Last month I’d posted a painter/artist song compilation that was well received plus generated a lot of comments with more possible candidates, thanks Crab Devil, Richard, and One Buck Guy.
All in all a good reason to come up with a follow up collection including some of those suggestions plus some serious Indiana Jones digging throughout the Net…
The end result is a 22 track CD (for those who still burn them!) covering this time a wider variety of musical styles & borders…
Karel Appel and the Cobra Art movement get a brass band tribute by José Manuel Ferreira Brito.
Another Karel Appel track goes noise, psych-rock, pop, and experimentation courtesy of Poem Rocket…
A virtually unknown American band - Verbatim - released a one-of Hieronymus Bosch song in 1969.
Salvador Dali pops up twice, first in Death By Chocolate’s Murder Mystery followed by The Death Of Dali’s Psychoanalyst as sung by Ellen Foley.
M.C. Escher also appear two times, by Italian pianist Gianluca Taglietti (who dedicates a whole album to Escher!) and by a German prog-rock band named Kraan.
Rene Magritte is perhaps responsible for some Electric Angels’ strange times.
Johannes Vermeer gets the Jonathan Richman treatment while mentioning Rembrandt van Rijn and Jan Steen as will.
2x Andy Warhol; by Dana Gillespie covering Bowie and a very different original song by Trevor Sensor.
David Hockney's Diary is the subject of Television Personalities.
Piet Mondrian (and Erik Satie!) are used for Ken Vandermark’s Furniture Music, while Don Douglas & assorted friends’ version reaches dizzy heights…
Leonardo da Vinci goes orchestral thanks to Ennio Morricone.
Wassily Kandinsky is sung and whistled(!) in Spanish by a band called Fellini.
A portrait of Vincent van Gogh is described by Rolf Hermsen and Mathilde Santing Ensemble as part of a 1986 art exhibition project called La Grande Parade (subtitle: 11 Songs Based On 10 Paintings Played By 39 Musicians From The Netherlands).
Toulouse Lautrec is subject of a 1983 single by Dutch vocal duo Saskia & Serge.
Pablo Picasso’s Surrealistic Hands and paintings are lots of fun according to Claudia Phillips while Neil Diamond is focusing on his last painting.
Edward Munch’s Model By The Wicker Chair is getting an instrumental treatment by Juan Martin & Mark Isham, part of their 1986 Painter In Sound album.
Maurice Utrillo is used as a framework for The Watchman’s song.
Enjoy!
A different kind of art related question: name an album/CD that you really find artistically pleasing regarding artwork, linernotes, etc.
ReplyDeleteLink: https://mega.nz/file/fA90yAoD#UKOGtbQYZXE9ESlcOf0hBAXQGW0P9Jr-3p7uGXei_Jw
Note this became a joint post with my own blog regarding the impact this art collection had on my drawing: https://www.art58koen.net/single-post/art-for-art-s-sake
One of mine is Bruce Cockburn’s Dancing In The Dragon’s Jaws (Gatefold Sleeve): https://www.discogs.com/master/60335-Bruce-Cockburn-Dancing-In-The-Dragons-Jaws/image/SW1hZ2U6ODk2NTAwMTU=
ReplyDelete- Stinky
Nice one Stinky. This is still a favorite, fantastic layout (incl. the labels!), good photos, top liner notes, etc,
DeleteDiscogs only show them small but it gives you some ideas:
https://www.discogs.com/master/206971-Various-Thats-The-Way-I-Feel-Now-A-Tribute-To-Thelonious-Monk
Thank you Koen, what a pleasing array of songs.
ReplyDeleteBow Wow Wow, See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang Yeah, City All Over! Go Ape Crazy! I was 15 and head over heels in love with Annabella
Pink Floyd - Ummagumma for using the Droste effect
Sufgerukte Wallies - Paterpiopriester which came in a special wooden box
Welcome Richard! Sufgerukte Wallies... Perhaps we should do a compilation on bands with outrageous names!
DeleteNot only was Annabella lovely (and a year younger than Richard), but the cover portrait recreated "Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe" by Édouard Manet. Neon Park's cover painting for Little Feat's "Sailin Shoes" was a surreal take on "The Swing" by Fragonard (with Mick Jagger as Gainesborough's "Blue Boy"). Rocking Russian's sleeve for the Banshees' "Kiss In The Dreamhouse" was covered in golden Gustav Klimt symbols. (I wrote Schiele by mistake in my comment below, but I meant Klimt). I'm sure there are many others.
DeleteThere must be, but I can't think of any right now.
Delete"I'm sure there are many others" yes, we all make mistakes. BGK made a nice cover for Nothing Can Go Wrogn. I used that once on a blog and got harshly ridiculed for not being able to spell. Oh such fun.
DeleteThe album packaging for Gil Melle's The Andromeda Strain soundtrack LP (the orignal Kapp Records release) is a work of art and beauty. https://www.discogs.com/master/85339-Gil-Mell%C3%A9-The-Andromeda-Strain-Original-Electronic-Soundtrack
ReplyDeleteVery clever, thanks James, I had never seen it before.
DeleteI think of the fantastic sleeve and type designs of Vaughn Oliver and 23 Envelope: https://nathannothinsez.blogspot.com/search?q=4ad
ReplyDeleteNeville Brody's work (for Rough Trade, Fetish, Some Bizzare, etc.): https://www.discogs.com/artist/524303-Neville-Brody?redirected=true&superFilter=Credits
Barney Bubbles' work for Hawkwind, and the playful sleeves he did for Stiff, Radar, etc.: https://www.discogs.com/artist/1651454-Barney-Bubbles?superFilter=Visual
Rocking Russian (especially the sleeves for Scars, Bram Tchaikovsky, Shriekback's Oil & Gold, and his Egon Schiele-influenced designs for Siouxsie): https://www.discogs.com/artist/570598-Rocking-Russian
Rick Froberg's work, especially for his bands Hot Snakes and Obits: https://www.discogs.com/artist/528910-Rick-Froberg?superFilter=Visual
The sometimes discomforting photorealistic work of Peter Christopherson and Hipgnosis
And there's this one. I can't explain why I like it so much: https://www.discogs.com/master/385868-Thee-Oh-Sees-Castlemania/image/SW1hZ2U6NzExMzc5OA==
I haven't really touched on liner notes and packaging (other than Hawkwind's elaborate foldout covers)
It's hard to top the packaging of Spacemate by Sudden Sway:
Deletehttps://www.discogs.com/release/2332756-Sudden-Sway-Spacemate/image/SW1hZ2U6MjU0MzIyNjc=
I wish I still had the cutouts from the Diagram Brothers' album:
https://www.discogs.com/release/872714-The-Diagram-Brothers-Some-Marvels-Of-Modern-Science/image/SW1hZ2U6MTAzNzkwOA==
Jon Langford is better known for his music than his art:
https://www.discogs.com/artist/289297-Jon-Langford-2?superFilter=Visual
https://www.discogs.com/release/11757444-Microdisney-82-84-We-Hate-You-South-African-Bastards
Thanks Jonder, you can't go wrong with Vaughn Oliver, Brody, Bubbles, Russian, Hipgnosis.
DeleteRick Froberg is new to me and looks very interesting!
Thee Oh Sees – Castlemania's artwork must be something on a personal level...
Spacemate & Diagram Brothers' packaging look awesome, never seen that before!
DeleteJon Langford, only know him as a musician... His art is impressive!
At one point, Stinky and I had a running list of musicians who are also accomplished visual artists (e.g., Ron Wood). I remember the list included Nick Blinko of Rudimentary Peni, David Mitchell of 3Ds (a Flying Nun band), and Marcellus Hall (Railroad Jerk, White Hassle). It wasn't long ago I learned that John Foxx has had a long and successful career (under his real name, Dennis Leigh) as an illustrator of book covers!
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Blinko#Art
https://www.discogs.com/artist/303782-David-Mitchell?superFilter=Visual
https://www.marcellushall.com/
https://www.johncoulthart.com/feuilleton/2023/05/10/dennis-leigh-book-covers/
Almost forgot Chris Mars, former drummer of the Replacements: https://www.chrismarspublishing.com/
DeleteLots of art waiting to be explored!
DeleteOn the visually striking scale - all the early Scorpions covers - https://www.discogs.com/master/29314-Scorpions-Lovedrive/image/SW1hZ2U6NDY4NzQ4ODk=. As far as Liner notes - The late Great Stan Cornyn wrote all the liner notes for the Warner albums from the 1970's -https://www.spaceagepop.com/cornyn.htm His Book - is a great read - https://tinyurl.com/bdftn538 - "Exploding:The Highs, Hits, Hype, Heroes, And Hustlers Of The Warner Music Group"
DeletePaul Roberts of Sniff'n'The Tears - Painter, lead singer and songwriter all in one package!
Deletehttps://onebuckrecords.blogspot.com/2024/05/art-for-arts-sake-welcome-to-sniffnthe.html?sc=1739306614583#c7922157971708068875
Scorpions' early covers were the work of Hipgnosis. The couple making out on the cover of UFO's "Force It" are Gen and Cosey from Throbbing Gristle, who likely got the job through their TG bandmate Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson.
DeleteThat Stan Cornyn book looks interesting, thanks ex-mixer!
DeleteOops, I forgot about your Sniff post OBG...
Wondering whether Wings' "Picasso's Last Words (Drink To Me)" should feature on an eventual Vol. 3
ReplyDeleteGood one! Thanks for Paul Roberts as well.
DeleteA Vol. 3... If enough interest...
DeleteVol. 3 can include "Save Me From Dali" by Snakefinger (a suggestion I made too late for Vol. 2)!
DeleteIndeed it could!
Deletehere is another difficult one (to find) https://www.discogs.com/release/5678966-Trespassers-W-Whos-Afraid-of-Red-Yellow-and-Blue
ReplyDeleteCassette only...
Deletenog één, makkelijker te vinden, https://www.discogs.com/release/1361602-Various-La-Grande-Parade met Study for Portrait of Van Gogh II, en anders heb ik het op plaat
ReplyDeleteThanks Richard, I managed to find that particular album earlier.
Delete