A stunningly designed review and celebration of the
greatest album cover designs from the 50s to the 70s,
Roger Deanâs innovative volume was first published in
1977. The original, and still the best, it sold over
250,000 copies in its first year and heralded six
further volumes and a host of imitations. This new
edition retains the lavish 12â format to show off the
covers in all their life-size glory, and maintains the
superbly themed pictorial compositions of each
double-page spread. Edited and compiled by Roger with
Storm Thorgerson (one half of the Hipgnosis design team
celebrated for its album cover work with Pink Floyd),
the Album Cover Album features over 600 sleeves in full
colour, and showcases the astonishing diversity and
excellence of design that the medium produced in its
first three decades. The appeal of the original package
lay in its juxtaposition of familiar icons of rock
design with fascinating surveys of lesser-known genres
of album cover art. If anything, time has served to
increase this appeal, as the classics have cemented
their place in our visual vocabulary, while the more
obscure titles have only increased in curiosity value.
The whole package is updated with a revised design
treatment, fresh typography, and a new foreword. The
result is both a retro collectible that will intrigue
music lovers and an essential reference work for a new
generation of artists and designers. |
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