Stevie Wonder’s 19?? release “Greatest Hits”
We do not know much about this mysterious Stevie Wonder compilation, but here is what we do know….
It is a Bulgarian release.
It is strictly 80′s Stevie.
It has sleeveface potential.
The vinyl art is pretty sick as well…
Enfuego.
Alice In Chains’ 1999 release “Nothing Safe“
Shit’s intense, right?
It caught my eye. Also caught my ear.
It is not your typical greatest hits album, but it sure as hell is a great one.
The cover art is just as eerie as the music found inside.
Today is the 7th anniversary of Alice In Chains’ frontman Layne Staley’s death. Another damn shame in music.
I have had this one stuck in my head for a good while now, solid vocal harmonization…
Enfuego.
Ice Cube‘s 1990 release “Kill At Will“
The best aspect of this album was that it felt like you were accepting Cube’s .38 special upon purchase. I can’t think of any other album that gave me the feeling of going to war after leaving my local Tower Records. That, along with the “Parental Advisory” label, was every elementary school kid’s dream. Rebellion in disc form.
Only a 7-track EP, Kill At Will, was more of an extension of his solo debut album , AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted, than an actual sophomore solo effort. He had many more great records to come. And a shit load of gangsterness to go with it.
Enfuego.
Bobby Timmons’ 1964 release “From The Bottom“
I realize that I shouldn’t be blogging about music I no longer listen to, but rather the real timeless classics.
Here is a profile shot of my main man Bobby Timmons, the most soulful pianist to grace the ebony and ivory.
You can see the stylistic difference between this and any of the Blue Note covers we have featured thus far.
Watch and listen to his soulful stylings.
Enfuego.
Lee Morgan‘s 1965 release “The Rumproller“
Now this dude put the trumpet on BLAST! If you don’t feel jazz, or think that jazz begins and ends with Miles, then give Lee a listen. This cat was on another level.
Not his best album, but the cover just might be his best. Another classic Blue Note look. This may be the only album of his not to feature his good looks as well. No need to read into the album title, but he clearly likes doing things, as the title of his most popular album suggests…
Lee also got hungry every now and then…
Lee played with the best of them, up until his wife came on stage and capped his ass in front of a live audience.
Only 33 years old…damn shame.
Enfuego.
Just came across a pretty boss website called Sleeveface…
I would ramshackle Paul’s girl there… WITH sleeveface attached.
-$.
(In response to Cover Art V)
Calz1, I SEE YOUR BADASS CIGARETTE SMOKER…
[In Paris they have loved our jazz for some time. Two French cultural monuments to jazz include the 1958 film Elevator to the Gallows (scored by Miles Davis and bop pioneer Kenny Clarke) and 1986s 'Round Midnight (starring Long Tall Dexter himself, w/ cameos by Herbie Hancock and Freddie Hubbard)].
…AND RAISE YOU 3 BADASS CIGARETTE SMOKERS
On the subject of oral fixations and one-upsmanship …
2 Saxophones, 1 Mouth? Easy, let’s talk 3.
rvg.
Jimmy Smith‘s 1960 release “Back at the Chicken Shack“
There were countless Jimmy Smith albums released under the Blue Note label, all of which could hold a spot on the Rocksoft Cover Art Series. I selected this album because it doesn’t follow the model that most classic Blue Note album covers of the time did. Whereas emphasis on the words of the album title was the norm, Jimmy’s albums broke the mold and put himself front and center.
I have no idea how one goes about naming jazz songs or albums, being that they typically have no lyrics to associate with the title, but somehow Jimmy cooks up this clever album title, and song name, which produces this fitting cover.
If you have never listened to the one-of-a-kind Hammond B-3 organ sounds of Jimmy Smith, you are truly missing out. Just look at the dude…my man has got some style.
Enfuego.
Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers‘ 1964 release “Indestructible“
If this doesn’t epitomize an era, then I don’t know what does. More than a half of a century later, this shit still spells ‘i don’t give a fuck about your life’ harder than your favorite rapper’s pantalones. And whoever drew up the font for the album name deserves at least 50% of the profit from this record because you know dudes are just buying this because it looks so ridiculously fresh. Goddamn, let that cigarette burn you son of a bitch, you deserve it.
P.S. This album isn’t by any means Blakey’s best, but his supporting cast would give you a beat down in the pharmaceutical line at CVS in a heartbreak. But you wouldn’t know about that, now would they, RVG?
Calz1.
The 70s produced such great album artwork, yet in the Jazz community it seemed as if Blue Note Records had declared itself king of the “cool” album covers. Although Blue Note’s dominance was clear in the music and cover art front in the late 50s and 60s, other labels caught on, and by the 1970s we had new styles of jazz music and cover art…
What you see here is Weather Report’s 1977 Columbia Records release Heavy Weather. This album was a breakthrough for the jazz fusion genre, gaining some commercial success, and is widely considered one of the greatest fusion albums of all time. If you have never heard the harmonic sounds of Jaco Pastorius’ fretless electric bass, give this album a listen. It is a truly unique sound.
I don’t even know how to begin interpreting this cover art, but it just does it for me. Someone please explain to me the significance of the hat.
Keep on the lookout for a special Rocksoft “Cover Art” installment on Blue Note Records.
Enfuego.
Herbie Hancock’s 1974 release “Thrust“
Look at him, playing his goddamn keys in his one-seater space craft. As if that wasn’t epic enough, he had to be hovering over Machu Picchu? And I bet you didn’t even realize how the moon is practically eating half of the album cover. To sum things up, at the end of the day, no matter what you do in life, this album cover will always be a reminder that you’re a worthless son of a bitch.
Sincerely,
Calz1.
Did you ever find Bugs Bunny attractive when he put on a dress and played a girl bunny?
This is from the band Little Feat’s 1979 release “Down on the Farm.” Check out the tiger in the back, kind of like the Thriller tiger over there….
z
The first installment of a running series showcasing the dopest, lesser-known album covers from decades past. I present to you Stevie Wonder’s first self-produced album Where I’m Coming From (1971)…
A wise man once told me, “It’s all in the font.”
Enfuego.
