Album Cover Hall of Fame - Album Cover Art Interviews and News

Cover Story - Korn's "Korn", with photography by Stephen Stickler

Cover Story for November 30, 2007

Subject - KoЯn – Korn, a 1994 release on Immortal/Epic Records, with cover photography by Stephen Stickler

With “grunge” music filling the airwaves and dominating music television, Bakersfield, California’s KoЯn was a band that stood out from everyone else in a number of different ways. They weren’t full of angst – they were an angry band of metalheads who had discovered hip-hop beats and had a lead singer that also played the bagpipes! After being discovered by an A&R exec while playing in a nightclub, they worked on their unique musical and lyrical stylings until late 1994, when they released their self-titled debut Korn on Immortal/Epic Records.

The release of Korn also established a new genre – called “nu-metal” that showed the way for a number of bands (Godsmack, Limp Bizkit, Saliva, etc.) who had all wanted to give skate/surf kids the high-speed, beat-driven adrenalin rush that wasn’t found in the Seattle sound and to re-kindle the fire under many fans who thought that the metal genre had been buried alive or moved overseas. They toured relentlessly, opening for bands such as Ozzy Osbourne, Marilyn Manson, Danzig, Megadeth and Fear Factory and building a cult of mosh-crazy fans whose following has lasted through the years. Even with little/no radio or video support, their first album has since sold over 3 million copies (rising to #1 on the Billboard “Heatseekers” chart and as high as #72 in the Billboard “Top 200 Albums chart”) and their critical acclaim has handed them six Grammy nominations and two wins.

While Korn’s music is often filled with a sense of dark humor, the cover shot for their debut record did not tickle everyone’s funny bone for its seemed depiction of a young girl about to be lead away from her playtime at the park by a shadowy stranger (with the back-cover shot adding even more to the mystery). Brought in to use his artistic and photographic talents to develop this stunningly creepy image (and others used to illustrate the CD insert), photographer Stephen Stickler recounts what went in to making this memorable work of art in today’s Cover Story…

In the words of the photographer, Stephen Stickler (interviewed November, 2007) –

"At the time of this shoot, I was working with my friend Dante Ariola, who was a graphic designer at the time (now one of the top TV commercial directors in the world – a 2007 DGA award winner!). His company did a lot of work with Sony and Epic, and so we went up to meet the band at a recording studio in Malibu and to listen to some of the tracks. I knew right away that they were going to be huge - the music was so powerful and new sounding. And dark!

Jonathan, the singer of the band, had a pretty strange background – he had been schooled in mortuary science and had worked in the coroner’s office prior to joining the band - so his perspective was dark, to say the least. The cover concept may have been his idea, come to think of it. It was one of the few instances I can recall when the band's input was great to work with. The label was pretty hands-off on this one, surprisingly, perhaps because I had already done so much of work for them.

This shot was done specifically for the cover and the band’s management and label were involved, not conceptually, but in a supportive role. The band wasn't even there, if I recall correctly. The little girl in the shot is actually the A&R guy's (Paul Pontius) niece (8-year-old Justine Ferrara), and the shot took place in a playground located behind the label’s West Hollywood offices. ‘Uncle Paul’ and Justine’s mother were there to supervise, and I just told her to ‘look scared’.

I forget exactly where the specific idea came from, but the menacing shadow is actually Dante's. He was making strange shapes with his hands to get an eerie shape in the late afternoon sun - note the elongated shadows. You’ll note that the girl's shadow appears to hang from the shadow of the “K” in the Korn logo. We positioned it there on purpose, and the band was enthusiastic about the effect.

This was in the early days of Photoshop, so I used a manual technique of masking the film to reduce the color saturation and achieve a somewhat faded Ektachrome effect. I don't generally shoot a lot of frames, so the edit process was easy.

The shot taken for the back cover shows an empty swing swinging, and it completes the tragic story we were trying to tell. Our original submission was accepted, which again is rare. The label was happy with the outcome, but the covers we shot for their 2nd release were rejected because we pushed it too far that time out. Once the girl's parents saw the finished cover, Paul was in the doghouse for a while, or so I heard…

The band was pleased, too, which of course led to many nights of mayhem when we hung out with the band, moshing up in front, and drinking the sponsored Jagermeister backstage. I remember seeing Marilyn Manson at a Korn after party and wondering who that nerdy geek was who was trying so hard. Then a year later, he was huge!”

About the photographer, Stephen Stickler –

<- Stephen, on his way to work in one of LA's trendy neighborhoods...

Stephen Stickler has worked hard to establish himself as a photographer and photo-journalist with serious credentials, having served as the Executive Editor for Bikini Magazine (“ACTION. FILM. CARS AND ROCK N. ROLL”) from 1993-1996 and then as Fashion and Photography editor for Raygun Magazine. His work has been published in many magazines, including both general interest publications (Newsweek, Life and Alternative Press) and special interest pubs in the music and fashion world, including Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, Playboy, Seventeen, Maxim, Revolver, CMJ and many others.

His record label packaging work has served to promote a wide range of artists on a "who's who" list of labels including Sony, Atlantic, Virgin, Warner Brothers, Tommy Boy, Elektra, Universal, Dreamworks, MCA, Mercury and A&M, while his fashion work has improved the fortunes of companies such as Fresh Jive, Ocean Pacific, Sketchers and many others.

He currently lives and works in the LA area and, sadly for fans of his past work in the record packaging area, he’s moved on to focus his efforts and talents in more supervisory roles, i.e., directing and producing. As he puts it (and to which this author must sadly agree) - “The glory days of album photography are over, as are the days of big cover budgets. I was lucky to catch the tail end of 12" vinyl covers. CDs are dying and, really, so is cover art. It's just not the same looking at a record cover on a 2" iPod screen, whereas I'll always have fond memories of putting on a new album I'd bought and studying the packing while listening to the record for the first time."

To see more of Stephen Stickler’s work, please visit his website at www.stephenstickler.com

For more information on Korn, please visit their website at http://www.korn.com/site.php

For more information on RockPoP Gallery, we invite you to visit our site at http://www.rockpopgallery.com

Cover images and S. Stickler photo Copyright 1994 and 2007 Stephen Stickler Photography - http://www.stephenstickler.com/  - All rights reserved. Except as noted, All other text Copyright 2007 - Mike Goldstein & RockPoP Gallery (www.rockpopgallery.com) - All rights reserved.

Cover Story - Aimee Mann's "The Forgotten Arm", with art direction by Gail Marowitz

Cover Story for November 19, 2007

Subject - Aimee Mann – The Forgotten Arm, a 2005 release on SuperEgo Records, with cover art direction by Aimee Mann & Gail Marowitz

Based on a story about the relationship between a small-time boxer who’s a Vietnam vet who returned with a LOT of emotional baggage and his small-town girlfriend - who both simply want to run away from their problems – singer/songwriter Aimee Mann’s concept album and her band take the listener on a cross-country musical tour that ends with our two young lovers breaking up, facing their demons and, ultimately, getting back together – well, sort of…

Aimee Mann’s career – from her beginnings in Virginia and Boston at the Berklee College of Music, to her musical travels through punk (The Young Snakes) to New Wave success (and an MTV Video Award for “Best New Artist”) in the mid-80s with ‘Til Tuesday (Voices Carry) and then finally as a well-regarded solo artist, independent label owner and an Academy Award nominated songwriter (in 1999, for music and songs written for the film Magnolia) – has also had its share of heavyweight successes and the sucker punches that only an independent-minded artist suffers in the music business, but in the end, she’s found true love (with singer Michael Penn, whom she married in 1997) and keeps delivering her music to her fans, her way.

The title for this recording is borrowed from a boxing term and serves to prepare the listener for the danger, scuffling and unseen roundhouse punches found in Mann’s songs about both John’s boxing vocation and in his relationship with Caroline. Representing that visually was the challenge that Aimee and her long-time cohort in design – art director Gail Marowitz – took on together, with the results so impressive that they were awarded with a Grammy in 2006 for "Best Recording Package" (single CD). The journey to this lofty place in the music and design worlds is documented here in today’s Cover Story interview…

MG – Thank you for talking with me today. I want to focus first on the artist you were creating packaging for. How is it that you were first introduced to Aimee Mann’s music?

GM – I met Aimee at Imago (Recording Company, and now-defunct BMG label. Gail's creative relationship with Aimee Mann has spanned more than ten years, designing all of her CDs since 1993's Whatever - MG). I met her more as a big fan, as I really liked her in ‘Til Tuesday. You could tell by her voice and her song-writing that she was truly unique – no one writes better lyrics. We worked on album design – cover, liner, etc., - as true friends and collaborators. The only other artist I’ve worked with who showed this degree of dedication was Patti Smith.

MG - In coordinating all of the artists, writers, lithographers, and licensing folks, how long did this process take - from start to finished product?

GM – My first conversation with Aimee took place at the end of October 2004 after she was almost done with her record. She sent me some of the initial mixes and told me that the record was conceived as a concept album about a boxer coming back from Vietnam, falling in love and wrestling with his addictions, She had seen Owen Smith’s (the illustrator) show at La Luz De Jesus (a well-known gallery in Los Angeles), and I was familiar with the beautiful magazine covers he’d done for the New Yorker magazine, so I contacted him about this project and, luckily, he had heard of Aimee Mann and accepted the commission. We spent the next 3 months working together and had the package in production in March 2005 – a luxurious amount of time compared to the regular major-label process – I’ve often had only 10 days to put together a package!

MG – Gail, was there a track on The Forgotten Arm that guided your vision?

GM – Although no particular track inspired the work, the song “Video”, which has themes of loneliness and addiction, galvanized the whole package’s “bones”. The Owen Smith illustration we used inside the package for “Video” was the one that we saw at his show (it shows an exhausted boxer with his head down) that drew us to his work. The term “Forgotten Arm” stands for the arm that comes out of nowhere to clock you when two exhausted boxers are leaning on each other.

MG - What “guidance” - or specific instructions - did you provide the illustrators or the designers that created the key parts of your package?

GM – We just tortured Owen Smith in front of his wife and two kids! He’d heard Aimee’s music and responded to her artistry. I did my usual synopsis of each song on the album and provided him with that as guidance. He did pencil sketches, which Aimee and I reviewed, and went back and forth until the final product was ready and we were all happy with it. I did struggle to come up with the right type style for the lettering - I wanted a “pulp-fiction novel feel” to it. While I was upstate at an auction, I bought a bunch of old pulp fiction books and found my inspiration in a book I’d bought and adapted a font and color palette from that.

MG – Did you consider your efforts to be works of self-expression, or did you take your lead from your client (or the artist)?

GM – This was not a work of self-expression. I want to bring the artist’s vision to life and, in this case, Aimee comes “fully-formed”, versus many other artists who might be clueless as to how to approach this part of producing their record. Once we’d agreed that the theory behind the package was “chapters in a book”, I felt that the lyrics should be presented looking like pages in that book. She worked hard as a collaborator with me to re-write the lyrics in this fashion to fit the art direction.

MG – Here’s a more general item I’m interested in getting your opinion on - With the electronic delivery of music products growing at a fast pace, are you noticing any more/less enthusiasm on the client's (or artist's) behalf to invest time and money in packaging that stands out?

GM – The major labels don’t seem eager to invest in packaging. The majors are like the Queen Mary making a turn, where the indies are more like speed boats, so they’ll most probably be more interested in this sort of investment. I think that the best ideas will focus on doing limited-edition artwork delivered on multiple platforms, and special packages for the fans – bonuses that will separate these products and keep them unique. These can be delivered online, too (as Apple has demonstrated in their iTunes store, offering special versions of downloadable album cover artwork/notes for some albums – MG).

MG – Thanks to you and best of luck in your career – we look forward to seeing more of the fruits of your labor in upcoming years.

Editor’s Note – in addition to the Grammy, the packaging work for The Forgotten Arm was also honored in late 2005 with an Alex Award at the Entertainment Media Expo. Gail has continued to produce great packaging and online products for her label’s roster of talent, including images for Evanescene, Seether, DrowningPool and Scott Stapp from Creed.

About the art director, Gail Marowitz - 

Gail Marowitz – winner (as art director, along with Aimee Mann) of the 2006 Grammy Award for “Best Recording Package – Single CD” for "The Forgotten Arm" by Aimee Mann. For over 17 years – currently as V.P. and Creative Director for Wind-up Records and previously as V.P. of Design at Columbia Records, she has been designing music packaging, having designed covers for Patti Smith, James Taylor, Bette Midler, Aerosmith and Bob Dylan. Prior to her stint at Columbia Records, she was Director of Creative Services at the now defunct Imago Recording Company where she worked with such diverse artists as Henry Rollins, Paula Cole and Aimee Mann. She has received numerous awards and has had her work published in various design annuals. She has lectured at the Type Director's Club and been the Moderator of the panel "Art Directors Talk Shop" for three years running at The Entertainment/Media Packaging Summit in Los Angeles. Shortly after winning her Grammy, Gail started a new career at Wind-Up Records, the largest independent label in the United States, where she oversees the entire label's visual direction, from packaging to videos, as well as satisfying her need for listening to blistering hard rock in the office with no fear of being asked to turn it down.

She graduated Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT with a degree in English literature. Much of Gail’s youth was misspent in record stores, staring at album covers (much of her adulthood is spent the same way!). Some things, fortunately, never change.

For more information on Gail Marowitz’s company – Wind-Up Records - please visit their website at http://www.winduprecords.com

For more information on Aimee Mann, please visit her website at http://www.aimeemann.com or the United Musicians site at http://www.unitedmusicians.com/temp/index.html

For more information on RockPoP Gallery, we invite you to visit our site at http://www.rockpopgallery.com

Cover image Copyright 2005 SuperEgo Records - http://www.aimeemann.com/  - All rights reserved. Gail Marowitz photo image Copyright 2007 Wind-up Records - http://www.winduprecords.com Except as noted, All other text Copyright 2007 - Mike Goldstein & RockPoP Gallery (www.rockpopgallery.com) - All rights reserved.

Cover Story - The Go-Gos "God Bless The Go-Gos", with cover photograph by Maryanne Bilham

Cover Story for November 12, 2007

Subject - The Go-Gos God Bless The Go-Gos – a 2001 release on Beyond Records (Re-released in the U.S. in 2004 on Sony/Legacy/Eagle Records), with cover photography by Maryanne Bilham

Having released 3 albums in the early 1980s (including 1982’s huge Vacation, previously discussed in our 9/14 Cover Story) that coincided with the path that took them from bar band to opening act for the Police to superstardom on their own, the Go-Gos disintegrated within a year after releasing 1984’s Talk Show, and the members went their separate ways. 

Then, after many years working on solo and side projects, some powerful force took control and brought the original band members back together in 2001 to create an album of new music called God Bless the Go-Gos. The record impressed the critics – many of whom had originally downplayed the band’s importance in the emergence of the 80s punk/pop scene – and showed what we all loved about this band. They are still out to have a good time and want us to grab a beer, talk about whatever’s on our minds today, and if we can share a laugh about how ridiculous the head of the cheerleading squad looks in her too-tight uniform, all the better.

Impressively (particularly to middle-aged men like me who want to believe that aging is just the passage of time), in addition to reminding us of their talents as great songwriters and musicians, the “cute and innocent” young girls who we knew in the early 1980s had grown into a band of alluring women that still have “got the beat”! Of course, then, it would take a photographer with a strong sense of how modern women should be interpreted visually to create just the perfect set of images for the cover of the first new Go-Gos record in 17 years. They found that in Maryanne Bilham, who shares her recollections of the process of turning “good time girls” into Saints in today’s Cover Story…                               

In the words of the photographer, Maryanne Bilham (interviewed in October 2007) - 

“I originally started working with Gina Schock - drummer of the Go-Gos - in the late 90s, photographing her for a series of ads for musical companies she endorsed. She then suggested me to their manager as a potential photographer for the new Go-Gos CD - their first in many years.   

The people at Beyond Music were handling the Go-Gos project, but it was the band’s long-time manager - Ginger Canzoneri - who was Art Directing and making the decisions about any photography that might be needed. During this period of time I was also putting on a personal exhibition - a project called Divine Eros, which were modern day photographic interpretations of female saints and mystics. This exhibition was unknown to the Go-Gos at the time, but it ultimately provided some interesting synchronicity!

A meeting had been arranged between myself and Ginger so that I could present my music portfolio to her. We discussed the various musicians I had worked with and the images I had created, and as the meeting drew to a close, she decided to show me the top secret concept for the upcoming project. She the produced a sheet of paper with drawings of prayer cards, each one depicting a Go-Go with a unique virtue. Taking this as my cue, the next day I dropped by the images from my Divine Eros show and, a few days later, I was commissioned to produce the new Go-Gos album art work.   

The band has always created interesting art work for their album projects. Ginger was adamant that it should be a return to the “classic album artwork of the 70s” - e.g., paying homage to the great works of Hipgnosis, Kosh, Roger Dean, etc. The fact they had not released any new music in such a long time provided us with a unique opportunity to produce a memorable conceptual piece.

Wardrobe was a large component stylistically in pulling the imagery together. Wardrobe designer Jennifer E. Mc Manus was hired to create the drapery and habits. We decided against using crosses or other props that would denote a particular religious denomination. Next on the list was the makeup and hair. Jane Wiedlin had green hair at the time, so this was another interesting challenge we needed to work through. For this work, we selected a stylist named Robin Slater, who is well-known in Hollywood for her feature work on films such as Memoirs of a Geisha, Artificial Intelligence and The Grinch.

Apart from the cover portraits, we decided to also recreate the famous Nicolas Poussin painting titled Les Bergeres d’Arcadie, more recently associated The Da Vinci Code, the Priory of Sion, Holy Blood Holy Grail, etc. We commissioned Schmidli Backdrops (LA) to paint a backdrop of the hillside and tomb using Poussin’s painting as the reference. Both Ginger and I were very well-read on the Templar Tales of Mary Magdalene and the stories surrounding the Cathars and the Merovingian blood line in the South of France (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merovingian) and thought that this would be an interesting element to include in the artwork. This was all pre-Da Vinci Code and everyone’s current fascination with The Divine Feminine, as seen through Dan Brown’s successful novel.

Also, at the time of the shoot, none of the Go-Gos got on particularly well, so in fact I went to some lengths to make sure their portraits and prep were done separately. I guess this is typical of many bands who reform after being apart for a while –they’re like dysfunctional families. Since all the Go-Gos were in different locations at the time, all the info and concepts from the development meetings were passed through Ginger to Beyond Music, who gave us complete creative freedom for the image development.

It took 3 months from the intial meeting with Ginger to complete the project. The images were shot on a 6x7 Mamiya camera on Fuji 400 ASA transparency film, which I cross-processed to color neg and then had skintones balanced. This gave me a fully-saturated image with a flawless skin quality which worked well for this iconic imagery. The final images were then worked on with Photoshop to create halo effects and renderings to create the final effect.

The label was very happy with the results, but at the last minute they became concerned about an overload of religious imagery. Sadly, neither the “Poussin image” nor an image of the group in habits surrounding a disco ball were included in the final art work.”

Editor’s note - While the label may have been happy, unfortunately Catholic League President William Donahue was not and publicly chastised the girls for exploiting religion for commercial purposes.

As was reported on their website in April 2001, “The Go-Go's have upset the Catholic League For Religious And Civil Rights with the artwork on their upcoming release God Bless The Go-Go's, as well as their latest website. The group's site is designed around a religious theme with a place for confession, featuring each Go-Go decked out in the clothing of the Virgin Mary, which the religious organization doesn't seem to find quite entertaining.” A prayer is also posted for those who feel the need, reading, “Hail Go-Go's, full of beat, the rock is with Thee. Blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thine talent, music. Holy Go-Go's, mothers of chick rock, pray for us sinners - now, and at the hour of thy concerts, Amen.” Mindi Sue Meyer, of band label Beyond Music, said the rock act wasn't intending mockery. "These are all religious girls," she told the New York Daily News. "They believe that God is giving them a second chance. They feel that they've been blessed."

For more about the Go-Gos (still touring today), please visit their website at http://www.gogos.com/   

About the photographer, Maryanne Bilham -

   

Maryanne Bilham, known for her photography of famous celebrities and musicians, believes that photography and music are both “creative media that constantly explore and project our intuitive abilities.” Maryanne started her career at the University of Fine Arts in Auckland, New Zealand. While assisting one of Auckland's leading photographers, she became involved with the start of the magazine Paper, a one-of-a-kind graphic and photography publication. Soon after this, she left her antipodean roots to explore new opportunities in the bustling Asian arena of Hong Kong for 9 years, where she began work in the advertising community and at the Performing Arts Academy. Traveling most of South East Asia and China, Maryanne photographed some of their leading musicians and performers, as well as other religious iconography, ancient ruins and mythical sites.

Eventually feeling a growing desire to pursue her passion for the rock ‘n’ roll industry, Maryanne decided to base herself in Los Angeles. Since her arrival in this city, her pathway has led her to assignment work with some of the music industry's more visible companies and publications as well as artists such as U2, the Go-Go’s, Skinny Puppy, Imogen Heap, Sheryl Crow, Courtney Love and John 5 (her image for his Songs for Sanity album features the guitarist levitating between his two guitars - see below - an idea taken from early 20th-century photos of hypnotists levitating their subjects between two chairs. A 20-foot version of this can be seen outside of Guitar Center’s entrance on Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles). Maryanne and her partner – photographer Robert Knight - have photography installations on the outside of 200 Guitar Centers throughout the U.S.

Her personal projects include her Divine Eros exhibition. Inspired by the magnificent life stories of the female Saints and Mystics buried in the vaults of Christian Mysticism, these women’s voices spoke to her. “We always stand to learn from a comparison of our own forms of life with those we can reflect on from the past.” In 2005, Divine Eros was exhibited by The Trinity Episcopal Arts Commission in Portland, Oregon and the Farmani Gallery of Los Angeles. In 2003, she received second place in the International Photography Awards - Underwater Section for "Christina the Astonishing."

Recently commissioned work in 2007 includes a new web and Ad campaign for the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas and a music video production for Bubbles and Cheesecake titled “It’s a Woman Thang”. She will also have an upcoming exhibition of Divine Eros for Easter of 2008 with Theron at the San Francisco Art Exchange.

Bonus images - from Maryanne's Divine Eros suite, "Marguerite Porete" and "Teresa of Avila"

To see more of Maryanne Bilham’s work, please visit her website at http://www.maryannebilham.com/

To see more Go-Go’s-related works in the RockPoP Gallery collection, please visit our website at http://www.rockpopgallery.com

All images Copyright 2001 - 2007 Maryanne Bilham Photography - http://www.maryannebilham.com/  - All rights reserved. Except as noted, All other text Copyright 2007 - Mike Goldstein & RockPoP Gallery - All rights reserved.

Cover Story - Blackmore’s Night “Fires At Midnight”, cover by George Chin

Cover Story for November 2, 2007

Subject - Blackmore’s Night Fires At Midnight – A 2001 recording, released on Steamhammer Us/SPV records, with cover photography by George Chin.

One of rock music’s Renaissance men, guitarist Richie Blackmore is the one who has taken the term most literally, having played for the past 10 years in Blackmore’s Night, a band that brings his amazing talents and prog-rock sensibilities to a mix of music that includes Renaissance-era melodies, English folk and recreations of more current folk/rock tunes. Joined in this effort by Long Island’s own Candice Night on vocals and a backing band of squires, lords and bards playing a broad range of medieval and modern instruments, the band has released a series of well-received records and toured regularly, appearing at Renaissance-themed fairs, festivals and unique concert events in castles all over the world, charming audiences wherever they appear.

While Deep Purple and Rainbow fans might at first question why one of hard rock’s most-influential guitarists is focused more on complex romantic song structures and subtle nuance rather than the gutsy, bluesy power playing that endeared him to rock fans (and legions of admiring fellow  guitarists) in the 70s and 80s, it is clear that this is the music that he holds most dear. One listen to Fires At Midnight will entrance listeners with a mix that successfully highlight his electric guitar leads within the structures of beautifully-sung and played melodies and rhythms.    

Fires At Midnight was the first Blackmore’s Night release on Germany’s Steamhammer/SPV label, whose other well-known acts include metal fan favorites Motorhead, Dio, Judas Priest, and Type O Negative. The label wanted to impress fans with this new release and trusted that the collaboration between Blackmore and UK-based photographer George Chin would produce just the right image to appeal to fans of all ages and musical genres. The tale of how George went about getting “just the right shot” in a centuries-old castle in the U.K. – complete with magic and a beautiful maiden - is the subject of today’s Cover Story… 

In the words of the photographer, George Chin (interviewed October, 2007) -

"One of my clients - the Japanese music magazine Burrn! – had commissioned me to go to Germany to photograph Blackmore's Night for a cover feature in the Bavaria region in Germany at a small castle called Schloss Eggersberg that was located in a small village in the middle of a national park on the banks of the Danube at least two hours drive away from Munich, the nearest major city.  It was an amazing place, with forests everywhere.  Prior to this I had photographed Ritchie in concert with Deep Purple, but never with that band in a formal session (this somehow never came together), and so this was my first time to meet the great guitar legend.

I spent three days in Germany with Ritchie and Candice (Night – lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist) and Carole, who is Candice's mother and the manager of Blackmore's Night.  After dinner on the second night, Ritchie explained that the name for the album would be Fires At Midnight and he wanted to shoot the cover of the album at Schloss Eggersberg at midnight (of course!) with the castle as a backdrop, and a series of bonfires lit around the castle. As we talked about it, it became apparent that it would involve additional lighting to illuminate the castle because it was pitch black at midnight, with no other lighting available apart from moonlight.

At this time, Ritchie never officially asked me to do the cover shoot - he only asked me what I thought of his concept as a photographer and whether the idea he had would work on film.  I provided some input and suggestions, but it was left at that and I returned to London after listening to some of his ghost stories on the last night after dinner (more on this later).

One Friday morning, about two weeks later, I got a call from the record company, SPV in Germany, asking me if I would be available on Sunday to fly to Newcastle, in the north of England to shoot the cover for the forthcoming Blackmore's Night album - Fires At Midnight. Ritchie and Candice would be doing a private concert for their fan club in the rand hall of a medieval castle – called Lumley Castle - and everybody attending would be in medieval dress.  I told them that if the idea was to shoot the concept I had discussed previously with Ritchie in Germany, I would need a lot of lighting.   The label said that the lighting that would be available which was whatever was being brought in for the concert - anything else, I had to bring with me on two day's notice!

There was no art director involved in this project – we were simply going to base the effort on the conversations I had with Ritchie in Germany. And while I had not spoken to Ritchie any further up until this point, I felt that – as if by mental telepathy - I knew what he was thinking about and I could visualize the whole thing. I really wondered what the record company was thinking at that point – that is, that the whole album - artwork, promotion campaign, etc. – would be resting on a conversation between Ritchie and me.  I had never worked with SPV before this and they had to trust their artist and go with his recommendations.  This was the first Blackmore's Night album for them, so it was a major act of faith on their part. It was Ritchie's decision entirely to use me for the cover shoot.

When I arrived at Lumley Castle on Sunday morning, I hooked up with the label representative, who was still very much in the dark what the shoot was going to be about.  I told her what Ritchie and I had talked about and she seemed relaxed and reassured that I had a hang on the whole concept and knew what I had to do.  The concert was happening that evening so I figured out that we would be shooting after the concert - at midnight!

After lunch, we all sat down and talked again about the shoot. The main concept of fires and flames was still there, but Ritchie was now thinking some of the fans dressed in medieval garb should be holding flaming torches in a recreation of a medieval scene with Ritchie and Candice both dressed in medieval clothes. This was to be photographed at midnight after the concert was over.

I had already done a recon of the castle and found that the entrance to the main keep had an old wooden door with an iron grill, whereas the walls surrounding the doorway already had medieval torch holders in place which we could light and use that whole area as the background for the shoot.  The lit torch holders would be ideal for flames and I could use the concert lighting to fill in and light the castle walls and also to light Ritchie and Candice.  If I shot everything on daylight film, it would have a warm cast overall which would give it a feel of a scene from another time in history.  One or two of the fans could be in the shot holding additional torches for added effect. I had brought a smoke machine with me to create some smoky haze and, adding that, this was the entire set-up.

Ritchie and Candice loved my suggestions.  They also wanted to shoot a drunken medieval scene with the fans in the grand hall after the concert.  This idea was a medieval banquet with all the fans dressed up drinking and laying about looking pissed, with Ritchie and Candice at the center of it all as the Lord and Lady of the castle. .  I decided to shoot this using the same concert lighting again to create the same old-world effect. I had brought strobes with me, but decided not to use them, opting for the concert lighting instead. By 4am the next morning - after a long night - it was all wrapped up and in the can. 

Tech notes - Everything was shot as it was set up using transparency medium-format film. I could have done with a couple of extra lighting heads, but had to make do with what was available by pushing the film.  I used daylight 400ASA film pushed one stop to 800ASA.  I also shot some 35mm on tungsten film to see how that turned out. Nothing was done in Photoshop afterwards - the images were used as they were shot.

Everyone was absolutely delighted with the results. The photos were exactly what they had in mind. They chose one shot for the cover and that was it.  I had that scanned and sent over to SPV in Germany.  Two days later, SPV called me and bought out all the rights to the entire shoot and I sent them all the selections that Ritchie and Candice had made.  The banquet scene photo was then used on the cover of the first single off the album ('Home Again' - see image, below) and other images were used on merchandising and websites, including Blackmore's Night official website.

The whole project and process worked as if by magic, which reminded me of something that had happened on the last night of my stay at the Schloss Eggersberg. As we were all sitting round the dinner table chatting and having a few drinks, Ritchie asked the lady from the Japanese label to think of someone she knows - a relative, friend or colleague - write his/her name down on a piece of paper, then fold it up and  place it under a glass. 

He then proceeded to 'read her mind' by asking a series of questions – 'is the person male?', 'does he/she have blond hair', 'is he/she a close relative', etc. - and to each question, her response was – 'yes, that’s correct'.  He then named the person - a Japanese name no-one else would have guessed or known apart from the label person herself.  She confirmed he was right again and then he asked me to open the folded piece of paper. On it was the name of the person he had just called out. I couldn't figure out how he could have done that because it was impossible to guess the name of anyone, let alone a foreign name. And how could he have guessed that the person had blond hair when Japanese people all have naturally black hair? Now, that was magical!!"

To learn more about Blackmore’s Night, please visit their website at
http://www.blackmoresnight.com/

To see more examples of fine album cover artwork and photography in the RockPoP Gallery collection, please visit our site at
http://www.rockpopgallery.com

About the photographer, George Chin -

George Chin started his photographic career while still at college in 1979. Gaining access to black artists at that time was relatively easy because, unlike today - apart from Bob Marley - they had little media value.  George began honing his photographic skills on artists such as The Jackson Five, Parliament & Funkadelic, Jimmy Cliff, Peter Tosh, Manu Dibango, Toots & The Maytals, Dennis Brown and the 2-Tone bands - Specials, Selecter, Madness, etc.

Next came the New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene, spearheaded by Diamond Head and Iron Maiden together with the New Romantics and bands like Duran Duran, Culture Club, Spandau Ballet, The Thompson Twins, etc.  It was an exciting time and George was soon very busy shooting these bands and others for magazine and record company clients in the UK, Europe and Japan.

During rock and metal’s halcyon days of the late 1980’s, George was one of the early contributors to Kerrang! magazine and worked for all the major publications of those genres in the UK, Europe, USA, and Australia. Also during this time, George toured the world extensively as the official tour photographer for many of the biggest bands of that era - Guns n' Roses, Aerosmith, Iron Maiden, Bon Jovi, Skid Row, Motorhead, Anthrax – while at the same time working exclusively with Terence Trent D'Arby and a young Whitney Houston whenever she toured the UK.

By 1990, George's reputation and profile were so high that he landed the prime job for any music photographer; i.e., official tour photographer with the Rolling Stones on their Urban Jungle Tour of Europe. Then, early in 1991, Axl Rose invited George to join Guns n' Roses in Rio de Janeiro to photograph them exclusively at the Rock in Rio II festival at the Marcana Stadium, following that with the Get In The Ring Tour of the USA in 1991 and the Use Your Illusion world tour through to 1994.

Next followed a stint with Aerosmith in 1994 -1995 for the Get A Grip world tour and again in 1997 for the Nine Lives tour of Europe. At the end of 1997, for personal reasons, George took a break from touring and worked in the studio doing editorial and record company sessions shooting bands as diverse as Blur and Iron Maiden.   

In 2000, after a three year hiatus of no overseas tours, George went to Rio de Janeiro to hook up with Guns n' Roses again at Rock in Rio III where the new GnR were headlining to 250,000 people (also photographing the entire set of Oasis). In 2002, Axl again invited George to go to the Far East for a short tour followed by the aborted autumn tour of the USA (which ended in a riot in Philadelphia!).

After that, George settled down in the U.K. with his young family, preferring to work with bands touring the UK/Europe and those based in the UK.  The list, by no means complete, of acts he worked with includes Ashanti, Beyonce, Black Sabbath (reunited), Cream (reunited), Eric Clapton, Annie Lennox, Cher, Coldplay, Deep Purple, Depeche Mode, H.I.M., Jay-Z, Joss Stone, Judas Priest, Madonna, Metallica, Morrissey, New York Dolls, Oasis, Paul McCartney, Pink, Primal Scream, Queen + Paul Rodgers, REM, Rolling Stones, Scissor Sisters, Shakira, Simple Plan, Soulfly, and Sting. In 2006, Axl Rose once again invited George to New York for three warm-up shows, followed by dates in Europe and the UK.

George continues today to work for bands, record companies, and editorial clients using the latest digital cameras and imaging technology meeting today's demands for instant delivery. He specializes in providing the photographic requirements that today's artist and artist brands now demand for a variety of uses (including merchandising of all kinds), as well as web and print use for press, promotion and advertising.

According to George, "these days, anyone can call themselves a photographer because they have a digital camera and, while shooting a lot of pictures, they get at least one or two good shots.  My trademarks are creativity and imagination coupled with professionalism and over 25 years experience of shooting under any lighting conditions at the drop of a hat.  Quality before quantity is what I am about."

To see more of George Chin’s photography, please visit his website at http://www.georgechin.com

Bonus Photo info –

#1 - Candice Night and Ritchie Blackmore live, 2001 Blackmore's Night performing a private concert at Lumley Castle, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK - 07 May 2001

#2 - Blackmore's Night - Lumley Castle, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK - 07 May 2001 Ritchie Blackmore and Candice Night photographed exclusively for the cover of the CD album "Fires at Midnight" at Lumley Castle, Newcastle-on-Tyne, UK - 07 May 2001.

All images Copyright 2001 & 2007 George Chin - www.georgechin.com - All rights reserved. Except as noted, All other text Copyright 2007 - Mike Goldstein & RockPoP Gallery (www.rockpopgallery.com) - All rights reserved.