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CORRECTION: That's Ultra Magnus. Though having seen the movie my point still stands.

Various Artists - The Transformers: The Movie (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (CBS-Scotti Bros., 1986) - Designer unknown

Don't get too comfortable seeing Optimus Prime on the cover. Just leaving that out there.

Image courtesy of Discogs.

#repost #the transformers #transformers #transformers the movie 1986 #cover art #album #album cover #album covers #albums #art #80s soundtracks #80s #80s music #80s movies #soundtrack covers #soundtrack

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Blue Swede - Hooked on a Feeling (EMI Svenska, 1974) - Art direction by Roy Kahara

I could never live up north.

Image courtesy of Discogs.

#blue swede #hooked on a feeling #1974 #cover art #album #album cover #album covers #albums #art #70s #70s music #70s rock #70s pop

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Eddie Murphy - How Could It Be (Columbia, 1985) - Art direction by Nancy Greenberg, photograph by Annie Leibovitz

A white piano? Now that's not something you see every day.please?

Image courtesy of Discogs.

#eddie murphy #cover art #album #album cover #album covers #albums #art #1985 #80s #80s music #80s pop #how could it be

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Well, we fired our guns and the British kept a-comin'

There wasn't as many as there was a while ago

We fired once more and they began to runnin'

On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico

Johnny Horton - The Battle of New Orleans (Columbia, Single, 1959) - Design by Jerry Philips

Another day, another novelty record.

In an era of rock 'n roll, this one stood out for how popular it was among the youth.

Image courtesy of Discogs.

#repost #cover art #art #single covers #singles #single #single cover #johnny horton #the battle of new orleans #battle of new orleans #50s pop #1959 #50s novelty #50s music #50s

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Someday, love will find you

Break those, chains that bind you

One night, will remind you

How we touched and went our separate ways

Journey - Frontiers (Columbia, 1983) - Designed and illustrated by Jim Welch in association with Artists & Friends, Inc.

Welch continues to be Journey's art director to this day.

In an interview with the Journey WWW fan page, Welch explains how he designed the cover:

Frontiers was a subtle shift. [...] My vision for Frontiers was based on "tunnels" and the relativity of time and motion. Light stays the same, but time bends. It was Einstein theories for artist interpretation. The alien in Frontiers wasn't really an alien at all, he was a connection to a higher level of listening to Journey. We called him "Elmo". For the Frontiers tour, Jonathan Cain wrote, and the band used "Elmo's theme" to open the show.

Somewhere in Sesame Street, a certain red monster is fuming.

The back cover, also designed by Welch with help from photographer Rande Deluca, was also used as a picture sleeve for the single release of "Faithfully". Some vinyl copies also have it as the label on the record.

Did you know that an arcade game was made to promote this album? I wish I was kidding, but I'm serious. Bally Midway actually developed an arcade game called Journey, coming out just weeks after the album's release. The arcade cabinet even boasted a variant of this cover on the side art! A Google and/or YouTube search will give you more info about it than I could. Prepare to facepalm and shake your head in disgust.

Images courtesy of Discogs.

#repost #journey #frontiers #1983 #80s music #80s pop #80s rock #80s #cover art #album covers #albums

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Bill Withers - Still Bill (Buddah-Sussex, 1972) - Art direction by Michael Mendel and Maurer Productions, photographs by Hal Wilson

We all need...somebody, to leeeaaannn on.

Image courtesy of Discogs.

#bill withers #still bill #cover art #album #album cover #album covers #albums #art #70s #70s music #70s soul #1972

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Just move on up!

Curtis Mayfield - Curtis (Curtom, 1970) - Designed and Photographed by Bob Cato

I will not tolerate Curtis Mayfield slander on this blog. That's all I'll say.

It's Curtis! What more can I say? I don't know where this photo was taken, but I'd love to go there just to recreate this shot (with different clothing).

The gatefold features photos of Curtis with his family; these were also taken by Cato.

The back also features an alternate shot of the front cover, taken from a different perspective.

Images courtesy of Discogs.

#repost #curtis mayfield #curtis #1970 #70s soul #70s music #70s #album cover #album covers #album #albums #cover art

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You say that's alright, hold tight

Well, I don't even know if I'm doin' this right

Well alright, hold tight

We can stay out all day, we can run around all night

Well all night, all night

Well, it's time to go home

And I ain't even done with the night

John Mellencamp - Nothin' Matters and What if it Did (Riva, 1980) - Design by Dawn Patrol, Photograph by Michael Curtis

Actress Edith Massey, best known for her collaborations with filmmaker John Waters, portrays the woman on these covers. She also appears in the music video for "This Time".

Both "This Time" and "Ain't Even Done with the Night" peaked at No. 27 and No. 17 on the Hot 100, respectively, inching John closer to mainstream success.

Images courtesy of Discogs.

#repost #album #cover art #album cover #album covers #albums #art #1980 #80s music #80s #80s rock #john cougar #john cougar mellencamp #john mellencamp #nothin' matters and what if it did

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James Brown - Hell (Polydor, 1974) - Design by Ted Petus, artwork by Joe Belt

This looks like something you'd see in a poster for a 70s Blaxploitation movie.

Image courtesy of Discogs.

#repost #james brown #hell #1974 #70s soul #70s r&b #70s music #70s #cover art #album #album cover #album covers #albums #art

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The Allman Brothers Band - Eat a Peach (Warner Bros.-Capricorn, 1972) - Design by W. David Powell, gatefold art by Powell and J.F. Holmes

Powell based these off postcards he found in a Georgia drugstore. I wonder if the cards took inspiration from Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach; the climax has the titular peach on a truck when James is in New York.

The real prize is in the gatefold, which, uh, I'll let you figure out.

Album cover image courtesy of Discogs. Gatefold art image courtesy of Michael Studt of Flickr.

#cover art #album #album cover #album covers #albums #art #70s #70s music #70s rock #the allman brothers band #allman brothers band #allman brothers #1972 #eat a peach #repost

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Seein' me and Julio

Down by the schoolyard

Paul Simon - Paul Simon (Columbia, 1972) - Designed by John Berg and Ron Coro, photographs by P.A. Harper

Got a gut feeling Paul regrets wearing this part-fur coat more than 50 years later.

Paul Simon's solo debut....if you don't count the UK-only Songbook released while he was still performing with Art Garfunkel. In fairness, though, that album is mostly just re-recordings of Simon & Garfunkel hits (except "I Am A Rock"). This album features (then) all-new, all-original material by Simon.

When Warner Bros. re-issued the album on vinyl in the mid-80s, the photo was scaled down a bit, and a border was added, causing the cover to resemble a framed picture.

Oddly, the CD release from WB at the same time used the original cover.

The vinyl release from DCC Compact Classics in 1998 restored the original cover, which has been used for all subsequent releases since then.

Images courtesy of Discogs.

#repost #paul simon #album #album cover #cover art #album covers #albums #70s #70s music #70s rock #70s pop #1972 #art

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Oasis - Definitely Maybe (Creation UK/Epic US, 1994) - Photograph by Michael Spencer Jones

Wanted to do show something more modern, and decided "Oasis it is!"

Image courtesy of Discogs.

#oasis #cover art #album #album cover #album covers #albums #art #90s #1994 #90s rock #90s pop #90s music #definitely maybe #repost

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Elton John - Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player (DJM UK/MCA US, 1973) - Art direction and design by David Larkham and Michael Ross at Teepee Graphics, photograph by Ed Caraeff

You can see a poster of the Marx Brothers' Go West if you look closely.

Images courtesy of Discogs.

#elton john #1973 #cover art #album #album cover #album covers #albums #art #70s #70s music #70s rock #don't shoot me I'm only the piano player

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Barry White - Stone Gon' (20th Century Fox, 1973) - Artwork by Sound Packaging Corp., design by Craig Braun, lettering by Bob Maile, photograph by Norman Seef

Image courtesy of Discogs.

#barry white #stone gon' #1973 #cover art #album #album cover #album covers #albums #art #70s #70s music #70s funk #70s soul

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Ernie (Jim Henson) - "Rubber Duckie" (Columbia, Single, 1970) - Designer unknown

You have no idea how many times I listened to this song as a child.

Image courtesy of Discogs.

#repost #cover art #cover #single #single cover #singles #single covers #sesame street #rubber duckie #1970 #70s children's music #70s music #70s #art

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The Guess Who - The Greatest of The Guess Who (RCA, Compilation, 1977) - Illustrations by Jack Davis

I just put this here because it's so Canuck it hurts.

Image courtesy of Discogs.

#repost #cover art #album #album cover #album covers #albums #art #70s #70s music #70s rock #1977 #70s compilations #the guess who #the greatest of the guess who

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The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground & Nico (MGM-Verve, 1967) - Design by Acy Lehman, banana painting by Andy Warhol

One of the most iconic album covers of the 60s, which is on-brand for Warhol. It's not uncommon to see parodies of this (most recently with the vinyl releases of the Donkey Kong Country soundtrack).

Oh, and the album itself is great, too.

Original copies had the peel as the sticker, revealing a banana colored after human flesh when peeled off. This has been removed in later releases.

Image courtesy of Discogs.

#repost #the velvet underground #cover art #album #album cover #album covers #albums #art #60s #60s music #60s rock #1967 #andy warhol