I hope that the work of artist and designer Storm Thorgersen, who has died at the age of 69, will be celebrated at Record Store Day this weekend.
The long-time Pink Floyd collaborator produced some of the most memorable LP covers of all time, including the iconic glass prism reflecting a colour spectrum on Dark Side Of The Moon. It regularly tops polls of the best album covers of all time, and Dave Gilmour and co. have paid tribute to him, saying that his vision was inseparable from their music.
For those of us old enough - and lucky enough - to remember the heyday of vinyl, those memories of hours spent in record shops flipping through LPs are surely as much about the cover as they are about the music.
My standouts include another Thorgersen Pink Floyd cover - that giant pig flying over Battersea Power Station on Animals, also by Pink Floyd. Then there's Lou Reed's Transformer, all of the Beatles' covers, Springsteen looking unbearably sexy on Born To Run, the kitsch graphic boldness of Frank Zappa's Weasels Ripped My Flesh, and for sheer gorgeousness and youth and nostalgia all captured in one snap - Freewheelin' Bob Dylan - the young Zimmie and his girlfriend/muse, the late Suze Rotolo, strolling arm-in-arm along a New York street. Sigh!
With covers, size matters. Part of the joy of purchasing an album was the hours spent studying the artwork and reading and re-reading the liner notes. One of my top favourites was the bargain of the century - a Warner Brothers sampler picked up in Listen Records in Glasgow's Byres Road. It cost 50p and was my introduction to the Doobie Brothers, Little Feat, Tower of Power and many more US bands. Bugs Bunny adorned the cover and the back had mini-biogs accompanying the photographs of the uniformly hirsute, loon-pant wearing musicians. Deep joy for a 70s teenage girl.
I pity the music-loving weans of today. They may have a universal virtual jukebox to download, but they're missing out on the pleasure of the artefact itself - something to treasure for years to come. They may tune in and be turned on, though, if they slope off to their local record shop (or nearest, which, sadly, may be some distance away) this weekend. There's no shortage of events and gigs celebrating record shops over the next few days, so go along - and take a wean!
There's more stimulation for music lovers at Glasgow's Tramway with a mini-season of events exploring the theme of freedom through experimental music, film, art, poetry and improvisation. A highlight is the appearance of respected US jazz bassist, 77 year-old Henry Grimes, back in the public eye after three decades spent in such obscurity that many reference works listed him as dead. Ten years ago, a dedicated fan tracked him down to a one-room flat in LA and after he was donated an instrument, Grimes got back on the circuit and is performing at Tramway on Sunday night.
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