 This video is brought to you by Soundcore. Go to the link in the description to get a great deal on the Liberty Air 2 Pro wireless headphones. They say that you can't judge a book by its cover, and maybe that's true, but when it comes to music, a cover says a whole lot. Album covers are the definitive visual companion for musical pieces and have been since the birth of the vinyl record. In that time they've evolved from simple personality shots to complex living pieces of art in their own right. Personally, I've always loved album artwork. I've loved looking at it, I've loved talking about it, and I've loved making it. And I think one of the best ways to understand and appreciate great pieces of album artwork is to learn the stories behind their creation. So I decided to start a new series dedicated to doing just that. Throughout this year I'll be sporadically releasing small videos that will teach you about some of the greatest album artworks ever made. Together we'll explore who designed these artworks, how they designed them, and how they go about representing the incredible music that they were made for. And we'll be doing it all on a canvas the same size as the great artworks themselves do it. A perfect square. So here we go. Welcome to the first ever episode of Cover Stories. How do you create a visual to accompany King Crimson? That might seem like an easy question now, given how iconic the cover of In the Court of the Crimson King has become, but when that album was being made it was far from a given. In 1969 the medium of album art as we know it was still emerging. It was only thanks to the psychedelic movement that people were really starting to see album artwork as an extension of the aesthetic experience of music itself. Out of that same movement a new genre of music was emerging as well, progressive rock. In the Court of the Crimson King was one of the first true progressive rock albums. In 1969 Genesis were still transitioning from baroque pop and psychedelic, Pink Floyd were in the middle of a metamorphosis, and yes were still two years away from their eternal run of the yes album fragile and close to the edge. When Sugar Sugar by the Archies was in the middle of its billboard hot 100 run, King Crimson were in the studio, recording an album unlike anything the world had ever heard before. It features sprawling 10 minute songs that move seamlessly through key changes and time signatures, telling mythic stories steeped in archetype and fantasy. It set a high bar for the next decade of music and remains one of the best Prague albums ever made to this day. All of which brings us back to the first question. How the hell are you supposed to create a visual for that? Well for King Crimson they found the answer in Barry Godber. Godber was a friend of the band who went to art school but he had never done a commissioned work before and had certainly never designed album artwork. The only direction that he got was from lyricist Pete Sinfield who asked him to paint something that would get noticed in record stores. Presumably Godber turned to the music itself for inspiration and he found it in the first few moments of the album. In The Court of the Crimson King opens with the explosive 21st Century Schizoid Man, a chaotic apocalypse of a song. Lyrically it lashes out against the brutality of the Vietnam War and challenges the empty consumerism and wild paranoia of mid-century America. It personifies all of this in the titular character so that's what Godber depicted in his art. His artwork is a tight close-up on a face, the terror of the modern age painted plainly in exaggerated features. As the painting extends to the rear cover we see that the man himself is being torn asunder pulled into an empty void. The bright red of the cover references the band's name but it also triggers intense emotions of anxiety and fear as the Schizoid Man's face contorts into grotesque caricature. Speaking to Classic Rock magazine in 2009, Greg Lake recalled the band's reaction upon seeing the piece. We all stood around it and it was like something out of Treasure Island where you're all standing around a box of jewels and treasure. This fucking face screamed up at us from the floor and what it said to us was Schizoid Man, the very track we'd all been working on. It was as if there was something magic going on. With that, King Crimson had their artwork. Godber also created a companion piece that became the album's inner sleeve, this one depicting the character of the Crimson King. His face is equally contorted, smiling an uncanny grin beneath eyes that hide a deep sadness. Thanks to Godber's amateur status, the album's artwork has a kind of unique flair that I don't think you can find anywhere else in music. King Crimson went on to continue to change music but unfortunately, Godber couldn't come with them. In 1970, Barry Godber suffered a tragic heart attack and died at just 24 years old. While his time on this earth wasn't long, Godber certainly made his mark on it, painting his way into musical immortality within the court of the Crimson King. When I'm working on my videos, I have a habit of pacing around my apartment, listening to the music that I'm writing about over and over. And that habit is made exponentially easier with a good set of wireless headphones. That's why I'm happy to say that this video is sponsored by Soundcore. Lately I've been using Soundcore's Liberty Air 2 Pro wireless headphones and honestly they've worked like a dream. They've got great sound, they're genuinely comfortable and they've even got an awesome companion app where you can customize your EQs and manage their three different kinds of noise cancellation. Whether you're outdoors in the world, indoors in your home office, or on the commute, the Liberty Air 2 Pros have specific noise cancelling modes that allow you to listen to your music in peace. One of the reasons I'm really excited to work with Soundcore in particular is because in addition to making great headphones, Soundcore is trying to improve life for musicians. They've partnered with Musichears, a charity that provides support for musicians struggling with finances as well as mental and physical health issues. So if you want to get started with your new favorite headphones and help improve the world for struggling musicians, check out the link in the description. That'll get you a great deal on the Liberty Air 2 Pros and it'll also tell Soundcore that I sent you, which really does a lot to help my channel. So, thank you!