Concert of Favourties
I love the colour, layout, design and typography on another great cover from the World Record Club – designer not known again. From the distance the image looks like a photograph, but it is actually taken from an engraving or etching which has been cropped and colourised – such a simple but highly effective technique [...]
Handel Fireworks Music
The colour of this album cover really captures the feeling of a fireworks spectacular – using simply an old found woodblock image and adding colour to a clean, modernist layout typical of so many covers from the World Record Club. Designer of this one not yet known. Handel, Royal Fireworks Music (complete and original) ; Double concerto [...]
Gedda á Paris
Love everything about this cover…the expressive line drawing, the minimalist colour scheme and the superbly balanced layout. Designer not known unfortunately. Looks to be late 1960s or early 1970s. Gedda á Paris – Nicolai Gedda: French Operatic Arias
Sebok: Beethoven
What superb use of warm GREY and the use of photographs of ancient statures and details. Designer not known, but a wonderful minimalist design. Gyorgy Sebok plays Beethoven
Germani Recital
I didn’t immediately see what this was and image of …but of course now obviously visible it is a simple photograph organ pipes appropriately minimally photographed for this organ recital album. Designer not known. Again those intensely saturated turquoise blues so often used by the World Record Club. Fernando Germani – Organ Recital of Liszt, Franck, [...]
Mahler, Symphony No. 3
Isn’t it amazing the difference colour can make to exactly the same design. Especially with outlining. The designer of this 2 volume album isn’t known. A very clean, minimalist style contour drawing or tracing of a profile of Mahler with some art nouveau style decoration on the sides. Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 3. The Utah Symphony [...]
Mahler Resurrection
I like the 70′s – 80′s typography on this one – a darker shade of blue in this case would seem to suit the mood of the music. Typical WRC use of a drawing combined with photography in this period. Mahler Resurrection Symphony, The London Symphony Orchestra & L.S.O. Chorus – Conducted by Georg Solti
Cherubini Requiem
In the process of documenting all of these album cover designs I am certainly learning a lot of composer’s names – in this case Cherubini who according to Wikipedia “was an Italian composer who spent most of his working life in France. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music. Beethoven regarded Cherubini as the [...]
John Blow
A nicely textural drawing for this album cover, again overlayed with blue/turquoise. I can’t help thinking though that this cover would have looked better with more subtle use of colour. Designer not known Sir Arthur Bliss: Mediations on a theme by John Blow – Music for Strings; City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Conducted by Hugo [...]
Bogna Sokorska
There seems to be a predominance of the colour blue in album cover designs which I’m going through currently. Interesting treatment in this design with a reflection in the photograph. Designer not known Bogna Sokorska – The Warsaw Nightingale – Orchestra of the Polish Radio, directed by Stephan Rachon
Brahms & Beethoven
A minimal design of a photograph of a statue, treated simply – making for a nicely clean but elegant design. This type of simple photographic motif was used quite often on WRC cover designs. The background in this case is a delicate metallic silver – creating quite an evocative mood. Designer of this one not [...]
Schubert, Smetana
Very interesting line design on this album cover – It reminds me of some of the hollywood films in the 1950s where cartoons or line-work were super-imposed onto film scene. Designer not found in this case. Looks to be an early design. Schubert – Rosamunde incidental music; Smetana – The Moldau, overture to the Bartered [...]
Max Robinson – Brahms
Love this cover design by Max Robinson for Brahms. The bold and simple use of colour works so well with the tonal dropout portrait. Brahms, Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 15 – The Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by FRITZ RIEGER
Swan Lake
A very elegant, very effective and beautifully photographed shot for this elegant modernist style cover for Swan Lake – designer not yet found. The only issue with some of these covers with the title typography right on the top edge makes photographing them difficult. The top colour is a very soft metallic gold which contrasts so [...]
An hour with Semprini
A bit of a hard colour to capture on camera – but its pretty close – a taupe hue with just a hint of gold. Designer not know, but meeting the usual high World Record Club standard of evocative smartly design album covers. A Magic Hour with Semprini (Pianoforte) conducting The New Abbey Light Symphony [...]
Shura Cherkassky
A simple minimalist but elegant design with some nice flourishes, in beautifully rich tones of sepia with black. Designer not yet found for this one. Shura Cherkassky: Schubert Sonata in A major, Schumann Three Phantasiestcucke Op 111, Liszt Grand Galop Chromatique.
Dvorak – Slavonic Dances
This album cover definitely has that 1960s design vibe about it, the designer is not known however. I like the typographic elements and simple use of colour in the design. The second album in this series of Slavonic Dances is in the World Record Collection book by Geoff Hocking – but the style is very different, [...]
Keyboard Cocktail
Couldn’t pick a better cover for a Friday than this groovy seventies cocktail mix. Designer not yet known unfortunately. Keyboard Cocktail – mixed by Ralph Dollimore
