July 31, 2012 The cover I picked today is of an album by a band called Biff Bang Pow. The quirky name of the group came from the lyrics of a song by a band called Creation whose front man was Alan McGee and who later formed Biff Bang Pow. The band played music of a genre that is described as neo-phychedelic or garage pop. The lineup consists of Alan McGee on guitar and vocals, Dick Green (guitar), Joe Foster (bass) and Ken Popple (drums).
The image on the cover was taken from or may have been a tribute to a cover by a Spanish group called Days of Wine and Roses but this information needs to be confirmed. It’s a beautiful photograph of a bunch of Dianthus also known as Pinks. There are no credits for the design but in the back it does say: "A Chromatose Detuned Sleeve". I didn’t find any information on the ‘net.
This Record: The Girl Who Runs The Beat Hotel – Biff Bang Pow 12” LP, 33 rpm Creation Records, UK import, 1987
Go to www.ricsrecordsrack.com for more information. My records are in super mint condition and still available, unless specified otherwise. Email if you require a detailed description of the condition of a particular item (ricsrecordrack@yahoo.com)
July 30, 2012 Blues, blues, blues…British blues, electronic blues, blues rock… Oh! That’s just John Mayall in nut shell. But getting deeper, he was born near Manchester, England and grew up listening to his father’s collection of jazz and blues 78’s which included records by Leadbelly, Eddie Lang and others of that era. He is yet another product of the British art school system. When he joined the Junior School of Art in Manchester he already knew, somewhat, how to play guitar and harmonica but at the school, he was introduced to another musical instrument: The piano and soon developed into a multi instrument player. He did the vocals and write lyrics to his numbers as well. He is famous for numerous collaborations with jazz and blues greats specially pertaining to this ‘record of the day’ and I have provided a photo of a drawing of the genealogical tree from the booklet that is included with the album and is a tribute to the various musicians who contributed to the making of the album over an eleven-year period.
The artwork, illustration and design of the album is by John Mayall. The cover features a photo of a mud splattered Mayall as if rising from the roots of a tree. At least that’s my interpretation of it. The photos are credited to John Mayall, Nancy Throckmorton, Gered Mankowitz, Dominique, Barry Wendell and two anonymous contributors.
This record: Back To The Roots by John Mayall 12”Double LP, 33 rpm Gatefold sleeve - Includes a booklet (over 20 pages) 1971, Polydor
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Dream With Me - Audio Track
Room To Move – Video of 1970 Live Performance on a TV show
July 28, 2012 The Beatles, an English rock band formed in 1960 in Liverpool England. Now who on earth hasn’t heard of the greatest band ever? Paul Mcartney on bass guitar and keyboards, John Lennon on rhythm guitar and keyboards, George Harrison on lead guitar and Ringo Starr on drums. And what about the vocals? Well, they all provided vocals at one time or the other. I don’t want to go to the 1970 ‘cause that’s when the band broke up and that’s all I’m saying about it.
When Paul McCartney presented the idea of this psychedelic record of the day, ‘The Magical Mystery Tour’ in 1967, the rest of the band members immediately liked it and set about implementing it, choosing to produce and direct the television movie themselves. Hiring a bus they travelled into the English countryside looking for ‘location’but then once they reached their destination they seem to have run out of ideas for they marched about the hedges and meadows randomly documenting this peculiar expedition. Unfortunately it was not well received by the British TV audience. I checked IMDB.com for additional information and learned it received a 6 out 10 rating. On Rotten-Tomatoes only 61 percent of the audience liked it and received a 55 on the tomatometer from the critics. In 2010 one of the critics, Tim Brayton of the Agony & Ecstacy said the movie was “A big, nasty, ugly, boring mistake. With killer musical numbers.” While A.J. Verser, a super reviewer on the same site said that it was “The worst Beatles movie, of the Beatles movies which star the Beatles. The story is really much too silly, and stupid. Plus, the Beatles don't play a big enough role, which is weird. It has some funny moments, but overall it's just so-so.”
The soundtrack…now, that was another story. It was a hit! In fact it has some of my favorite Beatles’songs. I have posted videos and/or audio tracks of the same below.
In keeping with the psychedelic themes of the music, the gatefold sleeve cover features the Beatles (presumably) in animal costumes and masks with colorful psychedelic designs and typefaces and fuzzy psychedelic mirror images of the group during a concert or something on the back cover. The album includes a 20+ page booklet and there are many forums and websites that discuss, at great length, the various clues to the mysteries of the album. For example I discovered on one website that, “If the cover is held to a mirror and the largest stars connected and read from the mirror, one can see seven digits: a phone number. According to how you hold the cover, whether upside down or not, these three phone numbers are agreed on their appearing: 834-1735, 483-5317 and 237-7038. It was common in the fall of 1969 to call these numbers in London and it was rumored that you'd get a funeral parlor; or two, you would get an angry old lady whom you have awakened from her sleep at 3 am; or three, the strangest story of all, as reported in a Washington, DC underground paper and simultaneously in a rumor sheet circulating the music business in New York. It was that you would get someone answering the phone who would claim to be Billy Shears.” (www.ispauldead.com/573.html)
All the artwork was done by Bob Gibson, the illustrator for the Beatles Monthly magazine who worked on the cartoon version of the film. The photos are by John Kelly.
This Record The Magical Mystery Tour by the Beatles 12”LP, 33 rpm Gatefold Sleeve with a 20+ page booklet 1967, Capitol Records
Go to www.ricsrecordsrack.com for more information. My records are in super mint condition and still available, unless specified otherwise. Email if you require a detailed description of the condition of a particular item (ricsrecordrack@yahoo.com)
The photo is a collage of the front and back of the album including some pics from the booklet included with the album.
July 27, 2012 Born in Suffolk, England with a name like Brian Peter George St. John Le Baptiste de la Salle Eno—who would have thunk he was descended from a few generations of postmen. However, a quick revision later and he was forever known as Brian Eno, musician, prime innovator of ambient music, composer, record producer, and visual artist. Yes, another art school product. After finishing school he moved to London and spent his time experimenting with various methods of visual art. In 1971 he met up with Andy Mackay of Roxy Music and was invited to join their band as they needed a keyboardist but due to head butting with Bryan Ferry, the band’s front man, he parted ways with them in 1973.
There are tons of websites devoted to the man and his accomplishments. Here’s one: http://www.enoweb.co.uk/
The cover I picked today is Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy). This was Eno’s second solo album and its concept as per Wikipedia is based on a variety of topics ranging from “espionage to the Chinese Communist Revolution.” Dark, somber and pretty depressing, it kinda freaked me out the first time I saw the cover. The gatefold album features four lithographs from an set of 1500 unique silk screens portraits of Eno by Peter Schmidt. The artist, a Berlin born Brit who taught at the Watford College of Art in Hertfordshire, UK, had quite an artistic collaboration with Eno and created many other works for him. As a side note, the two developed ‘Oblique Strategies’ which was a set of 7 x 9 instruction cards used to help with production of this album. Each card was printed with an adage or a saying to help artists (particularly musicians) break their creative blocks. It was formaly published in 1975.
The polaroid photos of the artwork are credited to Lorenz Zatecky and the lettering to John Bonis.
This Record: Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) by Brian Eno 12 LP, 33 rpm, Gatefold Sleeve 1974, Island Records
Go to www.ricsrecordsrack.com for more information. My records are in super mint condition and still available, unless specified otherwise. Email if you require a detailed description of the condition of a particular item (ricsrecordrack@yahoo.com)
July 26, 2012 Drawing inspiration from Muddy Waters’ song “Rollin’ Stone”, a band was formed in 1962 and they called themselves ‘The Rolling Stones’. When they performed for the first time, at the Marquee Club in London, they probably never dreamed as to the extent of their success and popularity and the fact that they were going to last fifty years. Their initial line-up consisted of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones and keyboardist Ian Stewart with Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts joining up in 1963. Ian Stewart left the band later that year then surprisingly it was decided that he would manage the band instead.
It wasn’t until 1972 that the famous Stones tongue logo was created. Jagger visited an exhibition at an art school where he met John Pasche, a final year design student. He later hired him to work on a logo for the band. Jaggers inspiration: a picture of the Hindu goddess of ‘change’ Kali.
As per John Pasche, “The design concept for the Tongue was to represent the band’s anti-authoritarian attitude, Mick's mouth and the obvious sexual connotations. I designed it in such a way that it was easily reproduced and in a style which I thought could stand the test of time. The first use of the logo was the inner sleeve for the Sticky Fingersalbum. The outer sleeve was designed by Andy Warhol, hence the mix-up with the credits. The logo was not fully registered in all countries and a German jeans company registered the logo in Germany for their own products. his situation - and the fact that the tongue was getting used by unauthorized manufacturers of badges and t-shirts - prompted the proper registration and a merchandising agreement with myself to capitalize on the success of the logo. The simplicity of the design lent itself to many variations which were done by other designers and not myself. Due to it’s immediate popularity, the Stones kept with it over the years and I believe that it represents one of the strongest and most recognizable logos worldwide. And of course I’m proud of that. The Stones ultimately bought the copyright but I still own the hand drawn & painted artwork which, by the way, is now on sale for £200,000.”
John Pasche now freelances and more information can be found on his website: http://www.johnpasche.com/
In celebration of their 50th anniversary, graphic designer Shepard Fairey has fashioned an eye-catching contemporary spin on the Stones’ famed tongue logo. Somerset House in London hosted a free exhibition of rare and previously unseen photographs of the band on July 12, 2012. Also, to commemorate the anniversary, filmmaker Brett Morgen has directed a documentary about the band. (http://www.rollingstones.com/band)
Here is some information on the record art and design of only some of the covers. This blog is getting too damn long. Some Girls Released 1978 Designed by Peter Corriston Illustrations by Hubert Kretzschmar
One of the Stones' most famous covers, it’s kind of difficult to explain it unless you use a lot of graphic design terminology. As they say “You outta have been there” or, in this case “You gotta see it for yourself”. However, it was designed by New York graphic Peter Corriston and is a die-cut sleeve with the faces on the inner sleeve. Once you remove the die cut cover there are all wigs with no faces. Images on the cover were of many actress of that time who were all upset to have been selected as a ‘face’.
Hubert Kretzschmar, in the late ‘70s was a part of New York's vibrantly influential art and music scene. He has worked for a variety of music artists including Led Zeppelin, Kraftwerk, Iggy Pop, Kiss, etc. His illustrations were featured on three Rolling Stones LPs, including Some Girls and Tattoo You. Recently, his collection of photographs: "Keith Richard Portraits" was exhibited at Scope Art Fair in March 2011.
Let It Bleed Released 1969 Cover and Liner Design: Robert Brownjohn Photo: Don McAllester Designer: Victor Kahn The image on the sleeve is of a fancy layered cake, atop a record player which was inspired by the Stones’ ‘working’ title of the record at that time, ‘Automatic Changer’. The cake was prepared by an English chef and writer Delia Smith, but the design of the sleeve was by Victor Kahn, a graduate of New York University with a degree in Marketing. He has had a successful career of over a decade in the music business designing album covers, books, graphic images and packaging for rock musicians. He is also credited for album covers, posters & books for Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, The Beatle's, etc.
Sticky Fingers Released 1971 Designer: Craig Braun Concept and Photography: Andy Warhol
At a party in New York City in 1969, Andy Warhol casually mentioned to Mick Jagger that it would be amusing to have a real zipper on an album cover. A year later, Jagger proposed the idea for Sticky Fingers,the first release on the new Rolling Stones label (Tongue logo). The Album packager Craig Braun had also suggested releasing the album in a clear plastic jacket with heat-sensitive liquid crystals inside. "…so you could make your own little Joshua Light Show," he says and also suggested a mammoth foldout cover of Jagger's castle in France. But Jagger decided to go another way. Warhol took the cover shot and though many assumed the model was Jagger, it has been rumored to be a model called Joe Dallesandro at Warhol's studio, the Factory. More information available at: (http://www.craigbraun.com/aboutme/press_rel1.html)
Exile On Main Street Released 1972 Designer: John Van Hamersveld Photographer: Robert Frank
“The general tone of the time was one of anarchy: drug dealers and freaks and crazy people left over from the Sixties, all defiant and distorted," says John Van Hamersveld, designer of this cover. The cover shot by legendary photographer, Robert Frank at first seems like a collage of photos of circus freaks. However, it’s actually a photo Frank took in 1950 of the wall of a tattoo parlor. The comparison to the notorious Stones: The jet-setting tax exiles, the cocaine-fueled satyrs and perpetual outsiders is clear specially since the identical layout on the back cover features Frank's photos of the Stones themselves, shot on L.A.'s seedy Main Street. The inner sleeves were even more haphazard with titles and credits hand-lettered by Jagger himself. More information at: http://www.johnvanhamersveld.com
Go to www.ricsrecordsrack.com for more information. My records are in super mint condition and still available, unless specified otherwise. Email if you require a detailed description of the condition of a particular item (ricsrecordrack@yahoo.com)
The Photos below are of a collage I created of my collection, a picture of the goddess Kali (don't know if this was the one they drew their inspiration from), a picture of the LOGO and a 1971 picture of the Rolling Stones at the Marquee Club.
July 25, 2012 Glen Frey grew up in Detroit, Michigan and after moving to California, hooked up with Don Henley, Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner in 1970 and formed the hugely popular band, Eagles. They did, however, break up in 1980 and but went on to have a pretty successful solo careers of their own, including Glen Frey.
One very interesting fact I picked up from Wikipedia and his website was that the character of Russell, the lead guitar player from Cameron Crowe’s film Almost Famous, was based primarily upon Glenn Frey. "Just make us look cool," a dialog in the movie between Russell and William Miller (Crowe's autobiographical critic) was apparently a direct quote of Freys', according to Cameron Crowe who interviewed the Eagles on the road as a teenager.
The aptly titled ‘Sexy Girl’ is my record cover of the day.
This record: Sexy Girl by Glen Frey 7”Single, 45 rpm MCA, 1984, UK import
Go to www.ricsrecordsrack.com for more information. My records are in super mint condition and still available, unless specified otherwise. Email if you require a detailed description of the condition of a particular item (ricsrecordrack@yahoo.com)
OK guys…it’s time to take off the gloves. What the fuck happened to music? I know that fans of classical music groaned and moaned when pop music took over the airwaves in the ‘60’s, but they joined the dance party when artists like Queen and King Crimson and even Malcolm Mclaren integrated classical themes and melodies into their music.
There were melodies and hooks showing up on the airwaves every other day. “Ground control to Major Tom”, “one pill makes you smaller and one pill makes you tall”, “You can’t always get what you whahant, but if you try sometime you get what you need.” , “What do you get when you fall in love?”, “Eight days a week”, “Something’s happenin’ here, what is, ain’t exactly clear……” All lyrics that reflected the volatile world around us. Now what do the lyrics express? I don’t even need to go there. You all know that this is the fall of the empire, dudes. There is no hope. Hope was born and died in the ‘60’s. We had our chance after they killed the Kennedys and shot the pope.
Another massacre in Colorodo. Aurora--What a beautiful name for a city. It is sooo sad. I am a pacifist. Does anyone even know what a pacifist is anymore in this fucking gun culture. Guns are for hunting!!! Yeah, hunting each other. 17 miles from the Columbine massacre 14 years ago. What the fuck? I have no answers and I am not implying anything. I am a man of little faith. 17 years of catholic school gave me a jaundiced eye.
OK, so I digress, ‘cause I’M PISSED OFF. What the fuck happened to music? I think it started when I heard Spandau Ballet’s “True” on a hiphop song about a decade ago. They needed a melody to offset the rap and were too lazy to write one so they stole the fucking song from Spandau Ballet.
I know it’s been explained to me. They were just “sampling”. All made legal by a bunch of back room lawyers. Don’t get me started on lawyers, they’ve been persecuted enough. But that's a separate rant.
We are all whores!! Admit it! Remember when there was a concept called “selling out.” YEAH RIGHT! Nobody remembers artistic integrity. That was a very long time ago. I am long in the tooth but I still get hard. There was actually a time when the general public would be outraged if their favorite rock band’s song was heard promoting a car! Hah! I must admit though, that I loved hearing Nick Drake’s “Pink Moon” sell a sexy convertible VW.
Did American Idol kill modern pop music? Of course not. They are just a symptom of the malaise. We are a society of lazy egocentric fucks! Everybody imitates everybody else and what results…is a lot of boring copycat crap. OK, I’m done ranting for the moment. Just don’t get me started. OK?
July 24, 2012 In 1976, Susan Janet Ballion or Siouxsie Sioux and Steven Severin, along with Marco Pirroni and Sid Vicious (John Simon Ritchie) quickly formed a make-shift band to fill a vacant slot during a two-day event held to showcase unsigned punk bands at the 100 Club in London, England. As per their website: “The intention is 'to play one number until they throw us off the stage”. A few months later 'Siouxsie & The Banshees' was formed. Two years later, they scored a No. 7 hit with debut single 'Hong Kong Garden' and were signed on to Polydor. They were one of the biggest in the London punk community, lasting almost two decades.
The cover photo is of a spectacular fuchsia pink flower. A rose, I’m presuming since the single is titled ‘The Thorn’. I tried to research the cover artists but could not find any information. I did find a Jane Burton, photographer and a Bruce Coleman, illustrator, but no confirmation if these are the same two listed on the record. However, it is a lovely photograph and therefore I picked it as the record cover of the day.
This record: The Thorn by Siouxsie And The Banshees 12” Single, 45 rpm Polydor, 1984, UK Import Sleeve Design: A Banshees/Da Gama Design Cover Photo: Jane Burton / Bruce Coleman Typography: Michael Burke
Go to www.ricsrecordsrack.com for more information. My records are in super mint condition and still available, unless specified otherwise. Email if you require a detailed description of the condition of a particular item (ricsrecordrack@yahoo.com)
July 23, 2012 An English blues rock band---it was founded by Alvin Lee and Leo Lyons who released their first album (self-titled) in 1967. As per the liner notes on the back of the record as written by John C. Gee, manager of the Marquee Club their music is “—simple and compelling. It is direct and full of guts. It is firmly entrenched in the Blues with a strong jazz basis.”
As per me I’d like to say that I was a jealous of Alvin Lee as he sang ‘I’m going home’ while making love to the mike at Woodstock and had all the chicks screaming. No, I didn’t go to Woodstock…I saw the movie. However, there’s no denying the man’s a guitar genius.
The cover has a photograph of the band with a fun-house, mirror type, melting font reminiscent of the late 60’s to early 70’s---Kinda psychedelic. Artist, photographer and designer unkown.
This Record: Self Titled ablum by Ten Years After 12”LP, 33 rpm Deram/Decca Records, 1967 (USA)
Go to www.ricsrecordsrack.com for more information. My records are in super mint condition and still available, unless specified otherwise. Email if you require a detailed description of the condition of any particular item (ricsrecordrack@yahoo.com)
Live performance of I Can’t keep on Crying Sometimes from Album
Help me – Audio from this Self Titled Album
This is the legendry 1969 performance of I’m Going Home at Woodstock and not on this album – Audio only and I just had to post it.
July 20, 2012 Der Plan (the plan) is one of the greatest German bands playing new wave electronica. That is to say ‘greatest’ right behind Kraftwerk who first introduced me to electronica and I’ve been a sucker for that genre ever since I heard Trans Europe Express. Anyway getting back to Der Plan, it was formed back in 1979 by Moritz Reichelt, Frank Fenstermacher, Robert Gorl and Chrislo Haas. After the release of their very first album, Robert Gorl and Chrislo Haas left and were replaced by Kurt Dahlke.
I have read their music described as Avant-Garde, experimental, technopop etc. They're all of that and much more. Read the lyrics of the Single, Gummitwist, I've provded below and you’ll understand what I mean. Even though I didn’t ‘get’ some of it but blame that on poor German to English translation. Der Plan produced 10 albums together and broke up in 1993. They did get back together temporarily but with a different cast and crew and released their last album "Die Verschwörung" (The Conspiracy) in 2004. The cover art is probably done by Moritz Reichelt or Moritz R®, a founding member of the band who went to art school in Munich. He was exposed to the ‘punk’ scene when he travelled to Dusseldorf, a new cultural phenomenon at that time. There he ran a Punk/New Wave art gallery in Wuppertal, a suburb of Duesseldorf along with two of his friends. The "Galerie Art Attack" became a melting point for the new art scene where painters, musicians and multi-media artists rubbed shoulders.
After Der Plan broke up Moritz R® who did the artwork for the band’s record covers, dedicated himself full-time to his art. He also wrote a book about his experiences as a member of Der Plan, entitled: Der Plan - Glanz und Elend der Neuen Deutschen Welle (Der Plan - the Splendor and Misery of the New German Wave). After the foundation of the independent label Ata Tak in Duesseldorf in 1980, he began to produce music. Besides painting, making music Moritz R® also created set designs for several films and TV productions. His second book is dedicated to Postpsychedelic Art: Pop Katalog Vol 1 is a coffee table book and a documentation of all his works including photos and descriptions, theoretical essays about his own work. He blogs at http://moritzreichelt.blogspot.com/ Lyrics - Dance the Gummitwist! Where blows the wind of the future, What is that thing constructed? That screams of the man of today, who has stolen my brain?
I ask people on the street, in the subway, in the Office, all woll'n computers have, No one knows exactly why.
Parallel interface, give me 64 Bit processor, Fortram, logo, CPU and VisiCalc and RAM module.
Interslip and floppy chip, Pershing II and Apple panic, are our enemies, the Russians Alas, the world is so confusing!
Daddy, give me a computer! Help for the whole family! Take honey, the arms race! Dance the Gummitwist!
Can I no longer live tomorrow without personal computers? No longer can my flowers pour without the computer?
Can I Cook no soup without LCD display. and when I wash my socks, do I need an interface?
Wool ' n the Russians destroy us, or are the Americans blame? Crazy shoot out, space invaders,Snack attack and Roach hotel.
Of all things on Earth, There is and should be, I know completely safe one What was it identical, grad there Is still?
Daddy, give me a computer! Help for the whole family! Take honey, the arms race! Dance the Gummitwist!
Ta ta ta ta dance dance dance! Dance dance the rubber the rubber! Co co co co com com com! Computer computer!
'Ne small housefly, Nothing learned and don't know much. Do not understand anything of micro chips, Nuclear bombs and stuff ' n stuff.
Simply fly to the lamp, a thousand times, day in, day out, don't know anything about good and evil, do I need more to happiness!
Not enough around there to life, so then, for a day? Must I seek the higher, What will I Müh and Plag?
Yes, that you have to, little fly! I am the hacker in the system, I sneak into NATO, I could be a Russian.
Daddy, give me a computer! Help for the whole family! Take honey, the arms race! Dance the Gummitwist!
This Record: Gummitwist by Der Plan 12”single, 45 rpm WEA Musik GmbH, German Import, 1983 Design by AtaTak Design
Go to www.ricsrecordsrack.com for more information. My records are in super mint condition and still available, unless specified otherwise. Email if you require a detailed description of the condition of a particular item (ricsrecordrack@yahoo.com)
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