Cover art for the 1971 prog-rock LP “Fearless,” by British band Family features a distinctive, die-cut cover design depicting the five band members gradually morphing into a single entity combining features of them all.
Tom Brigham, a high school student and friend of mine the year the LP was released, had not yet invented morphing (for which he would win an Academy Award), so the morphing in this LP cover was likely rendered artistically by hand. (If you have information to the contrary, please share it in the comments.) The work feels like a Hipgnosis cover design, but I was unable to discover who created it.
If you’re curious about the LP, the cut (no pun intended) “Larf and Sing,” with its falsetto lead vocal and striking, flanged a cappella chorus, provides a taste of the band’s quirky and diverse songwriting and arranging.
- Find 100 great album cover designs at udiscover music dot com.
- Find 149 of the greatest album covers ever at Bored Panda.
- Explore die-cut album covers on Reddit.
- Explore progressive rock history at Progressive Rock Central.
- Listen to Family’s “Fearless” LP on Apple Music or Spotify.
- Buy a 3-CD special edition from Cherry Red Records.
- Dig the LP credits on Discogs.