The footprint is smaller than A4 but it made it easier for me to hold and so I'm more than happy with the format.
This is a Taschen book and the quality of the images is superb. The contents range from the 1960s to the 1990s and it would make a good gift for the older music lover in your life!

This is, in my opinion, a weird book, composed of, as the title indicates, of photos of 1,000 record covers - one guy's albums. This is not a book that I would have picked up; my son gave it to my husband for Christmas, and I thought that someone should look at it.

By my tally, I had owned, or my brother or roomates did, about 36 of these albums. (14 from the 1960's; 17 from the 1970's; 5 from the 1980's and 90's) Many I had not even heard of either the album or the group. The limited text is in English, German and French, so maybe some are European artists. My only observation is how many of the albums, from all the decades presented, used suggestive images, usually of women, that had seemingly little to do with the music

There were a lot of terribly misogynistic album covers back in the day and this dude apparently really liked a lot of them. Not as a coffee table book, not as a collection of hipster music cred, not even as an art project would I recommend this.

Perhaps not to "read", per se...

This is an intriguing slice of history, one shaped by Ochs' peculiar taste. This isn't a greatest hits book, featuring the best album art out there. This isn't even Ochs' personal favorite covers, which would say more about Ochs than it would about rock and roll. Bits of both those categories are in here, but with attention to artistic trends in covers, as well as covers that stand apart in their shock or just weirdness. So the book then becomes a bit weird. Also, it's not in any kind of order. Ochs doesn't even adhere to his decade categorizations at times, so the whole thing basically makes little organizational sense, which I suppose is how his collection actually was--which drives me a bit crazy.

The organization, however, and the selected covers do conform with the bland yet honest title: 1000 Record Covers. It isn't really about much except showing off 1000 covers. The minimal writing leaves the reader/viewer to browse according to whatever method they'd like. The book, which shaping your perception of rock and roll and cover art by the selected titles, still gives the reader much latitude in what they do with these covers. It's a kind of generous method.

I do think Ochs occasionally chose some really silly, even stupid, covers. But those are useful in spotlighting artistic trends (crotch shots, boob shots, etc.), which says something (not always positive) about the cultural trends of their time. Rock and roll has been pretty stupid at times, and covers follow suit--shocking covers might have succeeded in causing controversy and flash sales, but ultimately many of those bands just fell into proper obscurity because their music and ideas sucked. History isn't just about the great and successful, and it's important when examining rock music history to acknowledge where it has lapsed into some pretty dumb territory while soaring to new heights of excellence, also featured here.

This isn't a book with very high aspirations, but one delighting in some of the more simple pleasures of cover art and record collecting. Yes, part of the appeal of records is their size, which this book can't convey--just as any book of paintings or photographs can't reproduce the originals to properly convey why the originals are so marvelous. But this is an entry point to the world of record album art. When published in 1996, this book really was a nostalgic lamentation of a dying form. We don't really understand that today, when record sales are higher than they were when this book was published. Vinyl is back on the shelves and people are collecting. The internet perhaps makes this book a bit obsolete as well, since we can just google titles and lists instead. So the book itself has become a emblematic of a historical time now a bit hard for some of us to remember and understand. Like some of the albums featured inside, this book will probably lapse into obscurity as the Michael Ochs collection is showcased elsewhere in a larger and probably better way.

(the author pic - *very* much early-90s style, especially those jeans and shoes XD )

This is a collection of album covers, well-known and less-known. They are roughly grouped by the decade (1960s, 1970s, and 1980s-early1990s: all getting a short introduction), some appearing in other decade than their own. Each cover is accompanied by artist name, title, record label, your (or rough guess - I do wish there had been some more insisted searching), then design/collage/art/photo by, if known (but put sometimes just as 'unknown'). Sometimes there's a further comment added (these and the introduction are also in German and French).

One does notice that each decade has its own 'looks', which can date it there a bit. Some with similar themes or style are grouped together. There is good, bad and ugly (sexism, underage person(s)) covers, though that might sometimes depend on the reader's taste.

Sometimes there are 2-3 versions of the same cover - like The Mamas & The Papas' "If You Can Believe..." album. Sometimes the back covers or the whole folding of the covers are shown (like Small Faces' "Ogden's Nut..." vinyl); elsewhere unusually-shaped types and picture discs (the latter have been appearing since the 1940s (of which two examples are shown). Here and there appears some that have some kind of 'promo copy' sticker in them, a few have a corner clipped or pierced.

Some famous artists and designers I recognise: Norman Rockwell makes one cover that is clearly just for the album and not borrowed from somewhere else (Mike Bloomfield & Al Kooper - "The Live Adventures Of..."). There is at least 3 Andy Warhol works, two that use Escher, and Hipgnosis' odd art gets its pages.

Finally, there is the index for each artist. I do wish there could've been included some more covers, but I guess they have to stick to that number - and the book *is* pretty thick already.
Not necessarily an essential purchase, but if you like album covers - and you might find some really great ones to stare at - this is a great enough book. :)

History of music through album covers 50’s to 90’s. The photos are beautiful and I found it to be very nostalgic.

The reality in the music world. Lots of the bands are hit wonder and house names. Their career is very short and quick. Only a few become legendry. Album covers. Is like an art gallery.

Pretty pictures. I love vinyls. 4/5.