Take out your iPod. Hit shuffle a few times. Chances are, if youre a fan of rock, pop, electronica or heavy metal music released over the last thirty or forty years, it wont be long before an album cover designed by Storm Thorgerson comes up. Thorgerson has lent his art to everyone from rock giants Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath to modern acts like Biffy Clyro, the Mars Volta and Pendulum. Thorgersons visually striking and surreal artwork ensured that some of the defining musical acts of the 60s and 70s had equally memorable album covers. He continued working right into the twenty-first century too, ensuring that generations of music fans were attracted by his imagery. In tribute to Thorgerson, who died on Wednesday 18 April aged 69, we present a list of 20 of our favourite album covers.
20. Megadeth Rude Awakening
Far too often bands just go with a photograph of the gig for a live album. Thankfully Megadeth were a bit more imaginative. Thorgeson's cover image pretty much delivers exactly what the album title suggests, depicting the rudest awakening possible in his own incomparable surrealist style. While most of Megadeth's studio albums follow a style influenced by pulpy fantasy imagery, Thorgeson goes for something very different. Even without Megadeth's distinctive band logo, it has hard to ignore this cover.