Even if you don’t know the name Hipgnosis, you know the work. Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Led Zepplin, 10CC, a whole slew of bands that all got the benefit of amazing, surreal cover art by the geniuses at Hipgnosis, which Throbbing Gristle/Coil member Peter “Sleazy” Christopherson joined in 74.
One of the very best designs by the group, for our money, is the work Hipgnosis did on the 10CC album cover for How Dare You? which manages to tell a complete story without actually conveying any plot information whatsoever.
The CD version of this album is often given the short shrift, sometimes missing one or more panels that reveal the whole tableaux. The album version of How Dare You is the one to see as it has the entire spread of carefully crafted Hipgnosis images. Amazing. Keep your Houses of the Holy, we love 10CC better.
For the Love of Vinyl gives a detailed look at 60 Hipgnosis designs and features guest commentary from musicians including Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason. This is a pretty amazing tome, and is in fact written by the founders of the design group itself, so you know you’re getting the stories right from the source. Recommended.
