Friday, October 2, 2009

Wild Cover Art, Man!
Hope - Klaatu

Front Cover
[Click for large-scale version.]

Some might say it's just a sub-Roger Dean alien cityscape. I'll even admit to liking some Dean, but this is Klaatu! The band whose lack of album credits spawned rumors of a prog Beatles reunion?!
Yeah, that Klaatu.

Hope is from 1977, which makes it probably the best late-period Canadian Beatlesque prog record of all. My sources tell me it's a concept album "about the sole survivor of an arrogant race of beings, who warns space travelers of hazards in the last days of his life." So, of course it would win the Canadian Music Critics award for Best Album!



Hey, wait. Is that some kind of metaphor for the USA? Hmmmm...

Apparently, the art was done by "Ted Jones." Good info. He also did the design for their first few records. Can't tell whether that's the Fisk University art professor, but maybe not. Still, you can really tell from that pompous city, that was one arrogant race of beings. Also, pretty nifty how the sun pattern on the cracked tile plaza is from their first album cover (Hope was the 2nd). The back's pretty nice as well, giving a zoomed-out overhead shot of the town, the mountain in the background, and close-up red giant sun.

The Back
Plus, all respect for The Day the Earth Stood Still bandname homage!

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