Music album Covers on Google Street View

"How do I get the listener to pay attention to your music?" — asks The Guardian. Of course, other things being equal, an unusual album cover is needed. Musicians know this, and therefore they are especially sophisticated. Some turn to real artists, as Iron Maiden did all the 80s: the album covers of these heavy metal artists were drawn by Derek Riggs. Others put themselves on the cover of the beloved. Well, some of them have streets on the covers of their works.

And thanks to the miraculous Google Street View service, we are going to go to those streets and avenues that are frozen on the covers of popular records right now. But, of course, not just like that, but to see what has changed since their appearance. Let's go?

Oasis — (What's the Story) Morning Glory

1. The cover of this classic Britpop album from 1995 depicts Berwick Street >>, in London's Soho (here and further, by clicking on the address, you will be transported to the panorama in Google Street View). Why this particular street? At that time, there were many music shops blooming here, so Berwick Street was very popular with music lovers. By the way, the Sister Ray store, which you see on the left, is still working today.

2. Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea ranks 8th in the list of the 50 best female rock albums according to Rolling Stone magazine. In 2000, this record received the Mercury Prize. On the cover we see PJ Harvey crossing 7th Avenue in Times Square >>.

3. East Village Residential Quarter >> in the San Marco area in New York (USA) has hardly changed since 1975, when Roy Harper photographed it for the cover of the Led Zeppelin album. However, graffiti is different.

4. Battersea Power Station >> in the London borough of Wandsworth, unfortunately, got rid of several inflatable pigs that circled around it for the cover of the legendary Pink Floyd album, but otherwise the landscape remained the same. Alas, very soon a Nine Elms skyscraper will be built here, and this will change the classic look.

5. "Paul's Boutique" is no longer on the corner of Ludlow and Rivington Streets >> on the lower East Side in New York (USA). Since 1989, when the cover photo of the record was taken, enough time has passed for the boutique to turn into a "Three Monkeys" shop.

6. When the recording of the 1969 album Willy and the Poor Boys was completed, the band members left the studio and drove from five kilometers to the intersection of Hollis and Peralta Streets of St. Petersburg >>. There Basul Parik captured them at the exit of the Duck Kee Market butcher shop. The building, unfortunately, has not survived to this day.

7. 2000, the rapper is sitting on the porch of the house where he spent his childhood. The house is located on Dresden Street >> in north Detroit (USA) near the intersection with the 8th Mile, the very street that Eminem made famous thanks to the movie of the same name. Unfortunately, the house burned down last year, but it remained on the cover of one of the most significant rap albums. (By the way, don't forget to dig into the study of profanity in rap records!)

8. The cover of this Jackson Browne album was inspired by the painting by Belgian artist Rene Magritte "Empire of Light". Well, Bob Seldemann found the house on a residential street in south Pasadena (USA), a few miles from Highland Park, where Brown often played as a child. However, the photographer mounted the sky from another photo to achieve the same effect as in the Magritte painting. For 1974, quite an innovative work.

9. For the Original Pirate Material record, a picture of the German photographer Ruth Blees Luxemburg, taken in 2002, was used. The original photo is called "Hell in the sky" (Towering Inferno). The building itself is part of the residential complex Kestrel House >>, in the London borough of Islington.

10. The legendary Canadian rock band illustrated the title of the album with a literal mix of paintings in front of the building where the Ontario Provincial Parliament sits (Toronto, 1981).

11. 22-year-old Bob Dylan, arm in arm with his girlfriend Suze Rotolo, walks along Jones Street >> in New York's West Village neighborhood. The uncomplicated cover did not prevent the 1963 album from selling a million copies.

12. Surprisingly, the cover photo for Abbey Road was taken on Abbey Road >>. This is perhaps the most recognizable "street" cover in the history of rock and pop music. And there is no need to talk about how it was done, what it means and what "secret meanings" it carries. Let's just note that the manager of Westminster Cathedral has to repaint (not himself, of course) the wall every three months because of fan graffiti (it's just across the street). And the road signs on this street are located much higher than on others, because they are constantly being stolen.