There’s plenty to be said for disco music, whether reminiscing about the glitz and point-heavy grooves, à la “Saturday Night Fever,” or the succinct rallying cry of 1979’s infamous Disco Demolition Night (and/or the “Freaks and Geeks” boys): “Disco sucks!” Still, polarizing as the songs might be, there’s one point on which we can all surely agree: The cover art for these albums is pretty insane.
What’s that, you say? You haven’t seen that many disco LP covers? Well, never fear — “Disco: An Encyclopedic Guide to the Cover Art of Disco Records” (Soul Jazz Books) is here. Slated for release on November 30, this large-format book presents full-size reproductions of cover art from the likes of Gloria Gaynor, James Brown, Donna Summer, Grace Jones, Isaac Hayes, Kool and the Gang, and dozens more — over 2,000 designs in total, plus more than 700 12-inch sleeves.
Also, for those so inclined, the tome contains detailed histories and discographies of some of the major disco-producing record companies, interviews with some of the great producers (Mel Cheren of West End Records, Marcin Schlachter of Prelude, etc.), compiled by the aptly named Disco Patrick and Patrick Vogt. There’s even a CD produced in conjunction with the book — “DISCO: A Fine Selection of Independent Disco, Modern Soul and Boogie,” to be released on December 2 by Soul Jazz Records — to ensure readers can listen as they browse.
For the moment, though, we’ve nabbed a few choice examples of art from the book in the slideshow above — enough, at least, to get a flavor for some of the genre tropes: Rollerskates? Check. Questionable neon eye make-up? Check. Citrus fruit? Apparently, also, check. Peruse the collection, above.
