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This image is a collage of the original album cover art design (at centre) and reproductions of the image from the inside of the album and their negatives
(on the sides). The whole original image has been converted to monochrome and tinted with purple and the skull has been modified with the addition of
the eyes one of which has been intentionally misplaced in order to add expression to the face (or whatever is left of it). The meaning of the expression is
Emerson Lake and Palmer’s logo is actually the most reputed anagram in rock music. This work is an excellent example of how to make a long name fit into a simple and effective logo.
Giger found a clever way to make the anagram work by balancing the circles in the letters 'E' and 'P' to encircle the whole thing. He also balanced the rest with a long vertical centre spinal
formed by 'L' and 'P'. This is a wonderful lesson of balance and economy in logo design. The ELP logo has been used practically ever since. T-Shirts, prints, posters, backdrops, tons of reissues
and one of the most frequent images was painted on the side of vans and motorcycles.
Giger’s images have stood the test of time and this album cover has became one of the greatest album covers of all time. Hans Rudolf Giger went on to
become a world famous artist and designer, his paintings and prints are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. He won an Oscar for his spectacular work
for the movie "Alien" and he has contributed works for the films "Species", "Poltergeist" and others.
The album cover is considered one of the most memorable (and often disturbing) of its time. It features the distinctive Giger monochromatic biomechanical artwork, integrating an industrial
mechanism with a human skull and the new ELP logo. The lower part of the skull's face is covered by a circular screen, which shows the mouth and lower face in its flesh-covered state. In the
original LP release, the front cover was split in half down the centre, except for the circular screen section which was attached to the right half. Opening the halves revealed a painting of the
complete face: a human female (modelled after Giger's wife), with 'alien' hair and multiple scars, including the infinity symbol and a scar from a frontal lobotomy. The two images of the
woman are very similar, but the outer image (in the circle) contains what appears to be the top of a phallus below her chin, arising from the 'ELP' column below (the second painting originally
had the complete phallus, but this was removed at the insistence of the record company). The back cover was solid black with the album title in plain white lettering.
Image from Sacred Metal Board
According to a book written by Giger, the band never paid his bill for the artwork, even though the imagery has become part of the band’s overall brand.
These are the original album cover art design and the image from the inside of the album cover. "Work No. 217 ELP I" (left) and "Work No. 218 ELP II" (right),
are acrylic-on-paper paintings by H. R. Giger, done in 1973.
The paintings were last seen at the artist's 2005 retrospective at the National Technical Museum of Prague in the Czech Republic. A reward of $10,000 is being
offered for information leading to the recovery of these two world famous paintings. www.hrgiger.com
No. 56, Music Radar, The 50 Greatest Album Covers of All Time
Album produced by Greg Lake. Manticore 1973.
(A) Jerusalem - Toccata - Still. . . You Turn Me On - Benny the Bouncer - Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression, Part 1
(B) Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression, Part 2 - Karn Evil 9: 2nd Impression, Karn Evil 9: 3rd Impression
"Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression, Part 1" live cover by the Morgaua Quartet from edamame365 on YouTube.
