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April 22, 2006
"The Art of the Album Cover" - Flash Feature
see this needle... see my hand...
drop, drop, dropping it down...oh, so gently...
well here it comes...i touch the plane...
turn me up...won't turn you away...
Pearl Jam, "Spin the Black Circle"
Those of us around when vinyl was king still hold sentimental feelings for the LP record format and the cover designs that put a creative 'face' on the music. The Eisner Museum of Advertising and Design's website has a cool, interactive feature that breaks down some landmark album covers of the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s. Drop the needle on a track and get the backstory of the role graphic design has played in recorded music during that decade.
The story begins with the 'original' album cover designer Alex Steinweiss who created the first artistic packaging for LP records back in 1939. Before his suggestion and designs, record albums had a plain cardboard cover with just the title and artist name. He convinced Columbia Records to use the cover as a canvas that could convey the beauty and sentiment of the music inside.
The story ends with the 70s, which makes sense. The compact disc was introduced in 1982, ushering the end of vinyl and cassettes as the formats of choice.
A must see for any music and art history buff, check out The Art of the Album Cover.
