Rock Covers. 40th Ed.

Admire the 750 album covers that have shaped rock history and take a musical journey through factsheets, interviews with industry professionals, and rankings by leading collectors. This rich volume includes additional information on the 250 records that marked a turning point for a group, an artist, or a musical genre.

The album covers that made rock history

Album artwork is inextricably linked to our collective musical memories: when we think of our favorite records, we immediately visualize their cover art. Many photographers, illustrators, and art directors have become famous thanks to their work for music albums, the best examples of which will go down in history as enduring fixtures in popular culture.

Paying homage to this art form, Rock Covers offers a collection of over 750 extraordinary album covers featuring rare and legendary artists. Artists as diverse as Elvis Presley, the Beatles, the Sex Pistols, Pink Floyd, the Cure, Iron Maiden, and Sonic Youth are brought together here to celebrate the covers that defined their albums and their cult status. Each cover is accompanied by an information sheet listing the art director, photographer, or illustrator who created it, the album's release year, the record label, and more, while a brief description highlights nearly 250 albums that marked significant turning points for a particular group, artist, or musical genre.

Providing context for this ambitious catalog of “visual music” are interviews with industry professionals who have shaped rock history and personal rankings of the 10 best records by ten important collectors.

The authors
Jon Kirby is a record collector and music writer living in Chicago, Illinois. After graduating from the University of North Carolina School of Journalism, he worked as an editor for Brooklyn music magazine Wax Poetics and has written in-depth articles for Oxford American and Fader. He is currently an A&R manager at the renowned Chicago record label Numero Group, where he researches and compiles albums that shed new light on lesser-known talents from the deepest recesses of music history. He has spent the last two years conceiving Purple Snow: Forecasting the Minneapolis Sound, which chronicles the rise of funk-rock progenitor Prince, analyzing his hometown's music scene at the beginning of his journey to global fame.

Robbie Busch aka “McBoing Boing” is a world-renowned record collector and DJ. Robbie has worn many artistic hats over the years. He has worked as a writer and photographer for national magazines including Wax Poetics, Big Brother, and XXL. He has been a consultant and production manager for numerous record labels, including Fania Records, Cultures of Soul, and BBE. He has been a comic book artist/writer for DC, Marvel, and Dark Horse Comics; as well as a writer for Nickelodeon, MTV, and Cartoon Network. In his spare time, he is currently completing his first documentary film, Thank You For Not Dancing. He lives in New York City with his wife and son.

The publisher
Julius Wiedemann studied graphic design and marketing and worked as an art editor for various design and digital media magazines in Tokyo. His numerous publications for TASCHEN's digital media imprints include Illustration Now!, Logo Design, Jazz Covers, and Information Graphics.

Rock Covers. 40th Ed.
Hardcover, 15.6 x 21.7 cm,
512 pages
English language