LED ZEPPELIN IV - Album Cover Art
The 19th century rustic oil painting on the front of the album was purchased from an antique shop in Reading, Berkshire by Robert Plant. The painting was then juxtaposed and affixed to the internal, papered wall of the partly demolished suburban house for the photograph to be taken. The 20th century urban tower block on the back of the full gatefold album cover is Butterfield Court in Eves Hill, Dudley, England.
Page has explained that the cover of the fourth album was intended to bring out a city/country dichotomy that had initially surfaced on Led Zeppelin III:
THE SGT. PEPPER'S ALBUM
Although most of the next two weeks would be taken up by recording the two songs for their next single, Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane, recording for Sgt. Pepper's started on December 8, 1966 with take one of When I'm Sixty-Four. The last track recorded was violins and cellos for Within You Without You on April 3, 1967, and mixing was completed April 20. Almost as an afterthought, the sounds for the Sgt. Pepper's ending groove were recorded the next day.
The original working title of A Day In The Life was "In The Life Of..." A rare session outside of Abbey Road occurred during the time of the Sgt. Pepper sessions at Regent Sound Studio in London for part of Fixing A Hole on February 9, 1967. Also during this period, the long-lost avante-garde Beatles recording called Carnival of Light was recorded on January 5, 1967.
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was officially released in both mono and stereo on June 1, 1967, although it was rush released in the UK on May 26. It was actually played on the radio in Britain on the BBC show Where It's At, the week before on May 20, except for A Day In The Life, which had been banned by the BBC the day earlier, on the grounds that it could encourage a permissive attitude towards drugs.
Peter Blake's original sketch for the Sgt. Pepper's Cover
The cover of Sgt. Pepper's was designed by Peter Blake and put together by Peter Blake and Jann Haworth, who painstakingly combed through hundreds of photos for months before the photo shoot. The photo was taken by Michael Cooper at Chelsea Manor Photographic Studios on March 30, 1967.
Many of the people pictured in the cover were personal heroes of the Beatles or people
they admired.
THE PEOPLE
1. Sri Yukteswar (Indian Guru) 2. Aleister Crowley (black magician) 3. Mae West 4. Lenny Bruce 5. Stockhausen (modern German composer) 6. W.C. Fields 7. Carl Jung (psychologist) 8. Edgar Allen Poe 9. Fred Astaire 10. Merkin (American artist) 12. Huntz Hall (Bowery Boy) 13. Simon Rodia (creater of Watts Towers) 14. Bob Dylan 15. Aubrey Beardsly (Victorian artist) 16. Sir Robert Peel (Police pioneer) 17. Aldous Huxley (philosopher) 18. Dylan Thomas (Welsh poet) 19. Terry Southern (author) 20. Dion (American pop singer) 21. Tony Curtis 22. Wallace Berman (Los Angeles artist) 23. Tommy Handley (wartime comedian) 24. Marilyn Monroe 25. William Buroughs (author) 26. Mahavatar Babaji (Indian Guru) 27. Stan Laurel 28. Richard Lindner (New York artist) | 29. Oliver Hardy 30. Karl Marx 31. H.G. Wells 32. Paramhansa Yogananda (Indian Guru) 33. Stuart Sutcliffe 35. Max Muller 37. Marlon Brando 38. Tom Mix (cowboy film star) 39. Oscar Wilde 40. Tyrone Power 41. Larry Bell (modern painter) 42. Dr. Livingstone 43. Johnny Weissmuller (Tarzan) 44. Stephen Crane (American writer) 45. Issy Bonn (comedian) 46. George Bernard Shaw 47. Albert Stubbins (Liverpool footballer) 49. Lahiri Mahasaya (Indian Guru) 50. Lewis Carol 51. Sonny Liston (boxer) 52 - 55. The Beatles (in wax) 57. Marlene Dietrich 58. Diana Dors 59. Shirley Temple 60. Bobby Breen (singing prodigy) 61. T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) |
Missing In Action
Several people who were intended to be included on the cover never made it, including Elvis, Hitler and Jesus.
Atom Heart Mother, released in 1970 is the fifth studio album by Pink Floyd. Recorded at the famous Abbey Road Studios in London it reached number one in the UK and number 55 in the US. Later Atom Heart Mother went gold the US 1994. The original album cover shows a just cow standing in a pasture with no text or reference to the band what so ever. This concept was Pink Floyd's reaction to the psychedelic imagery associated with the band at the time. The creator of this famous cover, Storm Thorgenson from Hipgnosis, was inspired by Andy Warhol's famous Cow Wallpaper. Storm simply drove out to a typical rural area near Potter's Barn in UK and photographed the first cow he saw. The cow in question is called LuluBelle according to her owner.
“Who is Alan?”
Alan is Alan Stiles, a roadie of Floyd’s back then. Alan’s Psychedelic breakfast is named after him, and it’s his voice you hear on the track. The kitchen sounds were recorded in Nick masons kitchen. The band was never very happy with this piece, which might explain why it was performed live only a few times. During the live performances the band was served tea on stage (this section is missing from the only known RoIO recording of this song). Early British pressings of the album had the sound of the water dripping from the tap continue into the trail-off groove in the record, allowing some turntables to play dripping water forever (or until someone turns it off, whichever came first).
THE DOORS - Strange Days
The album's artwork is designed by William S. Harvey and photographed by Joel Brodsky. The cover photo was taken in Sniffen Court, a small residential mews in New York City. Jim Morrison refused to appear on the cover, so photographer Joel Brodsky decided to use a circus-like photograph for the cover image. However, most carnivals were out on summer tours so it was a struggle for Brodsky to find professional circus performers. The acrobats were the only ones he could find; the dwarf Lester Janus and his younger brother (not twins) Stanley Janus (who appeared on the back cover) were hired from an acting firm; the juggler was Brodsky's own assistant; the trumpet player was a taxi driver; and the strongman was a doorman at a club. On another note, the back cover depicts a woman wearing a caftan, standing in one of the house doorways looking down at one of the dwarf brothers. She has since been identified by People Magazine as the stylist of Joel Brodsky's wife, Zazel Lovén. In addition to this, the original idea for the front cover was a reflection of the group in a mirror which the dwarves would carry. Jim Morrison stated that he did not want to be on the cover at all, so a poster of the band members was discreetly shown on the right end of the sleeve.
A re-created music video was shot in the eighties for the title track, and featured a still of the cover photo. The dwarf, juggler and acrobat came to life and moved out of the photo, while the other three performers remained where they were. The circus trio then explore New York City and join various crowds. At the end of the video, the dwarf, juggler and acrobat move back into the photo and resume the poses that are seen on the cover photo.
PINK FLOYD - Atom Heart Mother
Atom Heart Mother, released in 1970 is the fifth studio album by Pink Floyd. Recorded at the famous Abbey Road Studios in London it reached number one in the UK and number 55 in the US. Later Atom Heart Mother went gold the US 1994. The original album cover shows a just cow standing in a pasture with no text or reference to the band what so ever. This concept was Pink Floyd's reaction to the psychedelic imagery associated with the band at the time. The creator of this famous cover, Storm Thorgenson from Hipgnosis, was inspired by Andy Warhol's famous Cow Wallpaper. Storm simply drove out to a typical rural area near Potter's Barn in UK and photographed the first cow he saw. The cow in question is called LuluBelle according to her owner.
“Who is Alan?”
Alan is Alan Stiles, a roadie of Floyd’s back then. Alan’s Psychedelic breakfast is named after him, and it’s his voice you hear on the track. The kitchen sounds were recorded in Nick masons kitchen. The band was never very happy with this piece, which might explain why it was performed live only a few times. During the live performances the band was served tea on stage (this section is missing from the only known RoIO recording of this song). Early British pressings of the album had the sound of the water dripping from the tap continue into the trail-off groove in the record, allowing some turntables to play dripping water forever (or until someone turns it off, whichever came first).
THE DOORS - Strange Days
The album's artwork is designed by William S. Harvey and photographed by Joel Brodsky. The cover photo was taken in Sniffen Court, a small residential mews in New York City. Jim Morrison refused to appear on the cover, so photographer Joel Brodsky decided to use a circus-like photograph for the cover image. However, most carnivals were out on summer tours so it was a struggle for Brodsky to find professional circus performers. The acrobats were the only ones he could find; the dwarf Lester Janus and his younger brother (not twins) Stanley Janus (who appeared on the back cover) were hired from an acting firm; the juggler was Brodsky's own assistant; the trumpet player was a taxi driver; and the strongman was a doorman at a club. On another note, the back cover depicts a woman wearing a caftan, standing in one of the house doorways looking down at one of the dwarf brothers. She has since been identified by People Magazine as the stylist of Joel Brodsky's wife, Zazel Lovén. In addition to this, the original idea for the front cover was a reflection of the group in a mirror which the dwarves would carry. Jim Morrison stated that he did not want to be on the cover at all, so a poster of the band members was discreetly shown on the right end of the sleeve.
A re-created music video was shot in the eighties for the title track, and featured a still of the cover photo. The dwarf, juggler and acrobat came to life and moved out of the photo, while the other three performers remained where they were. The circus trio then explore New York City and join various crowds. At the end of the video, the dwarf, juggler and acrobat move back into the photo and resume the poses that are seen on the cover photo.
