Blind Faith
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
Blind Faith were an English blues supergroup which consisted of Eric Clapton (The Yardbirds, Cream), Ginger Baker (Graham Bond Organisation, Cream), Steve Winwood (Spencer Davis Group, Traffic) and Ric Grech (Family). The group only released one album, Blind Faith, in August 1969
The release of the album provoked controversy because the cover featured a topless pubescent girl , holding in her hands a silver space ship designed by Mick Milligan, a jeweler at the Royal College of Art. Some perceived the ship as phallic The U.S. record company issued it with an alternative cover which showed a photograph of the band on the front.
The cover art was created by photographer Bob Seidemann, a personal friend and former flatmate of Clapton who is known primarily for his photos of Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead. Bizarre rumors both fueled and were fueled by the controversy, among them that the young girl was Baker's illegitimate daughter or, alternatively as a fantasy, was a groupie kept in the meadowlands as a slave by the band members. Actually, the young lass was a London suburbanite, who posed upon consent by her parents and for a handsome fee, as described in Seidemann's mini essay about the origins of the Blind Faith album cover artwork (Re: Blind Faith (album)). Also see "Origins of BF's Album Artwork" referenced web link below.
One other interesting note about the cover is that it was nameless — only the wrapping paper told the buyer who the artist was and the name of the album. Though initially banned in some parts of the USA and other countries, the original artwork was quite popular and collectible. Also became available later in the 1970's on the RSO label worldwide, and in the USA as a "JEM" import item. Under licensing agreement during the mid- 1980s, the Blind Faith album was remastered to high definition vinyl and gold compact disc by Mobile fidelity Sound Labs. During 2001 the entire album was remastered and re-released as a deluxe edition release from Polydor International that includes alternates, outtakes and studio rehearsal versions of the bands music created during the early months of 1969.
