For the Love of Vinyl: The Album Art
of Hipgnosis by Nick Mason
Flat On My Back
Hipgnosis was the biggest and best graphic design firm for the biggest and
best bands of the 60s and 70s. Formed by Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey
Powell in London in 1968 (with the addition of Throbbing Gristles Peter
Christopherson in 1974), Hipgnosis specialized in creative photography for
the music business, making classic album covers for bands and musicians
like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Electric Light Orchestra, Genesis, 10cc, Yes,
Peter Gabriel, The Gods, Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Paul McCartney, Syd
Barrett, Scorpions and Styx, among others. Over the course of its 15 year
existence, Hipgnosis produced timeless rock iconography--everybody
knows at least one Hipgnosis cover, thanks to Pink Floyds Dark Side of the
Moon. The firms inventive takes on the themes or titles of any given album
opened up a new visual language in album cover art, one in which
theatrical tableaux, trick photography and logo design played notable roles.
For the Love of Vinyl is the first book to survey Storm and Powells output
in detail, focusing on more than 60 package designs--from cover to label--
described with entertaining detail by the team who created them. Also
included are short essays by musicians (such as Pink Floyds Nick Mason
and artists (British Pop artist Peter Blake) and fellow designers (Paula
Scher) on their favorite Hipgnosis covers, as well as previously unseen
photographs and ephemera. Complementing all this material is a lengthy
critical-historical text examining Hipgnosis and its legacy. For the Love of
Vinyl is the rock book of 2008.

Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell are award-winning graphic
designers and the founders of Hipgnosis.
Personal Review: For the Love of Vinyl: The Album Art of
Hipgnosis by Nick Mason
I really had no idea to expect when I picked this up, as I really didn't know
the history or purpose behind it - and I was utterly impressed by the
amount of music history and art included into one photo book. The images
are amazing and crazy - especially for the years in which most of the stuff
was done. This is a definite gift idea for both the art/photo lover AND the
music lover from any of the bands that Hipgnosis created art for, like Pink
Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Alan Parsons Project, to name a few. I bought it
for my Dad, but I kinda wanted to keep it for myself. Sigh.
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