THE RAY CHARLES SINGERS - "SONGS FOR LATIN LOVERS"

Artist: The Ray Charles Singers
Title: Songs for Latin Lovers
Label: Command
Catalog: RS 886 SD
Year: 1965
Genre: easy listening
Art Direction: Charles E. Murphy
Cover art:  D. Pezza

Grade: ***** star

I bought an album on-line and the seller included this album as a throw-away stiffener intended to protect the album I'd purchased.  Yeah, this kind of easy listening stuff doesn't hit my turntable very often, but  the album cover was enough to convince me to give it a spin.  And while the music was bland, MOR stabs at cool Latin moves, the cheerful cover continues to make me smile.  Now if I could only figure out who the artist was.  The liner notes have pages and pages of technical information on the recording process, but other than the artists name written in cursive on the cover, there's no information on the artist.  I've stared at the signature for a long time and still can't make it out.  Anyone out there ???

IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY - "IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY"

Artist: It's a Beautiful Day
Title: It's a Beautiful Day
Label: Columbia
Catalog: CS 9768
Year: 1969
Genre: psych
Design: Globe Propaganda (George Hunter)
Cover art:  Kent Hollister

Grade: ***** star

So here's another album cover that just exudes that unique '60s vibe.  This wasn't the only album cover that George Hunter and his Global Propaganda design company were responsible for (Quicksilver Messenger Service's "Happy Trails" and "Shady Grove", Canned Heat's "Hallelujah" and Danny O'Keefe's "O'Keefe" are just a couple.  That said, this is the best of the lot.  


Painted by the late Leslie "Kent" Hollister, the design was copied from American impressionist Charles Courtney Curran's 1912 painting entitled Woman on the Top of a  Mountain.

Perhaps because it harkens back to a less complicated time, there's just something pleasant and calming about the cover.

THE INCREDIBLE STRING BAND - "THE 5000 SPIRITS OR THE LAYERS OF THE ONION"

Artist: The Incredible String Band
Title: The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion
Label: Elektra
Catalog: EKS 74010
Year: 1967
Genre: folk-rock
Design: Simon and Marijke (aka Seemon Posthuma and Marijke Koger)
Cover art:  Simon and Marijke (aka Seemon Posthuma and Marijke Koger)

Grade: ***** star

If I had to pick five album covers that captured the mid-1960s zeitgeist (always wanted to use that word in a write-up), this would be one of them.  The cover is simply stunning.  Admitted the music is somewhat of an acquired taste (too folky for me), but the cover more than makes up for any musical shortcomings to my ears.  The Dutch artists are fascinating in their own way - I've included a link to the Wikipedia write-up on the pair.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fool_(design_collective)

WISHBONE ASH - "PIGRIMAGE"

Artist: Wishbone Ash
Title: Pilgrimage
Label: Decca
Catalog: DL 75295
Year: 1971
Genre: progressive
Design: Hipgnosis
Cover art: Hipgnosis

Grade: **** star

Love the unexpected color scheme and the interesting angle of the old tree.   

JERRY LEE LEWIS - "JUST SINGS"

Artist: Jerry Lewis
Title: Just Sings
Label: MCA
Catalog: 510.042
Year: 1971
Genre: rock
Design: Jean Mulatier
Cover art: Jean Mulatier

Grade: *** star

Well known French illustrator Jean Mulatier was responsible for the bizarre cover art.  I can't even begin to guess why MCA's French marketing arm would have elected such a strange cover - course I'm not sure why they felt the need to release this album.

From what little I've read about Jerry Lewis, while the man was known as a comic, he was pretty uptight and had a rather volatile personality.  I'm guessing he didn't have much of a sense of humor when it came to his own personality.  He also seems pretty protective of his image.

Of course he was considered some sort of comic God in France, but I  still have to wonder what he thought of this 1971 French release?  

JUNIE - "BREAD ALONE"

Artist: Junie
Title: Bread Alone
Label: Columbia
Catalog: NJE 36585
Year: 1980
Genre: funk
Design: Carin Goldberg
Cover photo: David Michael Kennedy

Grade: *** star

Everyone tells me I have a dry, quirky sense of humor which probably explains why I think this cover is so funny.  The thought of someone having stacked hundreds of slices of bread around namesake Walter "Junie" Morrison just makes me smile.  

By the way, Morrison's best known for his keyboard work with George Clinton and the Funkadelic/Parliament extended family.  While "No Bread" has a funky edge to it, Morrison had a great voice and the album was surprisingly commercial and enjoyable.

RARE EARTH - "RARE EARTH IN CONCERT"

Artist: Rare Earth
Title: Rare Earth In Concert
Label: Rare Earth
Catalog: R 534D
Year: 1971
Genre: rock
Graphic Supervisor: Tom Schlensinger
Cover Art: Curtis McNair

Grade: **** star

Nah, I'm not a military fanatic, but this gimmick cover replicating an Army backpack was simply too cool to ignore.

HUNGRY TIGER - "HUNGRY TIGER"

Artist: Hungry Tiger
Title: Hungry Tiger
Label: Magna Glide
Catalog: SP 3506
Year: 1977
Genre: rock
Concept: Stephen Saban
Cover art: Stephen Saban

Grade: **** star

The subject matter; the jarring color scheme - this one simply jumps out at you.

Moreover, if you've ever cruised the BadCatRecords website, you'll know that I have an interest in tax scam labels.  The Magna Glide label's particularly interesting to me in that it seems to have had some tax scam characteristics and was operated by bubblegum kings Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz's. The attached link provides a little bit of information on the label:  

http://badcatrecords.com/BadCat/AA_REVIEW_MAGNAglide.htm 

Assuming they were a real band, based on the abbreviated liner notes on the album, Hungry Tiger featured the talents of brothers Denny (lead guitar and vocals) and Randy (vocals, guitar, keyboards) Davidson, drummer Michael Medeck, and bassist James Webster.  Given many Magna Glide acts were from Ohio, that's where I'd guess these guys were based. 

The group's link to Kasenetz and Katz goes back to 1968 when they produced a killer one-shot blue-eyed soul single for the White Whale label for the band:

- 1968's 'Fee-Fi-Foo-Fum' b/w 'Tic Tac Toe' (White Whale catalog number WWS 313)

Co-produced by Kasenetz, Katz, and Randy Davidson, musically 1977's "Hungry Tiger" offered up a pretty decent set of MOR pop with a heavy emphasis on ballads like 'Ten Miles Long', 'Forget About Tomorrow', and 'Small Craft Warning.'.   Randy was responsible for most of the material and most of the vocals. The other three members each handled one tune.  Randy was an okay lead singer, though his delivery was occasionally on the nasally and fragile side ('Can't Stop Breathing'),   Unfortunately the heavy emphasis on ballads gave the album a one sided flavor and on those rare occasions they took a stab at an up-tempo rocker, the results  were sabotaged by flat vocals - check out Webster's performance on 'Time To Love'.  They clearly were a talented outfit, but the absence of a strong lead singer was something they simply couldn't overcome.   

Let me add the back cover liner notes don't show the proper running order.  The information below has the songs in the proper sequence.

You can read the rest of the review at BadCatRecords:

Co-produced by Kasenetz, Katz, and Randy Davidson, musically 1977's "Hungry Tiger" offered up a pretty decent set of MOR pop with a heavy emphasis on ballads like 'Ten Miles Long', 'Forget About Tomorrow', and 'Small Craft Warning.'. Randy was responsible for most of the material and most of the vocals. The other three members each handled one tune. Randy was an okay lead singer, though his delivery was occasionally on the nasally and fragile side ('Can't Stop Breathing'), Unfortuntnately the heavy emphasis on ballads gave the album a one sided flavor and on those rare occasions they took a stab at an up-tempo rocker, the results were sabotaged by flat vocals - check out Webster's performance on 'Time To Love'. They clearly were a talented outfit, but the absence of a strong lead singer was something they simply couldn't overcome.    Let me add the back cover liner notes don't show the proper running order. The information below has the songs in the proper sequence.

HUMBLE PIE - "PERFORMANCE ROCKIN' THE FILLMORE"

Artist: Humble Pie
Title: Performance Rockin' the Fillmore
Label: A&M
Catalog: SP 3506
Year: 1971
Genre: blues rock
Concept: BRoland Young
Cover art: Roland Young

Grade: * star

Musically this double live set was their American commercial breakthrough, but it has always struck me as being kind of plodding.  For goodness sakes, the thing clocks in at almost an hour in length and it is heavy on covers - there's one original composition.  Admittedly, the band can mine a groove and there were a couple of decent performances - 'I Don't Need No Doctor'' comes to mind.  

As for the cover ...   YAWN !!!

PAM WINDO AND THE SHADES - "IT"

Artist: Pam Windo and the Shades
Title: It
Label: Bearsville
Catalog: BRK 3497
Year: 1981
Genre: new wave
Concept: Bruce Marion
Cover art: Bruce Marion

Grade: * star

Song-for-song "It" may be one of the most irritating albums I've ever heard. The combination of Pam Windo's flat,Germanic-flavored vocals and the band's penchant for atonal song structures with plenty of honking saxophones was best described as headache inducing. Hard to provide an apt description, but imagine the worst of Nina Hagen  and James Chance and the Whites and you'll be in the right neighborhood.  Definitely an album that qualifies for clear-out-the-end-of-the-party status. The hideous Bruce Marion album cover certainly didn't help matters.

LES HOU-LOPS - "LES HOU-LOPS"

Artist: Les Hou-Lops
Title: Les Hou-Lops
Label: CANUSA
Catalog: CJ-33-110
Year: 1967
Genre: garage
Concept: not listed
Cover art: not listed

Grade: * star

If I were employed in the design arena, I would use this cover as an example of everything done wrong.  

Black, white, and gray with a design that looked like it was ripped off some dive bar bathroom's wallpaper ... Seriously, could you come up with a design that was less impressive?  Well, at least the band's name was prominently displayed (though they may have wished that wasn't the case given how crappy the cover was).

HOTGUN - "HOTGUN"

Artist: Hotgun
Title: Hotgun
Label: Guinness
Catalog: GNS 36014
Year: 1977
Genre: rock
Concept: not listed
Cover art: not listed

Grade: **** star

I'm not a gun rights fanatic and I didn't pick this tax scam obscurity to make any kind of political statement.  I simply like the bright colors and the Roy Lichtenstein styled pop-art cover.  Like most tax scam labels, Guinness frequently didn't bother to credit the artists who recorded the music, so why would they bother paying anyone for cover art ?  Needless to say, the limited liner notes don't offer up a clue as to whom was responsible for the art concept, or execution.  Shame, since the art was far better than this clumsy collection of popular and less popular pop and rock hits - John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Wings, Starland Vocal Band Steppenwolf ...

HOT BUTTER - "HOT BUTTER"

Artist: Hot Butter
Title: Popcorn
Label: Musicor
Catalog: MS 3242
Year: 1972
Genre: pop / synthesizers
Concept: not listed
Cover art: not listed

Grade: ***** star

I was 13 when this song hit the airwaves at it's one of my first "pop" radio memories.  I can actually clearly recall hearing it on AFN radio while my family loved in Germany.  The synthesizer sound was groundbreaking at the time - if you've never heard the tune, imagine early Atari game sound effects taken to the nth degree.

Ironically I didn't see a copy of the parent album until I was in my 20s.  I stumbled across a copy at a yard sale and was instantly taken by the low-tech concept artwork.  Yes, Musicor marketing took the time to glue a real popcorn box to the cover of each copy of the album.  

And if you haven't heard the tune, YouTube has multiple clips of the song, though this one's worth seeing just for the French dancers trying to figure out what to do with the bizarre track.  The panel of music "experts" at the end of the clip appear to be even more confused.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfdLh0MHqKw

CLIMAX BLUES BAND - "TIGHTLY KNIT"

Artist: Climax Blues Band
Title: Tightly Knit
Label: Sire
Catalog: SASD 7517
Year: 1972
Genre: blues-rock
Concept: Hipgnosis
Cover art: Hipgnosis

Grade: * star

Having just picked a Climax Blues Band LP as a favorite cover ("Stamp Album"), I'll balance it out with this appalling and bland cover.  Yeah, the English design company Hipgnosis is known for their interesting album covers, but there's nothing interesting, or even appealing on this one unless you happened to be a major fan of Uncle Festus (of Adams Family fame).  This was another one where you had to wonder what the band's management company was thinking.  "Yeah, let's put a scary cover on the album and watch it sell like hotcakes ..."

CLIMAX BLUES BAND - "STAMP ALBUM"

Artist: Climax Blues Band
Title: Stamp Album
Label: Sire
Catalog: SASD 7507
Year: 1975
Genre: blues-rock
Concept: J. Flournoy Holmes / Wonder Graphics
Cover art: J. Flournoy Holmes / Wonder Graphics

Grade: **** stars

Are you a philatelist?  Neither am I, though there are certainly worse fates in life.  

Fact of the matter is that you don't have to be a stamp collector to think this is a cool cover.  There's just something intriguing about this '30s styled image.  Add to that, original copies of the album were embossed with the "8s" emphasized.  Just an all around cool cover.

FAY RAY - "CONTACT YOU"

Artist: Fay Ray
Title: Contact You
Label: Elektra
Catalog: E1-60098
Year: 1982
Genre: new wave
Concept: A.D. Design
Cover art: A.D Design

Grade: * stars

Hey, the '80s are calling.  They want their album back.   
Seriously, you'd be hard pressed to come up with a design concept that screamed 80's more than this one.  Wonder if they borrowed the red telephone from the White House.

The band's debut LP "Contact You" wasn't half bad. Imagiine Siouxsie and the Banshees javign discovered top-40 radio and you'd get a feel for the overall sound. I was surprised to learn Sheila Macartney and her compatriots (drummer Owen Hughes, guitarist John Lovering, ax player John Taylor, and bassist Tony Travis) were from Wales.  I always thought the were a California based outfit.  Guess I should have figured it out since some of their lyrics ("Wargames") mention Wales.  

JOOLS HOLLAND - "MEETS ROCK'A'BOOGIE BILLY"

Artist: Jools Holland
Title: Jools Hollad Meets Rock'A'Boogie Bill
Label: A&M
Catalog: SP-70509
Year: 1984
Genre: rock
Grading: VG+ cover / VG+ LP
Concept: Carl Grasso
Cover art: Carl Grasso

Grade: * stars

Not much to say here other than the cover was simply hideous in every respect.  Maybe that was the intention?  I've struggled to come up with something; anything that I like about the cover ...  nothing.  Absolutely nothing. Don't like the concept (whatever it was).  Don't like the design.  Don't like the colors. 

Come to think of it, I didn't like the album that much either.