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ROCK AND ROLL! => All Them Other Guys => Topic started by: Charger on February 01, 2024, 06:01:09 AM
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Okay I thought we might need another top 10 list...
So how about some cover art?
Any takers?
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I have some obvious ones on my list already... but do I limit myself to 1 cover per artist?
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I think 2 per band would be okay....but no more. Then there's chance for more variety.
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Only 10? Oh boy... this will be difficult to narrow down for me. And, honestly, the cover often can be better than the actual album. Some covers I like of records I've never listened to all the way through.
Can we also do 10 album covers we turn over the most so we don't have to look at them?
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We can do 10 worst albums covers as well after this for sure.
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We can do 10 worst albums covers as well after this for sure.
:partay:
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(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/00/Machine_Head_album_cover.jpg)
I also loved Deepest Purple's exploding guitar cover, but that's for a "best of" collection and this one is for an album that has 3 of any "best of" collection for Deep Purple on it. But this is about the covers, and this one always whispered to me in the record shops as I was acquiring my first albums, all the Led Zeppelin catalogue. The album name spoke of metal and, in fact, the cover image is a sheet of metal with the album title stamped into it and the reflection of the band members on that metal. No CGI, just clever photography and knowing how to assemble a great image. There's something comforting to me about the cover of this album, so it'll always be one of my favorites.
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^^
Was that an official entry?
Anyways I'll get on with mine then.
At #10
I'll have this one:
(https://www.udiscovermusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Rising.jpg)
Basically a rather simple artwork but captivating and it has a nice level of detail...and it has a connection to both the band and the album title. Also if you look at the water it's rather clear that DIO's Holy Diver artwork was greatly inspired by this one.
The art is by Ken Kelly.
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That was official for me and I think I'll see what else gets posted here so I don't duplicate efforts. Because I could totally duplicate Rainbow Rising! :D Such a great cover and it made me have to check out the album - and seeing Dio, Powell, and Blackmore on the back cover made me all like whooooooooooooooah I thought Rainbow was all like "Stone Cold" with JLT, but DIO is singing here? OK, gotta buy this album... and I did, thanks to that cover!
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f8/Black_Sabbath_Heaven_and_Hell.jpg)
My second album cover pick is Heaven and Hell. After buying all the Led Zeppelin albums and a few from Deep Purple in standard record stores, I was ready to try faster means of vinyl acquisition back in the early 80s. I had gotten Sabbath Bloody Sabbath as a cutout, and that was nice. But then, I went to Half Price Books in Dallas and basically gave all my money to them for the next 6 years, at least what I didn't spend on RPGs and gas for my car. :excited: All the records usually needed was a little alcohol wipe and that got any dust or grime off the playing surface and I was ready to rock. First album I got there was Made in Japan - my mom was like "I dunno, live albums usually suck", but she was used to dealing with live recordings from the fifties and sixties, when live recording technology usually sucked. It was fine and I was ready to go back for more, and this album was what I had my eye on. There were like five of them in the store, all at somewhat less than half-price of the sticker in the regular record store. And this was the coolest cover in the bins, what with those angels smoking and playing cards. I bet they were cussing, too!
Lynn Curlee was the artist for the cover, and I only wish he'd done more album covers than this one and BOC's Agents of Fortune.
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I think it's okay to duplicate...It's not a problem. Sure it would be cool to see different covers and stuff that might be new but if it's a cool cover then it's a cool cover and it can be cool cover for all of us!
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Then if there's a duplicate, we get a bonus cover to post! :D
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#10
I'll get this one in before everyone posts it! :whistling:
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fb/SabbathMob.jpg)
This was always going to be in my top 10
EDIT: That image is a little dark and muddy... Wikipedia has let me down! I'll see if I can find a better one.
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^^ Well goddamn! That will be featured on my list but quite a bit higher. :)
Heaven And Hell on the other hand would no have made my list.
#9
Is this one:
(https://www.soundi.fi/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Death-Angel.jpg)
Death Angel quite fast rose to my among my favourite bands just a couple of years ago.
This again on the side of simple but the image is really really cool! The moth with the skull is simple yet powerful and most importantly it is beautifully done. Would love to get this as a poster or flag!
The drawing is done by Bob Tyrell and it's called Death Moth
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I'm not really doing mine in any order, I still have to work out my final 10, I have about 5 or 6 definite choices but that's it.
I wouldn't have included Heaven and Hell, but it is a nice cover.
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I'm not really doing mine in any order, I still have to work out my final 10, I have about 5 or 6 definite choices but that's it.
I wouldn't have included Heaven and Hell, but it is a nice cover.
I'm just coming forward with ten, myself. And I did calculate that someone else would put up Mob Rules, so I went with Heaven and Hell. Mob Rules is such a monster cover, chilling and terrifying with those shadow figures.
Now for my third album cover that I consider awesomeness, I go with...
(https://townsquare.media/site/86/files/2017/01/Gd-Funk-shine-on.jpg?w=980&q=75)
I bought mine used, so I had to scrounge up some other 3D glasses to make it all work, but I had a ball with this one. I liked about half of the album, but I kept going back to the 3D fun of the cover. And if you think this means I will feature Jethro Tull's full newspaper version of Thick as a Brick, you are absolutely correct. I like an album cover that I can really sink my teeth into and read. :)
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#9
This is a band that never really excelled at album covers, they never had really bad ones but rarely had great covers... exept for this one which I absolutely love...
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/00/Rush_Fly_by_Night.jpg)
The album by Rush is Fly By Night, their second album released in 1975. The cover is by Eraldo Carugati
I love the imagery and the colour of it.
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^^
That is a funky looking cover. Angry Bird before Angry Birds was a thing! :D
#8 For me is this:
(https://www.progarchives.com/progressive_rock_discography_covers/847/cover_2454148102018_r.jpg)
Savatage has had a lot of great covers and in the end it was a battle between Hall Of The Mountain King and this one...But this took the lead. It's like a painting from the 18th centrury. The raging sea, the tattered ship...it just looks cool! Would love to have this as a painting on the wall it is THAT good.
The art is done by Edgar Jerins.
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^^^
Yeah, that's a good cover.
#8
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/84/Thedamnedblackalbum.jpg)
The Damned - The Black Album.
The mausoleum imagery is indicative of the change in style that The Damned had adopted, yes they still had some punkier songs but they clearly wanted to embrace the gothic.
Dave Vanian – artwork concept, design
Allan Ballard – photography
H. Leadbitter – design execution
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Two for one:
Sir Lord Baltimore's "Kingdom Come".
(https://ih1.redbubble.net/image.672203105.8846/flat,1000x1000,075,f.u2.jpg)
And "Wings Greatest" by Wings. I like the cover much more than the music it represents.
(https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.shoplightspeed.com%2Fshops%2F634895%2Ffiles%2F22499238%2Fwings-greatest.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=b9b8c08a901efa175d810d6893dc7045fb4bc948881498f2473139419e106747&ipo=images)
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^^^^
There's quite a bit of similarities between that Lord Baltimore album cover and the Wake Of Magellan! Very cool cover that one too!
My #7 is a really creepy one!
(https://www.metalblade.com/us/covers/CharredWallsOfTheDamned-CreaturesWatching.jpg)
Comes from the Third (and final) Charred Walls Of The Damned album called Creatures Watching Over The Dead.
It's a very spooky looking cover featuring a creature crucified in a very creepy looking forest that is taking the body over. The first time I saw this cover I was like Wow! That is really really cool and even scary looking cover. Also something that could work as a (somewhat disturbing) piece of art.
The art is designed by Pumpkinrot, a very talented artist who does some amazing Halloween decorations. Check out his site at pumkinrot.com.
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Really liking these all so far...
This one is my fourth...
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51HuhgxosZL._UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg)
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#7
Gillan - Future Shock
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51+I0helxiL._AC_.jpg)
I can't find a decent image sadly. It's not the front cover (which is adequate) but the back coyer of the CD which was also one of the images included in the gatefold series of images that came with the original vinyl release. The bleak SF image was always a favourite of mine.
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My fifth album cover that I do love... Time for the Jethro Tull...
(https://www.world-enlightenment.com/THICKASABRICK/TAAB/ARTICLES/BRICK01.JPG) (https://www.world-enlightenment.com/THICKASABRICK/TAAB/ARTICLES/BRICK02.JPG) (https://www.world-enlightenment.com/THICKASABRICK/TAAB/ARTICLES/BRICK03.JPG) (https://www.world-enlightenment.com/THICKASABRICK/TAAB/ARTICLES/BRICK04.JPG) (https://www.world-enlightenment.com/THICKASABRICK/TAAB/ARTICLES/BRICK05.JPG) (https://www.world-enlightenment.com/THICKASABRICK/TAAB/ARTICLES/BRICK06.JPG) (https://www.world-enlightenment.com/THICKASABRICK/TAAB/ARTICLES/BRICK07.JPG) (https://www.world-enlightenment.com/THICKASABRICK/TAAB/ARTICLES/BRICK08.JPG) (https://www.world-enlightenment.com/THICKASABRICK/TAAB/ARTICLES/BRICK09.JPG) (https://www.world-enlightenment.com/THICKASABRICK/TAAB/ARTICLES/BRICK10.JPG) (https://www.world-enlightenment.com/THICKASABRICK/TAAB/ARTICLES/BRICK11.JPG) (https://www.world-enlightenment.com/THICKASABRICK/TAAB/ARTICLES/BRICK12.JPG)
That's the whole of the cover, there. :smug:
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What the heck? They made a whole newspaper as a cover art? That's pretty time consuming!
My #6 looks like this:
(https://snuff.gr/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/dio.png)
DIO really hasn't had a single bad cover art in the history of the band. But this most certainly is among the best ones. The dragon looks amazing and the shine on the logo fits perfectly.
This captures the essence of both the album and the band very well. Also the font is pretty!
This was the first art done by Marc Sasso for DIO and it still remains his best work!
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^^ It took longer to write up the newspaper stuff than it did to write and record the album!
And YES that is the BEST Dio album cover!
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No. 6
Jeff Wayne's War of the World's
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/01/WayneTWOTW.jpg)
One of the first two or three albums I ever bought, and the first one to have a cover that fascinated me. Helped by a booklet that cam with the album which had additional paintings.
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Well this is the spot where I'm going to do a band I've already done...and there might be another occation of this happening in the near future!
#5 is this monster!
(https://www.jamminrecordings.com/cdn/shop/products/Dio_-_The_Last_In_Line_grande.jpg?v=1656291582)
Couldn't find a better pic of this sadly...
But anywho...This art is just simply put suberb. The massive Murray looking over a field of desponded slaves is about as iconic as the band. Lot of people praise the Holy Diver artwork but to me this is THE ultimate DIO artwork. It's just brilliant. The drawing style is rather simplistic but there's actually quite a lot of detail that you can barely make out.
I believe this is done by Barry Jackson.
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That one is 100% on the money, absolutely!
My number six will be more normal sized. Thick as a Brick is a one-off, I assure everyone.
(https://i.discogs.com/G3VakE9hIWLHSZKjHmPvHZkEJd_BmWH9kD5S23DHmtE/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:600/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTM1MTA4/MTYtMTQ3MDA1Mjc4/Ni04MzI4LmpwZWc.jpeg)
I had never heard a Motorhead album before this one. But this cover spoke to me. It said, "Hey, I'm a pretty awesome metal album. See all those other bands with crappy album covers? Well, this band was so good, it inspired a REAL ARTIST to do a banging job on the cover, and not just some slop with 'sex sells' as the theme, but a proper exploding warthog head of quality, so you KNOW this is gonna be a banger!"
And you know what? The album cover was right! Thanks, album cover! :smug:
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I forgot to post mine yesterday, hope you weren't waiting for me before continuing!
#5
New Model Army - The Ghost of Cain
(https://www.newmodelarmy.org/templates/nmabrix/images/discography/new_model_army-the_ghost_of_cain.jpg)
If I'm honest NMA were never blessed with great cover artwork, so this is a bit of an exception!
Cover design Joolz Denby and Francesca Sullivan
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I too wasn't around yesterday so no worries!
I was 98.6% sure Z would post Overkill so I left it out of my list! ;D
My #4 is my introduction to Heavy Metal! So you all know what it is without me posting a picture....but I'll do so anyways! :smug:
(https://imageprod.eu-central-1.linodeobjects.com/products/25175674/63fbda74be258.jpeg)
I still remember seeing this album at the local second hand store back in the mid 90s and was totally captivated by the art. Knowing nothing of the band or the music the purchase decision was solely based on the cover! And...well...the rest is history.
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Number seven is... let's see here...
(rummaging sounds)
Ah! Yes! The very thing!
(https://musictrajectory.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/iron-maiden-powerslave-remastered-album-cover.jpg)
So majestic in its whole and so hilarious in its details. Love to just waste time reading everything on it and having a blast with the album playing.
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No. 4
Yes - Relayer
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/92/Relayer_front_cover.jpg)
Roger Dean's covers for Yes albums are usually pretty good, and I particularly like this one, it's also one of the best albums as well.
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There's a touch of Dave Patchett in that Yes cover.
My #3 is a more recent one.
(https://i.discogs.com/R9odVICkAGQ5qO39z0DjSphh7YU6TzsqFR2ZxzIGyC8/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:537/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTI4NDQ2/Nzg3LTE3MDAwNzQy/NzQtNDQxNS5qcGVn.jpeg)
The very first time I saw this cover I was like "holy moses that's a great looking cover!" and because of that I had to preorder the special edition package of the album which contained the flag of that cover art so I could mount it on my wall it really IS that great! One of the best cover arts I've seen in a long long time.
Art is done by Andy Pilkington and it's clear that he's spent some time with that.
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Roger Dean on the list again, but this one's for a Uriah Heep cover:
(https://voluptuousvinyl.com/cdn/shop/products/uriah_heep_demons_wizards_vinyl_front_cover.JPG?v=1533757893)
There's a simplicity in this image that absolutely captivates.
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No. 3
Marillion - Script for a Jester's Tear
(https://www.marillion.com/prodimages/prod/10.jpg)
They had two or three covers which could have made this list, but this one just sneaks it. They used to have Easter eggs hidden in the image. The cover is by Mark Wilkinson.
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Never got into Marillion as a band, but I have always loved their covers.
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An now we get to the doubles...
My #2 is
(https://shop.grindhousereleasing.com/cdn/shop/files/iron-maiden-powerslave-180-gram-vinyl-lp-39225002950871.jpg?v=1687056366)
The sheer ammount of detail in this cover (and the back cover) is staggering. Derek Riggs surely out did himself on this one!
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^ Well worth duplicating, well worth it!
I'll get mine up after this customer call I'm on ends. :)
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(https://www.herbiehancock.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Head-Hunters.jpg)
While I was buying up metal and hard rock records in the 80s, my younger brother was picking up on jazz and funk. I see this on the turntable in the den, album cover next to it. Damn if I didn't have to try out what these cats were laying down based on that wild cover image. It's not a detailed effort, by any stretch. Just a band photo that's gone through a 70s process to do stuff to the colors and then that tribal mask radio on top of it all. But Mr. Tribal Mask Radio spoke to me, I gave the album a spin, and became a Herbie Hancock fan that day.
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My No. 2 was a last minute change, as I looked at all of Sabbath's album covers and was thinking I might include the debut or SBS covers here. I prefer the back cover of SBS, the debut is iconic but predictable. I even thought about TE and NSD two other covers I really like. And then when looking through them all I realised I had forgotten how good this one is...
Black Sabbath - Cross Purposes
(https://www.progarchives.com/progressive_rock_discography_covers/3253/cover_466630102016_r.jpg)
Simple, colourful and effective!
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^ Oh yes! I had forgotten about that one as well! It's a great cover!
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Yeah that is an awesome cover! And honestly that or SBS were quite close of making the list but to me it had to be Dehumanizer because of the impact that cover had to my life.
My #1 is another dublicate
(https://i.scdn.co/image/ab67616d0000b273b309292845a47f6f30405016)
This is pretty much a perfect cover and it ties well with the title. The painting is extremely well done and it is menacing, dark, and most certainly metal....just like Black Sabbath!
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My favorites of the favorites have been posted already, Mob Rules and Thick as a Brick I think are my two most favorite ones, Powerslave in there as well. And Overkill. I'll stop now before I have a 67-way tie for first...
But I do like some good album covers, regardless of genre. Here's my last of the 10 to start with, but others can always be shared as we find honorable mentions!
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51rzXcPmuKL._UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg)
I love this cover. Yes, I know the artist shot and killed the bass player a few years after this album in a domestic dispute, but it doesn't change the art in it. Makes it more poignant, as I think of it. I still love this cover.
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My #1 and a cover which has been a favourite for many years...
Emerson, Lake and Palmer - Brain Salad Surgery
(https://static.wixstatic.com/media/78d7f5_4f8bc634848b4dcb84d285b7d944cf59~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_640,h_610,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/78d7f5_4f8bc634848b4dcb84d285b7d944cf59~mv2.jpg)
The cover by HR Giger (also involved in the Alien films), is just a marvellous mix of beauty, the macabre and industrial art. The original vinyl used to open up in the middle and reveal the full face of the woman.
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That is a very cool cover indeed! And I have to say doesn't look like something I'd associate with a band like ELP....looks a cover suitable for a much heavier band too!
Giger art usually always hits the mark!
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Time to add some honorable mentions.
Being a HUUUUUUGE fan of Don Rosa it actually hurt me leaving this one out!
(https://www.emp.fi/dw/image/v2/BBQV_PRD/on/demandware.static/-/Sites-master-emp/default/dw3210c6db/images/2/7/8/4/278464-emp.jpg?sw=1000&sh=800&sm=fit&sfrm=png)
Judas Priest has been a hit and miss with their artworks...mostly miss...especially their more recent artwork.
But I do think this one is an oldie but a goodie
(https://s3.amazonaws.com/quietus_production/images/articles/21109/Judas_Priest-Sad_Wings_Of_Destiny__1984_-Frontal__1__1476178465.jpg)
Benedictum's Dominion is simple yet awesome!
(https://i.scdn.co/image/ab67616d0000b273f2b9b61497ad4d5eee66b1fc)
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Sad Wings of Destiny did cross my mind but didn't quite get there, same with Iced Earth, they are all pretty much the same but quite good, I never decided on one of them being good enough. I did consider Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell... but ultimately I forgot about it!
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Iced Earth has some cool covers as well but you're right they are pretty samey...part from The Glorious Burden which is cool!
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Are we moving on to the worst covers? I don't have 10 yet but I'm sure I can add some with a little bit of checking.
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Sure those I don't know if I can rank...hard to rank the worst cover but a list of 10 should be doable indeed!
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Oh it's doabale all right.
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(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51BtM0LsW7L._UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg)
Man, I totally overlooked this one. A FAVORITE of mine! That lettering is done by hand, as is all of it. Michael Priest was a legend among Texas artists back in his day. My mom was able to commission a t-shirt for her radio show prior to his passing and that artwork is a family treasure. As is this album, along with its art.
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That is a pretty cool cover indeed.
Buo's Henderson Group? What?
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Yeah, that is a really big bottom on the g, there.
Still, looks hella cool!
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Do have an idea for a next top 10 list? Or are we top 10'd out?
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How about albums for chilling out... Top Ten Albums for Unwinding After a Rough Day
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I would SOOO not have ten such albums! ;)
I was wondering about the Best Title Tracks
As we like films I was wondering about the Ten Films that Destroyed a Franchise!
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Best title tracks could work! Although it could be just 10 sabbath tracks though! :D But we could limit it to ONE per band! That would make it interesting!
Films one might be fun...although not sure I could come up with 10 franchise movies but I'd be okay with that too...could give it a try.
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I'm game for either, or both!
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Yes, I think we would have to limit it to 1 or maybe 2 per band.
And rather than films that ruined a franchise, maybe just films we don't like.