 

[loccdor]

Clannad - Dulaman (Seaweed) - Manjit Jari

 

[Mike Lopez]

I’m surprised that Friedlander hasn’t come up yet, but I suppose the day is young. This book is a veritable tome of such photography, and it’s wonderful:

 

[Alex Benjamin]

I’m surprised that Friedlander hasn’t come up yet, but I suppose the day is young. This book is a veritable tome of such photography, and it’s wonderful:

Yeah, I was getting there

Ornette, by Friedlander

 

[Alex Benjamin]

Another great Friedlander

 

[Alex Benjamin]

Todd Hido, cover for The Raveonettes' "Rarities/B-Sides"

 

[Alex Benjamin]

OK, now this is totally new to me. I just now learn doing research for this thread that the photograph used for Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti was by Elliot Erwitt...

Had that album when I was in my teens...

 

[Mike Lopez]

Another great Friedlander

This one is typically the first to come to mind for me among all of the Coltrane pictures that Friedlander made:

 

[Molli]

U2's Boy (1980) and War (1983) albums - cover photo by Ian Finlay. The boy photographed grew up to be a photographer himself.
Anton Corbijn took the band photo.

 

[retina_restoration]

Norman Seeff's cover for Joni's Hejira.

 

[Molli]

Norman Seeff's cover for Joni's Hejira.

Gorgeous!

 

[jvo]

check out the movie "squaring the Circle: the story of hipgnosis" .

absolutely fascinating - about photography and album art.