album-art-unforgotten - Tumblr blog

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A touch of the psychedelic. 

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Basic..blues..badass

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I recall some skateboard deck art that borrowed heavily from this Albert King pressing from Stax circa the 80s or early 90s. I was too young and unaware of the blues at the time to appreciate the design. I was still into Vision decks or exploding skulls with snakes protruding a la Santa Cruz back then. Love the simplicity.

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First time stumbling upon this album. It’s interesting to see Stax following the lead of jazz labels of the era by incorporating a playful use of fonts.

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In my college years and for a number there after, I collected, on CD, as many old blues recordings I could find. It was harder then you'd think since it was the AOL dial up days of the internet. Like a lot of kids who entered into early adulthood in the 90s, I was also obsessed with owning the latest alternative releases, both the hitmakers and the risky unknowns. So here I am at a record store buying buying Fugazi's Steady Diet of Nothing right next to "Raining in my heart" by Slim Harpo from 1961. The reactions from record store clerks were always interesting. The album art has that time stamped feel of the "pleasantville" vibe of the era. If only they knew what was just down the road. Personally, I like the simple design. As a child I flipped through the pages of old magazines just to look at the illustrated advertisements. Even though it was just a facade, the simple optimism of this era's art is still pleasing and a little bit of Americana not far from the apple pie.

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The juxtaposition of the shadowed silhouette against the deep blue of the industrial dusk sky is a perfect fit dot the minimalist type and the blues theme. I love all photographs of this type no matter how common they are. There are always new ways to capture or process the color of the sky and other background elements. The background itself can be an infinite number of buildings or landscapes, all shot from different angles. This is a long winded way for me to say this is a timeless and cool effect.

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Followers were forewarned of the deluge of Blue Note covers. I own 3 Mobley headliner albums but not this one. The yellow on black tone casts an unmistakeable evening feel.

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Butterfield Blues Band or the guys who took Dylan electric. I own this disc as antiquated as that now sounds, but this a vinyl album scan from an uncredited source.

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It will soon be clear that I have any affinity for the graphic design stylings of Blue Note from the 50s/60s/70s. Even in absentia of anyone with similar interests so far, I do welcome suggestions for posts related to old jazz and blues album.

In the future I plan to provide more background on the artists and recordings. This will probably be done retrospectively as well.

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Blue Note vs Verve cover art. As with all art, mimicry is a form of flattery. I believe it was Blue Note who originated the playful graphic styles and the typography experiments, but I’m still unsure from my limited research.

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Andy Warhol courtesy of Blue Note records. Even though I don’t partake in my own wardrobe, I’ve always found Polynesian or floral prints of interest. Something “most interesting man alive” about the vibe. Warhol captures this fun perfectly with the cutoff face leaving only the genuine penciled grin to clue you into the party. I wish this was hanging in my home.

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My co-opted banner art.