So this is the question... As for me, it matters sometime. For example I was avoiding Gentle Giant for some time because every time I saw the cover (this smiling giant, I s'pose) I have a feeling of such sixtishness-seventishness which put me off this band. My wife refused to listen to In the Court of Crimson King because of the cover and was very surprised to know one day that "this nice music" came from "that awful CD" (I confess I omitted the first song that time ). However, after listening to CD I do not care much about its cover.

Good topic!

I am often attracted to a new CD by its cover. If a cover looks great I give the album the benefit of the doubt.

Progressive rockalbums often have great covers. A cover is a marketing thing. To promote something it has to look good or very different.

If a cover is really ugly, the album must be very good to compensate.

I hated Porcupine Tree's cover for In Absentia. The album is great though.

I believe a cover should be representative of the music within. Genesis' "A Trick of the Tail" cover is an amalgam of the characters with the lyrics. Wonderfully done. It shows the artists also cares about the visual aspects of music.

I would also add the importance of lyrics and information being included in the package. There is nothing worse than having a CD without lyrics and you can't make out what the singer's saying. Of course the Internet has made the process easier, but the artist should include that from the start.  

No, a cover doesn't necessaril matter... but in some cases, the conceptual strength of the album's repertoire may influence on the cover design and art direction - Marillion, Genesis, IQ, Yes...

Other covers are nice, but simply effective, such as 'Brain Salad Surgery', 'Thick as a Brick', 'Mirage'...

I don't think it matters, really.

Cesar Inca wrote:   No, a cover doesn't necessaril matter... but in some cases, the conceptual strength of the album's repertoire may influence on the cover design and art direction - Marillion, Genesis, IQ, Yes... Other covers are nice, but simply effective, such as 'Brain Salad Surgery', 'Thick as a Brick', 'Mirage'... I don't think it matters, really.

Ponder this, then, there were album covers, now CD jewel cases, but

I often bought cassettes, cheaper, convenience reasons ... now, cassettes, are sort of out of vogue, I visited a used music storer, got some of my "gym" tapes to listen to, in this manner,

but cassette art, is about equal to that of a box of cigarettes, in some odd way (ho, yes, and some have put cigarette packs on covers, few cases) in that what is there to look at? even with expanded leaflets.

so I sort of agree, it is nice to have nice art, but the underlining factor, does not seem to matter "much"

Not the main atribute I search for, but of course it helps.

A good album like Point of Know Return with an excellent art cover and inner sleve (LP version), gains a few points.

If I go to a store and look at a Roger Dean cover I will surely take the album and at least take a good view of it. Of course if the music is crap it won't matter, but at least the cover gave the album a chance to be noticed by a progressive fan.

Iván

The drawing of the POKR cover makes a clear allusion to the sailor's contents of the title track's lyrics. Another drawing portrays a lightning-like female figure bearing a sword - an allusion to the song 'Lightning's Hand'. Besides, the image of the falling ship may also point out the fact that some of the songs are about loss and confusion ('Dust in the Wind', 'Closet Chronicles', 'Nobody's Home', 'Paradox'). This is a case of an album cover that does actually matter, since it's linked to some of the lyrics.

This is a case of an album cover that does actually matter, since it's linked to some of the lyrics.

Hi Cesar, if you got the USA LP, take a look at the inner sleve where the lyrics are written as pages of a Captain Log, the table with a sextant and a compass, it's also a clear reference to the title song. Extremely well done.

Iván

PS: Never recieved your mail, still waitting my friend.

Really bad covers certainly turn me off from an album.  For example, before hearing a thing about Love Beach, I knew I didn't want to hear it just from the cover.  They don't usually play a role though.

Before the internet times and the availability of downloading sample tracks of songs,I sometimes (not usually) bought records just on the impression of the cover. That's how I discovered celtic rock group Gwendal, for example, or David Bedford's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. It was like a musical russian roulette.

I also agree that the cover can be very important in the overall enjoyment experience of a record. I'm a very visual person. That's why I usually think that's something is missing when I download an album from internet. As someone said, Thick of the Tail can't certenlly be the same without its cover. And the same goes for Wind and Wuthering (can't believe someone said it was a dreaful painting: it's maybe my all time favourite painting! Talk about tastes...),. That's not to say I have albums with terrible covers. My friends, in fact, know my record collection for these attrocities I usually wave in front of them in an act of auto-punisment. If you want to know what I mean, just check the cover of Ithaca 'A game for all who know', one of my favourite folk albums...

Foxy wrote: So this is the question... As for me, it matters sometime. For example I was avoiding Gentle Giant for some time because every time I saw the cover (this smiling giant, I s'pose) I have a feeling of such sixtishness-seventishness which put me off this band. My wife refused to listen to In the Court of Crimson King because of the cover and was very surprised to know one day that "this nice music" came from "that awful CD" (I confess I omitted the first song that time ). However, after listening to CD I do not care much about its cover.

I have a book with 1000 record cover (by Michael Ochs, I believe). I saw the cover for Gentle Giant's Octopus and I thought it was STUPID. What a surprise when the music turned out to be fantastic!

And BTW, I think the cover of In The Court... is beautiful!

12" covers were so much better and I, for one, lament their passing.

I've long been of the opinion that certain albums "sound" like they belong in a "dark" cover and some in a "light" one. This does not mean that dark music should necessarily be housed in dark covers however. Take the wall for example. On the other hand "Animals" has about as perfectly suited a cover as any album ever, dark as the music. The original covers for the Gong Radio Gnome trillogy are predominantly dark green, white and black, respectively. Perfectly matched to the vibes of the albums.

Which brings me to my last point, which is, when I come across a rerelease or foreign release of an old and familliar favourite dressed up in a totally different cover it freaks me out a bit. Like bumping into an old friend who's just had major plastic surgery. It's the same person in there but it'll take some getting used to.

All this considered I think, yes, it DOES matter.

I've certainly bought albums on the strength of the cover on a number of occasions. A Roger Dean for example will always be a recommendation to me.

I've not always ben successful using this approach, some real stinkers have great sleeves. Conversely, some great albums have real duffers of sleeves ("Immortal" - Arena, "Crimson King" - King Crimson etc.)

I reckon the sleeve matters less these days than it did when LPs ruled, but undoubtably it can still have an influence.

It matters I think, but it doesn't depend on the cover, when deciding to buy it or not. It's definitely a plus if the cover of an album you buy is artistic.

What's boring is a lousy pop album, like Westlife or something, with Brian, Brian, Brian, Brian, and Brian on the cover TRYING to look oh-so handsome!

Definitely album covers have such an impact upon the fan. In my case, I attempeted to discover Le Orme because of its meaningful, strange covers. First album I got was "Felona e Sorona". Beautiful art work. I like those front covers that are conceptually attached to the back cover or at least represent something at all. The art work of "Uomo Di Pezza" is a great cover as well, very surreal, very catchy and most of all, it brings out the emotiveness of the recording.

As once we were discussing here in the forums about the best art work for an album, I also enjoy anything Mark Wilkinson had made to Marillion's album covers like "Fugazi" and "Misplaced Childhood" and those drawings really talked me into getting both albums.

Regards,

Land

The music and the cover are almost always not much apart from what they bring as musicians. I really don't know why but I think that still life is a bit sucky because of the red, because it shoudn't have that shiny read cover. The mood of still life is so much different than this colour. I can't really help it, but thats just me.. The frustrations of an artist I guess (ok.. artist.. a guy who's juggling with paint and such things)

When I was young and had time to listen to music carefully, the cover - and inside photos and lyrics - were an integral part of the experience. From my point of vie, I favored cover with tons of details to be disscovered at each time I sat down to listen to a record. Iron Maiden and MArillion's Fish era were the ideal covers to get lost into, although they wer mostly crimes againt humanity.

BTW, I love dreadful covers. They give you a reason to laugh among friends. Specially Ozric Tentacles. My friend Victor once said "I Liked "curious Corn", so I'm buying another one. There are tons of 'em, so I'm getting the one with the less terrible cover art". He came home with an Ozric Tentacles record, but clearly depressed. "Would you belive THIS was their best cover?"

It was hard to believe. And I became an Ozric tentacles fan since that moment.

Hello,

"When I was young and had time to listen to music carefully, the cover - and inside photos and lyrics - were an integral part of the experience"

For me it was the same, i used to examinate the details of the covers, the inside

info.

PF /Wish you were here impressed me a lot with its cover which evokes for me

the painter"Magritte"

The only time I bought an album on the basis of the cover alone was Pallas' "The Sentinel", and I hated the music- but Patrick Woodroffe's art is great. It was a much bigger part of the package with vinyl- cassettes were almost useless and CDs are only about halfway to acceptable viewing size. Try making out the details on the CD version of Crumb's wonderful "Cheap Thrills" cover- it's almost an injustice. Roger Dean, Hypgnosis, Phil Travers (Moody Blues), Mouse (Grateful Dead), and that tricky Patrick Woodroffe were my favorites, but there's thousands of really impressive covers. As good a reason as any to collect vinyl

I think it's a shame some artists don't put too much effort in their covers. Ok, the music is of course more important, but the cover is what might attract the attention of the ignorant visitor of the recordshop in the first place. It's a kind of teaser. It makes you wonder what kind of music such artwork will contain. And therefore help the artist.

So, it is important for me. However, if my of my fav bands put out a record with an atrocious cover, I will probably buy it anyway (Mahavishnu's 'Trident Sessions' indeed). And ANY reason to collect vinyl is valuable by me.

emdiar wrote: 12" covers were so much better and I, for one, lament their passing.

Me too... thats why I keep collecting vinyl...

I don't think covers have anything to do with my buying or liking an album.  I think sometimes they show an attitude that the band might be going thru.. but don't usually portray the music.

I think we can tell what my favorite album cover is by my avatar, but I also thought the KC - ITCOTKC cover was beautiful.  There is an artist here in Queens that did a marvelous art sculpture of it.. that Greg Lake's mgt. company bought for display in their upstate NY offices..

I also love The Division Bell Cover and interior artwork.  Actually Pink Floyd has put together some really beautiful song books that are almost like coffee table books with extremely beautiful artwork.  I almost bought them all just for the aesthetic value.

Easy Livin wrote: I've certainly bought albums on the strength of the cover on a number of occasions. A Roger Dean for example will always be a recommendation to me

Even Asia albums?

it does!

I bought the album the sentinel from Pallas because of its great artwork.

it was the best album i ever heared !, an all time favourite.

Marcelo wrote: Easy Livin wrote: I've certainly bought albums on the strength of the cover on a number of occasions. A Roger Dean for example will always be a recommendation to me     Even Asia albums?

Especially Asia albums! I'm proud to say I love their music, whether or not it's "prog".

As I read through this thread, I was going to comment when I got to the end.  But bassguy beat me to it.

Ultimately, "you can't judge a CD by its cover."  I have never bought an album solely on its cover, nor would I ever even think of doing so.  Not even if a well-known artist (e.g., Roger Dean) was the artist.  Because there are simply no guarantees where covers are concerned.

I certainly agree that a good cover can "add" to the enjoyment of an album.  And like others, I mourn the passing of the 12" cover, sleeve and, especially, readable lyrics (in a font large enough to see without a microscope).  In this regard, although I understand and respect (in most, but not all, cases) that CDs sound better than LPs (and last longer, for the most part), I can't help but think we have lost something special with the end of truly great cover art (in 12"), and all that went with it.

Peace.

maani wrote: I have never bought an album solely on its cover, nor would I ever even think of doing so.

Where's your sense of adventure Maani?!

Next you'll be telling us you've never driven down a freeway in the wrong direction at 100 mph!

Great album covers were intoxicating.

The cover gives the music that representation our imagination can also give it to the music. As any musicologist would say, music generates images, sometimes the album covers represents what the artist wants to transmit. Of course, some covers can be deceiving in that category, or sometimes the cover is just awful and the music is great (i.e: Anekdoten- From Within'). Some of the covers i like the most:

Faithful Breath- Fading Beauty

Opeth- Damnation

Eloy- Planets

Porcupine Tree- Lightbulb sun

White Willow- Sacrament

Death Machine- s/t

Symphony X- V

Jethro Tull- Minstrel In the Gallery

Pulsar- Halloween

hi there...

well people, i agree with the fact that a record shouldn't be avoided or bought beacuse of the cover, however, being an architect and designer i really enjoy and appreciate the artwork of every single album (even if the artwork sucks), anyway... people like Roger dean, Strom thorgerson, Bill Smith and so many more, has built a career in design beacuse of the record covers thay has been made since the late 60's.

i do belive in design, and i do belive that design is an integral part of our lives, whenever you look, your eyes will find designed things.

These days we have also different cd packages that upgrade the final product which happens to be MUSIC, so i don't consider artwork a condition, but an upgrade. If record covers weren't important, it wouldn't be books documenting those.

peace

A cover can make me look at cd and take a quick lisning, but if i don't like it, then i don't buy cause of the cover.

Would Yes ever have had the same amount of popularity without Roger Dean?

AngelRat wrote: Would Yes ever have had the same amount of popularity without Roger Dean?

Well considering they only really became popular after Roger stopped doing their album art (the pop years), I'd say they would have

In the good old days of vinyl, and when I was too young to know better, I used to stick album sleeves all over my bedroom wall. I would keep the records in their inner sleeves and put them in protective plastic covers.

I did this for my entire Rush collection - up to and including Grace Under Pressure. I loved the artwork on their albums (favourites were 'Caress of Steel' 'Farewell to Kings' and 'Hemispheres'

A good album cover completes the package, proves that the artist cares about all aspects of presentation, and adds to the enigma of rock history  

oliverstoned wrote:   PF /Wish you were here impressed me a lot with its cover which evokes for me the painter"Magritte"

Aaaaah - The famous 'This Is Not A Burning Man' cover....!

AngelRat wrote:

A friend wrote in another forum about this album, he went to a Gallery to see a Roger Dean's exposition, and the original art of this album was priced at US$ 600,000 (Six Hundreed Thousand Dollars).

Yeah Roger, would you accept my VISA?

Iván

King Crimson`s Earthbound cover is the best.

Vibrationbaby wrote: King Crimson`s Earthbound cover is the best.

Wasn't that similar to Spinal Tap's "Smell the glove"?

Easy Livin wrote: Vibrationbaby wrote: King Crimson`s Earthbound cover is the best. Wasn't that similar to Spinal Tap's "Smell the glove"?

TONIGHT I'M GONNA ROCK YOU TONIGHT!!!!

The best album cover was this... of course.  Especially if you were lucky enough to get one where the shaft wasn't so lit....

I like the Anthony Phillips covers : great covers, great music!

I like this cover too: 

http://membres.lycos.fr/mrprog/sinfield2.jpg">

I totally agree with Pallas - the Sentinel: beautiful cover, beautiful music.

The Pendragon covers are nice too!

onion3000 wrote: oliverstoned wrote:   PF /Wish you were here impressed me a lot with its cover which evokes for me the painter"Magritte"     Aaaaah - The famous 'This Is Not A Burning Man' cover....!

Check out Jeff Beck's Cosa Nostra album cover!

The cover of Genesis' Seconds Out is what started me listening to that band, followed by the famous Paul Whitehead covers of Nursery Cryme and Foxtrot.

Mark Wilkinson's cover of Marillion's Script for a Jesters Tear turned me on to Marillion.  Generally though, my music is purchased as a result of surfing the net, or side projects of artists I already enjoy.

threefates wrote: The best album cover was this... of course.  Especially if you were lucky enough to get one where the shaft wasn't so lit....

Currently to be found int he dumper bin in one of my local record shops for 4 quid, with Tarkus and their first!

Alex wrote: You can't judge a book by its cover, and same goes for albums. But its hard not to sometimes, if you see a weird cover that looks like its not your style inside, you may avoid it. I don't think it matters once you start listening though.

Of course, there are some covers you don't like, but you enjoy the music. But it's also amazing (at least in my case) how my pictorial/visual tastes go with my muscal tastes, two not very related arts (one is a art of 'space', the other an art of 'time'). Many of the prog artist I like seem to like also fantasy drawings and certain periods of art history (pre-raphaelites, simbolists, romantic movement...), and that's my cup of tea. I think it's related to the un-cynic nature of some prog music (something not in time with what's fashionable nowadays, what might explain one of the multiple factors why prog is despised today). That special componet of prog is related with these visual arts, so there's a logial conecction between tastes. Or it's too early in the morning and I'm only writting nosense. Oh, my...

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drg400/g423/g42363j60hw.jpg - http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drg400/g423/g42363j6 0hw.jpg

If i saw this in a shop i would have to buy it!  its one of my favourite covers and albums.

Flower Kings -Adam and Eve

Hmmm...how do you get photo's to show on here?