Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Goodness Gracious Inner Gatefold


Great inner gatefolds are often overlooked, overshadowed as they are by their outer counterparts. The cover of the first album (designed by Barney Bubbles) by prog rock band Gracious! features nothing but an exclamation mark on a white background, which does nothing to prepare you for its glorious pop art inner gatefold (slightly below centre, above). Many inner gatefolds feature saucy designs, perhaps being able to get away with more than their more conventional outer relatives. Some of the best inner (and outer) gatefolds were designed in the 1970s, when prog rock was in full swing and rock was at its most decadent and outrageous, with bands like Yes and Led Zeppelin and artists like Santana (Lotus) and Miles Davis (Bitches Brew) producing beautiful and outrageous music to match their beautiful and outrageous gatefolds.

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