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Alternative Cover

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A parallel universe?

Bottom:   “Destination Moon”   The Ames Brothers   RCA Records.   Top:   From Argentina on Camden RCA

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (59 votes, average: 3.86 out of 5)
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Practice makes perfect

“My Lips Are For Blowing”   Svetlana Gruebbersolvik   (Mock cover courtesy of the creative minds at Twisted Vintage)

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (119 votes, average: 4.62 out of 5)
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“Hey, what’s the matter man?”

The Rolling Stones   “Some Girls”   (1978)   Cover designed by Peter Corriston.   A die-cut cover of ladies wig ads with the faces of the band alongside those of Lucille Ball, Farah Fawcett, Judy Garland, Raquel Welch and Marilyn Monroe peeking through from the inner sleeve.   Soon after it’s release the cover was withdrawn due to legal threats from many of the celebrities or their estates.   The revised cover removed all the celebrities whether they had complained or not, and they were replaced with just   colors with the phrase PARDON OUR APPEARANCE – COVER UNDER RE-CONSTRUCTION.

  1. Miss You (4.48)
  2. When The Whip Comes Down (4.20)
  3. Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) (4.38) (Whitfield, Strong)
  4. Some Girls (4.36)
  5. Lies (3.11)
  6. Far Away Eyes (4.24)
  7. Respectable (3.06)
  8. Before They Make Me Run (3.25)
  9. Beast Of Burden (4.25)
  10. Shattered (3.47)

On a personal note, I saw the stones play the summer “Some Girls” was released.   It was at the Cleveland Municipal Stadium on July 1, 1978.   A crowd of 80,000 plus!   After getting there in the early morning for a 2PM gate, I scrambled to the front of the field – where I stayed for about ten straight hours.     The concert opened with J. Geils and then Peter Tosh.     Peter Tosh, lit a HUGE joint, and tossed it into the crowd as he kicked into “Legalize It”.   (It made the rounds for most of his set).   He also came out for a duet on “Don’t Walk Back.”   Sugar Blue came out and played harmonica on the new songs.   That Fall, back in New York, I went to Studio 54 a few times and “Miss You” will always make me think of that time and place.

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (76 votes, average: 3.79 out of 5)
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Melody

This original cover came in from artist/designer Steve Millington who writes:   “Here’s my take on Serge Gainsbourg’s Melody Nelson LP…did this for a “cover version” exhibition and thought you may like it”   We do!

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (56 votes, average: 4.30 out of 5)
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That voodoo you do

“The Rites of Diablo”   Johnny Richards Orchestra with the Dave Lambert Singers   Esquire Records (UK)   Cool English cover variation on this classic US jazz exotica record from 1958.   Here’s that original:

Johnny Richards put together this lp after studying the rituals of the Bantu,the family of tribes which inhabits southern Africa. Intrigued by the rhythmic possibilities he composed the six part Rites of Diablo which has been described as a sort of Black Mass during which the participants vilify, insult and by every means possible degrade the gods of evil. Augmenting his regular orchestra with SEVEN percussionists, including Sabu Martinez ,Potato Valdez and Jose Mangual, brought in to to emulate the sounds of the authentic drums used in the genuine ritual, plus the eight voiced Dave Lambert Singers, Richards took over New York’s Webster Hall for four sessions in march and april 1958. The flaring excitement of the band ,the superlative solo work of men such as Gene Quill, Seldon Powell and Jimmy Cleveland and the meshing of the huge percussion section gives the music a unique quality.   This is another great example of jazz exotica which had been long deleted until recently when it was reissued as part of the wonderful Mosaic Select series. — this from a great site called Orgy In Rhythm

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (53 votes, average: 3.83 out of 5)
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Use your miles

“Someday My Prince Will Come” Miles Davis Sextet   (1961)   With John Coltrane! Hank Mobley! Wynton Kelly!   Paul Chambers!   Jimmy Cobb!   Alternate cover on Fontana Records (Columbia in the U.S.)   The model is Davis’ wife Francis.   While the liner notes credit the Miles Davis Sextet, only the title track featured six players, with Coltrane joining the quintet. It marked the last time Davis would record with Coltrane and was the only Davis Quintet studio session to feature saxophonist Hank Mobley.   Teo Maceo produced!   Originally, the big song from Disney’s “Snow White”, those who grew up in NYC will recognize this Miles recording as the theme to Hal Jackson’s Sunday morning radio show on WBLS (the world’s best looking sound)

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (50 votes, average: 3.78 out of 5)
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Billy the kid

I’m posting this cover because I wanted to share this performance by Billy Preston at the Concert for Bangladesh: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyyetXvX76Q My buddy Fred and my friend Tony were both there in the Garden!   I was in Cleveland and bought the three-disc box set.   Billy – he’s got the spirit in him!   And this original issue LP cover of “That’s The Way God Planned It” on Apple (produced by George Harrison in 1969) is rarer than the more recognized sleeve showing multiple images of Billy dancing:

Billy Preston was a keyboard prodigy who, at ten, in 1956, played a duet with Nat King Cole on his TV show and later, as a teen in the early sixties, toured Europe with Little Richard (the Beatles were the opening act!).   By the end of the decade, Billy was being called “the fifth Beatle” AND “the sixth Stone” for his recordings with each.   Billy had his own top 40 hits with “Nothing from Nothing,” “Will It Go Round in Circles” and “Outta-Space” in the early seventies. Check this out!:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GF6GjGQy0o


1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (43 votes, average: 2.79 out of 5)
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Whip it!

“Whipped Cream”   Herb Alpert’s Tijuana Brass   Columbia/EMI   France (Courtesy of Lp cover lover Uncle Gil) How refreshing to see this record with an alternate cover!   The original one being one of the most familiar of the sixties.   Upon closer inspection, this is kinda gross – looks more like sour cream (with chives?).

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (51 votes, average: 2.88 out of 5)
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Worlds of whimsy

Check this out! John Purlia’s Wonderland of Wind-up Fun John uses great old LP covers as backdrops for his colorful diaramas of miniatures, toys, blocks, doll heads, coins and whatever else he finds.   Eye candy galore!

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (52 votes, average: 4.25 out of 5)
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June is busting out all over

“Buon Giorno Napoli”   Aurelio Fierro (Italy’s most popular singer of Neopolitan songs.   Recorded in Italy)   An “Adventure in Sound” recording from Columbia Records.

Thanks to “Way Back Now! Let’s Go…” for sharing his vision and fine photoshop work with us.   Some would have been satisfied with the generously proportioned model in the original!

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (54 votes, average: 3.94 out of 5)
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