The Best Psychedelic Rock Album Covers of the 1970s
Contents
The best psychedelic rock album covers of the 1970s – a visual history of the era with the most iconic and influential album covers.
Introduction
Psychedelic rock album covers of the 1970s represent a style of album cover art that was influenced by psychedelic culture. Psychedelic culture itself is often associated with the use of mind-altering drugs, “Head Shop” type retailers, and experimentation in music, fashion and sexual mores. Psychedelic art was also used as a form of advertising for various mind-altering substances, and often featured “trippy” or visually-arresting images that were intended to evoke an altered state of consciousness in the viewer.
Some of the most iconic examples of psychedelic rock album covers come from the 1970s, when the genre was at its peak. Notable examples include Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon, Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti, and Black Sabbath’s Paranoid. These album covers are all highly recognizable, and have become synonymous with the psychedelic era.
While some may view psychedelic rock album covers as being dated or kitschy, they remain an important part of music history, and continue to influence artists today.
The Best Psychedelic Rock Album Covers of the 1970s
The psychedelic rock album covers of the 1970s are some of the most iconic and visually arresting images of the 20th century. From the bold and trippy illustrations of Roger Dean to the mind-bending collages of Stanley Mouse, these artists pushed the boundaries of what was possible in album artwork. Here are 10 of the best psychedelic rock album covers of the 1970s.
The Beatles – Abbey Road
Abbey Road is the eleventh studio album by English rock band the Beatles, released on 26 September 1969 by Apple Records. The recording sessions for the album were the last in which all four Beatles participated. Although Let It Be was the final album that the Beatles completed before the band’s dissolution in April 1970, most of the album had been recorded before The Beatles (commonly known as “the White Album”) entered the studio in May 1968.
Nevertheless, Abbey Road remains one of the Beatles’ most widely recognized works and its cover image, depicting all four members walking across a zebra crossing outside Abbey Road Studios, has become one of the most famous and imitated images in popular music.
Pink Floyd – The Dark Side of the Moon
Released in 1973, Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon is one of the most popular and influential albums of all time. With its iconic album cover, designed by Hipgnosis, it is also one of the most recognizable. The cover features a refracting prism and rainbow, which are meant to symbolize the band’s sonic experimentation and psychedelic leanings.
Led Zeppelin – Houses of the Holy
Led Zeppelin’s fifth album, Houses of the Holy, was released in 1973. The cover was designed by Hipgnosis, and it features a collage of children climbing the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. The original album cover was rejected by the record company, who felt it was too “out there.” The band eventually agreed to replace it with a more traditional image of the band members.
The Rolling Stones – Exile on Main St.
This album cover is pretty self-explanatory – it features a picture of the band’s members sitting on a porch in the American south, with boarded-up windows and general signs of disrepair all around them. The overall feeling conveyed is one of desolation and despair, which is appropriate given the album’s themes of dejection and disillusionment.
David Bowie – Aladdin Sane
Aladdin Sane is the sixth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 13 April 1973 by RCA Records. The follow-up to his breakthrough The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, it was the first album Bowie wrote and recorded following his move to New York City in January 1974.
Although he arrived with several songs already written, much of the album was made up of tracks improvised in the studio with producer Ken Scott. Bowie would later cite this as his most satisfying period in the recording studio. Over its 49-minute duration, Aladdin Sane careens from glam rock and art rock to soul, pop, and even Munich-influenced Krautrock.
The cover artwork features a lightning bolt across Bowie’s face, which came about when Brian Duffy took the now famous photograph in London’s Covent Garden. When Duffy showed Bowie contact sheets of the session, Bowie chose one where he had turned away at the precise moment a lightning flash went off; Duffy captured it using a slow shutter speed.
Conclusion
In conclusion, these are some of the best psychedelic rock album covers of the 1970s. What do you think? Do you have any other favorites?
