GOT IT COVERED From beatniks to bats, cover lover RICHARD S JONES offers us the best on show…
Back in November, when the lowest numbered LP of The Beatles’ White Album sold for the price of a small shed in Notting Hill, its sale may have raised public awareness to the seriousness of record collectors, but to some it also reinforced the worry that the art of collecting was beginning to lose its way. The idea that records can
potentially make that physical shift from shelves to portfolios or investment folders is a disheartening thought but it’s a thought that has been soothed recently by one of the most addictive and visually appealing anthologies on the Internet – Cover Lover. “I’m surprised by how many
people continue to respond to our collection. We’re not really hammering home the same joke, but looking at the history of cover art from different perspectives - some are truly beautiful, some laughingly bad, some pleasingly familiar and others foreign. But they’re always intriguing.” The brain child of collectors
Martin Glass and Tony Valenti, two avid
record collectors with an obsession for “covers that hit that sweet spot,” Cover Lover is a website centred on appreciation and irony, and has since grown into an online catalogue of the truly strange and wonderful. As Matthew points out: “While most people give up their
baseball cards, comics and record collecting in their teens; adult collectors just can’t part with their things. One of my favourite covers is from way back and sweetly captures the childhood fascination with records. All in all, we’re creating a visual mash-up that recreates the feeling we used to have flipping through mixed up bins and boxes of records as kids.”
What the site does better than
anything else is perfectly present an obsessive (yes) but remarkably comprehensive habit; one that is not “anorak-introverted” like so many record collecting trends but guiltlessly extrovert and proud of being so. It’s more than just a simple blog run off the shelves of collectors; it’s a destination that explodes daily into
SHINDIG! SOUNDS April
Stefan Granados casts his third eye across forthcoming releases. May
Atomic Rooster Anthology (Angel Air) Career spanning 2 CD set (1970-1982) of alternative takes, demos & masters by the UK prog-metal legends, featuring John Du Cann & Vincent Crane.
Beau Edge Of Dark (Angel Air) Unreleased tracks from a ’72 session for John Peel’s Dandelion label on which the singer/songwriter is backed by Peel faves Tractor.
Bond & Brown Two Heads Are Better Than One (Esoteric) This remastered 1972 collaboration by Graham Bond and Cream lyricist Peter Brown showcases their adventurous take on prog-rock on tracks like “Mass Debate” and more.
Los Blue Caps Paraguay 1969-1972 (Groovie) Fab LP collecting the harder rocking highlights from the four albums this South American band cut for EMI, omitting their light pop hits to showcase their true sound.
Chad & Jeremy The Ark (Rev-Ola) Stunning final album cut with Gary Usher in ’69. An undisputed baroque psych masterpiece with bonus tracks!
Deviants Ptoof! (Esoteric) Definitive remaster of the hard rocking ’68 debut album by one of the guiding lights of the UK underground rock scene who were led by Mick Farren.
Factory Path Through The Forest (Guerssen) Welcome CD issue of the definitive compilation of the legendary UK pop-psych combo, featuring their two classic singles plus unreleased track and an alt mix of the title track.
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Mick Farren Mona The Carniverous Circus (Esoteric) The 1970 solo debut by the Deviants mastermind found Farren backed by Twink, Steve Took and other luminaries on an eclectic set of rock, post-psych sounds and more.
Fire Magic Shoemaker (Esoteric) The Fire revival continues with this fine remaster of their 1970 concept LP, complete with new notes & pictures.
Lee Hazelwood Movin’ On (Ace) Originally issued in Sweden only in 1977, this remastered album features some of his best ’70s recordings, including his brilliant rendition of ‘It Was A Very Good Year’.
Tommy James & The Shondells Crystal Blue
Symphonies: The Psychedelic Years (Rev-Ola) Features the whole of their two ’69 albums, the psych/bubblegum classic Crimson And Clover and its bizarre electronica-meets-roots follow-up Cellophane Symphonies.
Various Artists 2131 South Michigan Avenue (Sundazed) Definitive 2CD (3 LP vinyl too) set covering the amazing garage & psych sounds issued by the US Destination label in the ’60s. Including Lost Agency,The Cryan’Shames & more.
Various Artists Honey & Wine: Another Gerry Goffin &
Carol King Song Collection (Ace) Second collection of ’60s tracks by the legendary Brill building songwriting team, featuring big hits plus fine obscurities like ‘Stage Door’ by Peter James.
Various Artists Psychedelic Schlemiels 3 (Wooden Hill) The acclaimed series is back for a third volume of wondrous sonic excavations of obscure UK pop-psych sounds of the ’60s, including Jade Hexagram and other mysterious acts.
John Bromley John Bromley (Rev-Ola) At last! First time on CD for this much-prized Brit pop/psych/ singer-songwriter gem from ’69. Features a ton of bonus tracks too.
Devil’s Anvil Hard Rock (Rev-Ola) Truly unique and bizarre Middle Eastern ’67 psychedelic rock crossover act helmed by Mountain man Felix Pappalardi and originally released on Columbia.
Mike Hurst Producers Archives Vol 3 (Angel Air) Excellent set of Mike Hurst productions, featuring tracks – some unreleased – by Majority, Cymbaline, Alan Bown, Nirvana, Warm Sounds & more.
Stone The Crows Radio Sessions 1969-1972 (Angel Air) Nineteen BBC radio performances on 2 CDs by the fabled Scottish blues rock band, spanning their Les Harvey days to their final recordings with Jimmy McCulloch.
June
Sagittarius Present Tense (Rev-Ola) Spanking new CD edition to coincide with the recent vinyl release. US sunshine pop/soft psych genius.
Paul Revere & The Raiders Hungry For Kicks: Hits And
More (Rev-Ola) Newly remastered set of classic Raiders moments from ’65 to ’69. 'Kicks', 'Hungry', 'Good Thing', 'Just Like Me', 'Him Or Me – What's It Gonna Be?'... they're all here.
wild exhibitions of colour, design and style (both tactless and striking). Welcoming visitors to a world of
records with crazy, beautiful, sexy, funny, shocking, provocative, absurd and absolutely addictive covers; from rock to robots and bouffant bigheads to old fashioned beatniks (it should also be noted that both Matthew and Tony organise their own physical collections into similar categories), the site is an essential bookmark to keep saved on your desktop. It’s there for everyone and anyone to examine and talk about, and will not fail to make you do everything, from smile to recoil in horror, in the space of one click. What’s more you can even upload
your own covers too as we all have records that we just know are not owned by anyone else. And it’s this niche, this facet of collecting that Cover Lover nurtures. A sense of involvement in something that is just so much fun it will never have a conceivable end game or price in monetary value.
www.lpcoverlover.com
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