Awkward to nail on a wall, but better to look at than tiny CD cases
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Good art book. I own an earlier edition before they made the Echoes Best Of artwork. I keep going back to it even after all these years.
Great images and the text is interesting - if not substantial then still mildly informative. He owns up to how bad the Meddle, More and Obscured by Clouds covers are but doesn't include Gilmour's quote about the Collection of Great Dance Songs cover ("It was so bad I thought I'd get it cheap," I believe he said).
They didn't create the covers for The Wall and The Final Cut so they aren't covered in the book.
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Close, but have a cigar
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I agree with many of the other comments I have read about this book, it is an essential for any Floydian. My only problem is the exclusion of the other Pink Floyd releases, mainly The Wall and The Final Cut. I know of the problems between Roger and the band, but it would have been nice to allow Storm to include these and discuss them in a critical manner. Other than that, brilliance.
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Excellent Coffee Table Reference Book
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This is a great book for anyone interested in a) Pink Floyd, b) the work of conceptual design team Hipgnosis or c) the album artwork phenomenon as a whole. As an admirer of all three of these factors I have found this book to be of continual interest. Designer Storm Thorgerson talks us through the history of the band and his involvement in the early days in creating advertisements, promos and footage for live shows, before moving on to the real meat and potatoes of the book... the album designs as a whole. Here we see conceptual sketches, photographic tests and the actual finished design for landmark works such as Atom Heart Mother, Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals and the Division Bell. We also get numerous alternative designs and conceptual ideas that were never used, as well as anecdotes and interesting background info about how the designs came together and from where their initial inspiration was found. Thorgerson is a warm, interesting and intelligent host for the proceedings, taking credit where credit is due, but also graciously name checking all those who added to the history of Hipgnosis and the legacy of Pink Floyd. In full, this is an excellent reference book for art students, modern art admirers and Pink Floyd devotees... and, needless to say, it's packed with pretty pictures. 4/5
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Images of Pink Floyd
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You don't need to read this book - just admire the artwork and replay the albums (on vinyl if possible).
Excelent gift for any Floyd fan.
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Informative and entertaining
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This is a must for the Floyd fan, particularly if you're interested in graphic design. Thorgerson talks us through the making of all of the PF covers that were his, explaining how each one was done often with amusing anecdotes relating to bizzare things like giant chairs and immense metal heads. Highly recommended.
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