Wow, very educational thread! I find I am preferring the uncropped versions in nearly every case, even the Pink Floyd "Wall" photo from post #17 without musicians in it, but with floor and ceiling (gives a better sense of the claustrophobic madness the album's theme was based on). Please do keep 'em coming!
You do realize that's just a joke, right? Just checking. Deep Purple's Machine Head Hor Zu cover should have been cropped but it wasn't, so you can see the door frame that the silver sheet was stapled to, so they could get the photo of the band. Others have the black border to obscure the wooden frame.
Too bad! It would have worked better that way, but then I was also fooled by the Led Zeppelin I photo until someone pointed out that it was in fact a different photo.
Got it, but I still think that makes a better design! Speaking of photographic jokes, here's one a band did on its own cover art that actually became an official album-design, which IMHO made the design worse: The 9th studio album by Yes, Tormato, was originally titled Tor, I believe in reference to some local geology. Personally, I think the original Hipgnosis design would have looked fine until Rick Wakeman purportedly threw a tomato at it, and the band (including Hipgnosis) found this humorous enough to incorporate it into the final cover, plus they changed the album's name as a result (of course, no changes to the cover or title could have saved this lame album!). Does anyone have a picture of the uncropped, "pre-splotted" cover if it even exists?
I've seen the "colorized" Changes photo with Mike in it but I never knew that background was added - cool! I'm surprised that no one has posted this one yet:
no, but we have the original site location in Devon http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showpost.php?p=6392758&postcount=614
According to Bill Harry, here’s the photo that was the basis for the animated cover graphic of the Mersey Beat LP.
From my memory, t’s my understanding that the cover of the LP is a drawing based on that photo. Bill liked the shot but wanted it altered to include all the liverpool groups placed in the audience. If I’m incorrect, my apologies. It wouldn’t be the first time. I’m no expert, just a fan.
Let's try to make it more interesting with this painting. BTW, this one also has an oblique Fab connection. It was taken at the Washington Coliseum.
I found my source: http://www.dmbeatles.com/forums/index.php?topic=8116.msg190109#msg190109 Bill Harry replies to a forum question about the identity of the band on stage. His is reply #3: “.... I used this photo as the subject for the cover of my Mersey Beat album for EMI in the Eighties, with several Beatles tracks. I said they should have the faces of people like Cilla Black and Gerry Marsden in the audience - and they did the artwork.” Hope this clears it up a little better.
So close. I thought I had the actual uncropped shot, but I don’t. Just missed it by a step or two..lol. I still posted this anyway because some may find it interesting.
Not quite the same photo but maybe a frame a way from it (from the Rhino re-issue booklet, hence the staple marks) There's also this - The photographer, the late Keith Morris, was quoted in a Q magazine supplement - Shot as the sleeve for 1981's Almost Blue LP , the whole session lasted 15 minutes and was shot on half a roll of film. There were no alternatives and no afterthoughts - I think we both have a short photographic attention span .