Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of record covers from the golden age of LPs


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“99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer…

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Hammish Imlach sings “Ballads of Booze”

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Look in the sky! It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s…

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Jesus and Superman!!   Reverend Danny Nance.

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Marie Conti lets her hair down

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“I Got It… Bad”   The Two Moods of Marie Conti   Albatross Record Company

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Tasty Nuggets

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The original Nuggets LP on Elektra (1972) “Original Artyfacts from the First Psychodelic Era 1965 – 1968”   The seminal and influential double-record compilation of American garage band rock singles produced by Elektra founder Jac Holzman and Lenny Kaye (Patti Smith’s guitarist).   I discovered this in 1978 in Boston’s Kenmore Square – fittingly at a used record shop called “Nuggets” (Nuggets was next to “The Rat,” i.e., the Rathskeller, a raw basement concert venue that featured many local punk bands.)

Nuggets spawned an entire cottage industry of small record labels dedicated to unearthing and releasing obscure but worthy garage and psychedelic rock music from the 1960s.   Contrary to popular belief, more than a third of the original Nuggets were American Top 40 hits.   Among them “Dirty Water” (Standells), “Liar, Liar” (Castaways), and at number five the highest-charting 45 of the bunch, “Psychotic Reaction” (Count Five).   Several sides never made the Top 200 including “Let’s Talk About Girls” (Chocolate Watchband), “Don’t Look Back” (Remains), and “An Invitation to Cry” (Magicians).   Nuggets influenced Patti Smith, The Ramones, The Talking Heads and R.E.M. .   Each track is also given a brief bio which was researched and penned by Kaye. His comments go beyond the facts and figures of the typical discography, relating to the music as the personal experience that it was.

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (61 votes, average: 4.34 out of 5)
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Newman’s own

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Joe Newman: “Counting Five in Sweden”   With Basie-ites Frank Wess, Al Grey, Nat Pierce, Eddie Jones and Sonny Payne.   Label: Metronome 15018     12″ LP 1959   Design: Stig Söderqvost   Photo: Bengt H. Malmqvist

Joe Newman with his (then) new wife, Rigmor Newman.   This cover was pulled from distribution so as not to offend with the image of a happy and happily integrated couple.   His tune “To Rigmor,” (recorded around the same time) was dedicated to her.   In the early 90’s Rigmor married Harold Nicholas (of the Nicholas Brothers).

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They love Jerry Lewis in China

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A rogue’s gallery

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The Rolling Stones “Jumping Jack Flash” (released originally in May 1968 b/w “Street Fighting Man”) and “Honky Tonk Women”   (released originally in July 1969 b/w “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”) Decca Records

One picture has the band with Brian Jones and the other with Mick Taylor.   Taylor, who at 17 had replaced Eric Clapton in John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, joined the Stones in June, 1969.   Jones died in July, a month later.   Though Brian was at the recording of “Honky Tonk Women” in early ’69, by the time it was released he was out of the band and replaced by 20-year old Taylor whose guitar work was overdubbed for the release of the single.     Mick Taylor was with the Stones until he left the group in December of 1974, to be replaced by Ron Wood.   Many would say that the Mick Taylor years were the band’s greatest period.

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We’ll be back soon!

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1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (44 votes, average: 3.32 out of 5)
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Don’t shoot the guitar player

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Bruce Murdoch “33 1/3 Revolutions Per Minute”   Stormy Forest Records (1971)   Canadian folky.   Here’s a nice post about this record.   Thanks again to Joe in Maine!

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (40 votes, average: 3.13 out of 5)
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Duet to me one more time

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The Gorden Jenkins Voices & Orchestra   “Let*s Duet”   Warner Bros. Records   Courtesy of lp cover lover Joe Harrington.

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