Classic Album Covers of the 60s: Over 200 of the Best Covers of the Decade - Storm Thorgerson

Political and social change in the 1960s, developing from the post-war austerity and rebuilding of the 1950s, resulted in a melting pot of ideas and influences. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the world of pop art, and the trickle-down effect on album covers.

In the 1960s, album cover art was a major avenue for many of the young, popular artists of the time, and it became the vogue for covers to have ever more impressive designs by the biggest names one could get. This is exemplified with the Velvet Underground using Andy Warhol for one of their covers.

It is worth remembering that (with the exception of a few concert posters) efforts were devoted to album covers. Unlike today's multimedia world, there was no need for multiple, subtley different artworks, all tying in to one theme, and presented in a myriad of ways. The album cover was the ONLY way to make an impression on a fickle public...

For nearly 40 years Storm Thorgerson has been gainfully employed (at some points more gainfully employed than others) in the realm of cover design. So, who better to cast a critical eye over the period?

In "Classic Album Covers of the 60s", Storm picks over two hundred examples of the best, worst, most notable, and also personal favourite covers from the decade, running the gamut of styles from barbershop quartet to the most extravagant psychedelic creations.

First published in 1989 but long out of print, until now, the book is a handsome beast. Approximately album-sized pages give plenty of space for many of the covers to display their detail. Less intricate covers, with less importance in the story, get clustered four to a page.

In a lengthly intro, Storm talks of psychedelics and psychedelia, and sets out the social and political contexts. Storm also talks of the changes to the music scene, with the fairly rigid sounds of the 50s making way for the varied artists of the 60s, and how this resulted in change for album covers.

Even the most kitsch and dated covers are used as good illustration of "what enormous changes were to come about, and how the psychedelic experience blew away the cobwebs, and broke down the barriers of normal thinking." And they are great fun to look at, too!

Storm warms to the theme well in the second chapter, which has some seminal jazz covers, talking about what made them good or bad - from typefaces used through to colour choices. It is Storm's insider view of these things that elevates the book from simply a selection of covers, with his experience and knowledge giving good insights into how to design.

Naturally, some Pink Floyd covers are included as good examples of the genre, but this is not a Floyd book - it is a celebration of the most accessable, and commonplace, artworks, that can be found in most homes.

A fascinating journey through the years, covering every aspect of the discipline, and illuminating those who potentially had never really thought about the design work behind album covers before...

The book can currently be ordered through these special links: Amazon UK, Canada, France, and Germany.