* An extraordinary collection of the best (and worst) album cover art from the glorious heyday of the vinyl LP, the halcyon era of British Popular Music, from the 'Beat Boom' of the early 60's through to the excesses of' Progressive Rock', 'Heavy Rock', 'Glam Rock' and beyond * A beautifully- designed treasure trove of imagery that will appeal to vinyl junkies, nostalgic obsessives and to anybody interested in the evolution of British design over the past forty years and features over 800 full colour reproductions of album sleeves * Contains the work of such notable (and notorious) artists and designers of the period as Hipgnosis, Roger Dean, Gered Mankowitz, Mick Rock and Klaus Voormann who designed for the Beatles * Records produced in the UK in the late 60's and early 70's have a unique appeal for collectors, mainly because of the care and attention paid to design and to production, qualities rarely found in the products of other countries in those days With its large 12 X 12 surface the LP record sleeve provided a unique canvas with which to ignite the artist's imagination. In Search of the Lost Record is an incredible collection of art that belongs to a genre that is undoubtedly heading for extinction, and documents the evolution of a hugely influential art form - from the simplicity of the early 60's to the extravagance, artistic self-indulgence and gatefold sleeve excesses that were a by-product of the heady era of progressive rock. Many of these featured designs have become valuable collector's items. The book is divided into short thematic segments such as psychedelia, exoticism, the nude, lettering, illustration, fantasy and nonsense and humour. One section of the book is devoted to record labels like Harvest, RCA, Island, Chrysalis, Vertigo, Charisma, Virgin, and their logos which carry such huge cultural resonance and significance. The featured recording artists range from the legendary and iconic figures of the golden age of British popular music- Beatles, Pink Floyd, Hendrix, Black Sabbath, Roxy Music, the Who, the Rolling Stones etc - to their utterly obscure and unheralded contemporaries.
