This page in effect consists of a gathering of M. C. Escher’s artwork that has appeared on the front covers in the field of music, namely with record albums and CDs. As such, the is the second such cover art compilation, and it compliments the first essay on Escher’s artwork, featuring on book and articles, that being the more substantial collection, of c. 400 covers. Each essay is to be regarded as a stand-alone piece, with comparisons between the two genres generally made afterwards.

Music is another field replete with his work, with about 100 distinct covers (an exact figure is trying to determine, for reasons of which I discuss below). Note that here, I do not include what I term as ‘pastiches’, that are commonly to be seen, namely with artwork that although indeed is based on Escher’s work, nonetheless has no original Escher element within (such examples are to be the subject of a future page in the series on the use of Escher cover art). On occasion, various liberties are taken with Escher's artwork, such as distortions and additions/omissions, although here I ignore such matters. Although ideally the cover would be a ‘complete Escher’, the only criteria for their placing here is of the merest original aspect of an Escher artwork.

The reasoning behind this (and other compilations of different genres) is one of interest as to what people from other fields, largely aside from mathematics, find interesting as regards Escher’s artwork. Furthermore, it is also interesting to compare the favoured choices between the different cover art mediums.

Note that the findings here (in contrast to my book and article cover researches) are not primarily my own, but are overwhelmingly derived from Tom Shieh’s own magnificent researches [6], this being a subset of his interest in record cover art per se. Another notable aid was the discogs.com site. In the course of my researches, I simply add a few extras I have found that are not on that list, and with the occasional addition of Jeffrey Price’s record and CD covers in his book [5] and ‘Snellius’ [7] not shown by Shieh, and a few instances of my own researches. Although I could refer the reader to the above authors, this page is different in that I do not include ‘pastiches’, as detailed above, as well as adopting a more analytic approach, and so the pages do not in effect repeat, but rather complement each other.

Note that on occasions, it is not always possible to present the findings in an ideal was as possible, given that this is wholly an internet search; I do not have a single music instance of Escher artwork in my collection of Escher material. There are varieties of complications that militate against a straightforward listing. Names of the recording and group are not always clear-cut. Dates of issue are sometimes not given. Some albums appear to have been re-released, other are bootlegs. Other avenues for confusion are minor variations of covers. For instance, ‘One Step Closer’ has three instances of ‘Relativity’, differentiated only by coloured lettering. Although indeed strictly of three different instances, to regard these as three different covers is to give a false impression, and so such instances, for analysis purposes, are regarded as just one. Another aspect of confusion is that of bootlegs. In particular, Pink Floyd has many examples. What is or is not original material is not always clear. Some have artwork on both front and reverse, and inside. Likely, the listing here is more or less complete, at least for English and US covers. An open question is that of foreign instances, of which I am on less certain ground. Despite thorough searches, very few new instances arose, and so I conjecture that the list, at least for English and US references is more or less complete. Certainly, there may well be other instances, but this would involve relatively few, for the sake of a number ten or so perhaps even much less. Simply stated, the number of recordings pales significantly as when compared to books, and so there is simply more opportunity for book covers by sheer weight of numbers.

Note that this is very much a provincial listing, as although indeed thorough (and just surpasses Tom Shieh’s collection, as essentially ‘hit or miss’ searching on the web for cover art cannot be described as of an ‘all-encompassing’ nature. I am at the whim of search engines (or more exactly Google; Bing and Yahoo are next to no use in these matters). It must remain doubtful whether a complete list of every Escher artwork ever used will be feasible, although possibly records are kept with the Escher foundation as regards permissions. Be that as it may, the researches above, over the past few months, with 100+ covers, it is now mature enough to give a rough idea of a typical representation of Escher music art. I would not be in the least surprised if there would be a few more upon a more exhaustive search. Indeed, I have largely confined my search to English language covers; likely foreign instances will be just as popular. Speculating as regards foreign instances is fraught with difficulty, perhaps there may well yet remain much more. As ever, an open invite to readers – are you aware of any Escher cover artwork not featured here? If so, I would like to know of it. Do feel free to contribute any new instances.

Upon the initial chronological listing, one can then sift for different aspects. For example, one can see when Escher’s work first appeared on an album cover. This was in 1969, with Scaffold (beating Mott The Hoople by a few months [2]). Such a late attribution seems surprising late in this context (the first in a book was tem years earlier, in 1959); does anyone know of an earlier instance? Another sifting is by the most popular artwork, which is ‘Relativity’, represented 16 times, and is notably more than its nearest challenger, ‘Ascending and Descending’, with 6. These aspects are discussed in more detail below, in ‘Observations’ at the end of the page.

Missed opportunities

Two notable opportunities of Escher promotion in the music world, by the world’s leading bands, namely The Rolling Stones and The Beatles were missed for different reasons. First, in 1969, when Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones had requested use of ‘Verbum’ for an album. Escher himself twice turned this down. If permitted, this would have apparently been the first music cover, being of January of that year, predating Scaffold, Mott the Hoople and The Youngbloods of the same year. As such, this can now be considered a major missed opportunity for ‘Escher promotion’; with such a well-known group, his work would surely have been disseminated and become even more widely (and quickly) known. However, this was Escher's own choice. Ken Wilkie [8] makes reference to the now well-known story of Mick Jagger’s request to use Verbum for an album was turned down. Also see Chris Higgins’ web page for more on this [4]. If permitted this would have apparently been the first music cover, being of January of that year. As such, this can now be considered a missed opportunity for ‘Escher promotion’; with such a well-known group, his work would surely have been disseminated even more. Second, there is also a Beatles connection, although here a little more tenuous, and does not concern The Beatles directly. Alan Aldridge was writing a book on The Beatles (which made his name), in which the lyrics to their songs were shown, of which he desired to use Escher’s artwork, although exactly which artwork remains unresolved. Steven Heller in Eyemagazine [3] quotes:

There was at least one more influence: Aldridge discovered M. C. Escher and desperately wanted his work for the Beatles book. So he flew to Holland and met him at his house in Baarn; he bought a couple of prints intended for the book, but left them on the train. Minus Escher, the Beatles book came out in 1969 with a first printing of 1,250,000 copies….

What a pity he left the prints on the train! Escher’s work would surely have been even more widely disseminated. As an aside, I followed up this with a mail to Aldridge to see if he could add anything to his meeting with Escher and other matters, but he didn’t respond.

Of interest is that, with very few exceptions, none of the bands listed here are household names. Certainly, most people will be familiar with Mott the Hoople, Pink Floyd and The Scaffold, at least of a certain age, but this was from way back, in the 1960s and 1970s. And even these groups cannot be described as ‘supergroups’, say in the league of The Beatles or Rolling Stones. Surprisingly, more modern-day ‘big-name’ bands do not seem so enthusiastic, despite generally more publicity of Escher than in those early days.

On a personal note, this essay and latterly investigation has long been in gestation, indeed, ever since 1993, when I saw an article by C. H. A. Broos in The World of M.C. Escher, ‘Escher: Science and Fiction’ (the title is not particularly illustrative of the content; perhaps betters described as ‘Escher in Popular Culture’), pp. 30-38. This features eight instances of Escher cover art pp. 31, 35, 37, on a variety of mediums: record album sleeves, books and journals. (Does anyone have contact details of Broos? Is he still alive? It would be most interesting to contact him on these matters). Indeed, the Broos mention (rather than a strict listing), in 1971 appears to be the first of what can be called a listing of sorts, or perhaps better described as an illustration, with three covers, p. 31 (Mott The Hoople, Scaffold L.P and The Mandrake Memorial). Such listings, surprisingly, appear to be at a premium. Another, essentially oblique reference is in Holland Herald, of 1974 (p. 37). Another, loose listing of sorts occurs in Jeffrey Price’s book M. C. Escher: Amazing Images, of c. 2009, of a single page of Escher ephemera, among which record covers appear, although this did not come to my attention until 2011. Three other, true listings, of a far more substantial nature, have appeared (presumably recently), on the web, namely by Tom Shieh, ‘Snellius’ and John Coulthart (2013). Shieh’s listing is in particular magnificent, and indeed forms by far the detail given here. Quite simply, there is nothing like it on the web. That by Snellius is also comprehensive, albeit not as complete as Shieh. Coulthart’s listing is more modest, of just 15 instances, albeit with occasional commentary. Aside from this, I am unaware of other listings of any note, formal or otherwise. Does anyone know of others?

However, although aware of music cover art from 1993, I didn’t do anything on this until more recent times until I received, in 2011, Jeffrey Price’s book [5], this containing his own personal collection of Escher cover art in book, article, record and CD, of which, not untypically I did next to nothing with. Then, latterly inspired by my book and article compilation of 2015 I then turned my attention to music, and found John Coulthart’s pages on the web [2], followed soon afterwards by Tom Shieh’s incomparable page, and then Snellius’s webpage. Basing my investigations primarily on Shieh’s work, and look for further instances, I here present a listing with about **pictures. Plans are to extend the investigation to other promotional material with pastiches and posters, but this will be a while.

References:

[1] Broos, C. H. A. ‘Escher: Science and Fiction’. In Locher, J. L. The World of M.C. Escher. Abradale Press, 1988, pp. 30-38

[2] Coulthart, John. http://www.johncoulthart.com/feuilleton/2013/02/07/mc-escher-album-covers/

[*] Discogs.com http://www.discogs.com/

[3] Heller, Steven and Alan Aldridge. First published in Eye No. 57 vol. 15. Autumn 2005 http://www.eyemagazine.com/feature/article/multi-coloured-mirrors

[4] Higgins, Chris. http://mentalfloss.com/article/23063/how-mick-jagger-got-dissed-mc-escher

[5] Price, Jeffrey. M. C. Escher Amazing Images. Catalog of Rare Original Prints and Drawings (Self Published), c. 2009

[6] Shieh, Tom. https://uk.pinterest.com/tomshieh/mc-escher-album-covers/

[7] ‘Snellius’. http://rateyourmusic.com/list/snellius/the_m_c__escher_collection/

[8] Wilkie, Ken. ‘Escher the Impossible’. In Holland Herald, Vol. 9 number 1, 1974 cover, 3, 21-43 (see pp. 37-38, 40)

1969

The Scaffold - L the P [Parlophone PCS7077] (Ascending and Descending)

Mott the Hoople - Mott the Hoople [Island ILPS-9108] (Reptiles)

The Youngbloods (with Jesse Colin Young) - Two Trips [Mercury SR-61273] (Encounter)

1970

Beaver & Krause - In A Wild Sanctuary. Gandharva Warner Bros. 945663-2] (Three Worlds) Also see 1994 for a (apparent) re-release

Robert Erickson - Ricercar A 5 For Trombones [Acoustic Research] (Metamorphosis II)

The Mandrake Memorial - Puzzle [Poppy, Poppy, Poppy PYS-40006] (Curl-Up)

The Youngbloods (b/w John Sebastian & Peter Childs) - Two Trips (with Jesse Colin Young) [Mercury 6338-019] (Encounter)

Pink Floyd - The Miracle Muffler (bootleg) [Wizardo Rekords] (Drawing Hands)

Pink Floyd - Live (bootleg) [DITTOLINO DISCS D2] (paper sleeve) (Bond of Union)

1972

Various Artists - Kosmische Musik [Ohr OMM 2/56027] (Other World, front; Double Planetoid, reverse, insert)

Various Artists - Alternativity [11950] (Concentric Rinds)

1974

Climax - Gusano Mecánico [Lyea LPE 3067] (front House of Stairs inside Curl Up)

A Joint Effort - Final Effort [Little LR 101] re-issue: 2005 Radioactive [RRCD153] ; 2007 Void [VOID-44] ; 2009 Void [VDR44] (Waterfall)

Invisible – Invisible [Talent Microfón SE-510] re-issue: 1996 Sony Music [2-484728] (Puddle)

The Moody Blues' Grande Toure (Print Gallery)

1975

Mina comme un home. année internationale de la femme (Rind)

1978

Anatol Vieru - Iona (Operă În Patru Tablouri După Marin Sorescu) / Țara De Piatră (Poem Electronic După Geo Bogza) [Electrecord ST-ECE-01410/01411] Romania (Metamorphosis II)

1980

T Kail - Somewhere, Sometime [Jade BBW-8001] re-issue: 2013 Outsider [OSR-010LP] (Relativity)

Rush Temples of the Syrinx St. Louis 1980 (Cube with Ribbons, front, Knots, reverse)

1982

Prodigal - Prodigal [Heartland HRC101] (Relativity)

1983

Арсенал (Arsenal) - Своими руками (Created with Their Own Hands) [Мелодия 60-19285-6] (Drawing Hands)

Various Artists - Endless Journey Phase II [Psycho PSYCHO-3] cover design: Mum & Dad Fotografix (Cubic Space Division) Also see 1994

1985

Thomas Kleinsmith ‎– Distance Beyond The Point US (Crystal)

1986

Love And Rockets - Yin And Yang (The Flowerpot Man) [Beggars Banquet BEG-166T] logo labels artwork: (Circle Limit IV)

1987

Pink Floyd - Yet Another Movie: The Live Biography Volume Six (bootleg) [(US) International BIO-6] (Reptiles)

Pink Floyd - In The Flesh: The Live Biography Volume Five (bootleg) [(TW) International RSR-242] (Ascending and Descending)

Pink Floyd - Have A Cigar: The Live Biography Volume Four (bootleg) [(US) International BIO-4] (Tetrahedral Planetoid)

Pink Floyd - Interstellar Overdrive: The Live Biography Volume Two (bootleg) [(TW) International RSR-225] (Castle in the Air)

Pink Floyd - On The Run: The Live Biography Volume Three (bootleg) [(US) International BIO-3] (Relativity)

Pink Floyd - Point Me At The Sky: The Live Biography Volume One (bootleg) [(TW) International RSR-244] (Other World)

1988

One Hand One Heart - One Step Closer [Epic WUN-2] (Relativity) (1)

György Ligeti: Kammerkonzert / Ramifications / Lux aeterna / Atmosphères [Wergo WER60162-50] (Germany) (Convex and Concave)

The Sun and The Moon - Alive; Not Dead [Midnight Music DONG-44] (Stars, front and reverse)

1989

No Comment - Common Senseless [Snare Dance SD-0] re-issue: 2011 Deep Six [DS-125] (Encounter)

Clannad - Past Present [RCA 74321289812] artwork: David Rooney; original artworks (front and reverse): (Rind)

Gidon Kremer, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Charles Dutoit - Sofia Gubaidulina: Offertorium [Deutsche Grammophon DG 427336-2] Germany (Rind)

1990

Legend Killers - Locked Inside [Nomad NDR-001] Australia (Bond of Union)

Various Artists - Industrial Chaos [Nebula NBCD-2] (House of Stairs)

Equinox - The Way To Go [RCA PL74669] (Relativity)

Michael Brecker - Now You See It... (Now You Don't) [GRP GRD-9622] (Sky and Water I)

Lethal Aggression - Subliminal Erosion [Virulence VIR-003] (Relativity)

Linda Finnie, Robert Holl, Christoph Homberger, Residentie Orchestra The Hague, Hans Vonk - Alphons Diepenbrock Vol. II: Symphonic Songs [Chandos CHAN-8878] (Phosphorescent Sea)

1991

Gregor Samsa - Three Intersecting Plans [Search & Enjoy SE-007] Yugoslavia Mosaic II (Plane Filling II front, Three Intersecting Planes reverse)

Ail Gyfnod - Isomerig (cassette) [Ofn 013c] (Sky and Water II)

Invisible re-release, also see 1974

1992

La Casa Usher - Obsesión [Munster Usher001] Spain (Eye)

Juilliard String Quartet - J.S. Bach: Die Kunst der Fuge [Sony Classical S2K45937] Elias Gottlieb (Horsemen)

1993

Holocausto - Inferior [Holocausto] (Relativity)

Blind - Requiem (demo) [Blind] (Eye)

1994

Various Artists - Endless Journey [Reverberation 003] (Cubic Space Division, front and reverse)

King Crimson - A Weird Person's Guide To ... Vol. 2 (bootleg) [Invasion Unlimited IU 9426-1] (Bond of Union)

King Crimson - A Weird Person's Guide To King Crimson (bootleg) [Invasion Unlimited IU 9412-1] (Self-Portrait II)

Heretic - 1984-88 [Belle Antique BELLE-9457] (Waterfall)

Beaver & Krause - In A Wild Sanctuary / Gandharva Warner Bros. 945663-2] (Three Worlds) Also see 1970 for an earlier release

Epidemic - Industrial [Soundphaze International SIRCD9402] (Relativity)

1995

Аква Віта = Aqua Vitae (2)* ‎– Несказані Слова = Not Said Words Ukraine 1995 (The First Day of the Creation, Rippled Surface, Prickly Flower, Snow, Three Worlds, (The Second Day of the Creation (The Division of the Waters)

Raphael Quartet - 400 Years of Dutch Music, Vol. 9: String Quartets [Olympia OCD-508] (Pegasus, PD 105)

Ant Trip Ceremony - 24 Hours [Anthology ANT-23.11] (Möbius Strip II)

Amon Hen Skeleton Dances (Dragon, Stars)

1996

The Mandrake Memorial - Puzzle [Collectables COL-0693] (House of Stairs) (Also see 1970)

Джан Ку - Лабиринт (cassette) [DDT BD2007] (Waterfall)

György Ligeti The Complete Piano Music, Vol. 1 (Frederic Ullén) Sweden (Circle Limit IV)

2 Brothers On The 4th Floor Feat. Des'Ray & D-Rock ‎– Fairytales (Other World)

1997

Paradox - Paradox [D.N.A. DNACD08] (Circle Limit IV)

1998

Pink Floyd - Tampa (bootleg) [CBM PF-1061] (Three Spheres I)

Cathy Berberian - Luciano Berio: Many Mobooklet[RCA Victor Red Seal 09026-68302-2] (Bond of Union)

György Ligeti, Fredrik Ullén - : The Complete Piano Music, Volume 2 [BIS CD-983] (Snakes)

1999

Klas Nevrin - Fancy Machine [Dragon DRCD324] (Relativity)

2000

Various Artists - Endless Journey ... Phase I [Chocolate Fireguard CHOCCD-1] ((Ascending and Descending and House of Stairs)

Джан Ку - Лабиринт [Manchester Files CDMAN 053-00] Russia (Waterfall)

2001

Ikue Mori - Labyrinth [Tzadik TZ-7068] US (Snakes)

Lacrima Dei - Road to Nowhere (demo) [Lacrima Dei] (Relativity)

Various Artists - Endless Journey ... Phase II [Chocolate Fireguard Records CHOCCD-2] (Möbius Strip II) (Red Ants) NB Sellius gives this as 1983

Отель Безумие (Hotel Mindlessness) - Магия ящерицы (Magic of Lizard) [Forpost ] (Reptiles)

Shatter – Colors (Stars)

Endgame Treppenhaus (House of Stairs)

2003

Triax - Drie Snijdende Vlakken [Auricle AMCDR-044] (background cover) (Three Intersecting Planes)

Carl Matthews - The Escher Experience [Sandpiper SR004] (Rind front, Print Gallery reverse)

Kyrie Eleison - Demo [Kyrie Eleison] (Relativity)

Bauhaus - Stairway to Escher [Akarma AK-1043] (Ascending and Descending, front, Three Spheres I reverse)

2004

Dodskammer - Serenity [Sinque Prod SPRCD006] (Relativity)

The Hidden Hand - Divine Propaganda [Beard Of Stars BOSLP39] (Eye)

Antichi Strumenti - C. Graupner: "Die Kunst der Imitation" Triosonaten [Stradivarius STR-33632] (Fish/Duck/Lizard (PD 69)

Mephista - Entomological Reflections (House of Stairs)

Magic B ‎– Magic B. Russia (Plane Filling I)

2005

Various Artists - In My Life [Joshua Gizelt] unofficial release album (Tetrahedral Planetoid)

Arsenal - ...With Our Own Hands [Школа Менеджеров Арсенал ARSCD-08-005] (Drawing Hands)

Underdark - The Truth That Lives (cassette) [Satanic Wermacht Inquisition] (Relativity)

Triax Mobuis Strip (Knots)

2006

Mott The Hoople (Reptiles)

Baranta The Spirit of Music (Other World)

2007

Terrorazor - Stairway to Heaven (demo) [Terrorazor - Stairway to Heaven] (Relativity)

2008

The Beatles - The Early Years: Film & TV Appearances 1962 - 1963 (bootleg DVD) [??? 1962 FILMS 23] logo labels (Ascending and Descending)

2010

Pink Floyd - Waters' Gate (bootleg) [WATERS A/B] re-issue: 2011 Dark Moon [C10301] (Waterfall)

2011

Hans Von Rochnow – Fideikommiss EP (Ceiling Design with Butterflies)

Julie Long, Walter Ponce, Stella Maksoudian, Jennifer Roth, Daphne Chen - David S. Lefkowitz: Music of Contradictions (Sky and Water I)

Saturday Morning Cartoon (Jonnie Storm & Nitro Fresh) - Illustration (The Mixtape) [Nitro Fresh] (Drawing Hands)

Drew Martin - The Way the Flow Cries [Drew Martin] (Two Birds)

2012

Oenyaw's World - Regular Division of the Plane (Regular Division of the Plane III)

Ken Moore - Approaching Velocity [Anvil Creations] (Puddle)

Jasper Janson - Tired Tracks (Puddle)

Joe Gilman - Relativity [Capri 74119-2] (Relativity)

Joe Hisaishi - Vermeer & Escher CD (Encounter)

2013

T Kail ‎– Somewhere, Sometime Spain Also see 1980 earlier release (Relativity)

Cosmic Perspectives From a Fractal Planet. Michael Garfield with Mitch Mignano & Jonathan Zap (Flatworms)

2014

Marcelolipopp - Treppenhaus (Relativity)

ocho maZi - Confuzze (Sky and Water II)

Date Unknown

Willem Pijper and Oscar Van Hemel. Netherlands String Quartet