An LP you bought knowing nothing about the band

In the early 70's on one of my many teenage Saturdays spent perusing in a local record shop, I came across Foxtrot by Genesis. I had never heard of them but was attracted to the cover & once I read the lyrics in the gatefold sleeve (especially Get 'Em Out By Friday) I just had to buy it & it still remains as one of my all time faves!
Anyone had a similar magic find?

I don't think I've ever bought an album knowing nothing about the band. I have bought albums from bands after hearing and liking one song on the radio. That has come back to bite me in the ass a few times. 

The only one I can remember right now was LP Cordon Bleu (Solution) just because of the colourful cover art (by Hipgnosis) which btw reflects well the "happy" mood inside

Earlier today I bought two 10 inch albums: a japanese folk/enka-thing from 1964 and and another japnese 1958-album of koto music (the latter by and with Michio Miyagi I later found out) at a local second hand store. The coverart was lovely and they were cheap. I liked them both considerably! I've done this countless times in every thinkable genre - but mostly with bargains similar to these. Got lots of jazz, folk, classical and "world music" that way.

Edited by Saperlipopette! - September 25 2017 at 09:46

I bet at least one person bought ITCOTCK that way and I'm sure many people bought albums based on the Roger Dean artwork alone. I personally can't remember doing it though. Usually I at least heard of the band.

Many of the obscure prog bands I now love, I found on lp in the late 1980s early 1990s while record browsing in Ottawa. And some that come to mind that I knew absolutely nothing about at the time were

Strange Days-Nine Parts To The Wind
Dzyan-Time Machine
Latte e Miele-Papillon
Libra-Libra
Passport-Looking Thru
Quatermass-Quatermass
Terje Rypdal-What Comes After
Osanna-Milano Calibro 9
Rdm-Contamination
Dedalus-Dedalus
Il Baricentro-Sconcerto

these were literally needles in a haystack in Ottawa at the time, but I have always had such great luck in stumbling across prog that is off the radar!

It came to my mind another record I bought sometime ago - not prog, though - from the jazz singer Cassandra Wilson, based only on the appealing cover art .
It happens the album is superb and the lady became one of my favorite voices of that genre.



This one is from '95 and the one before that (the 1st she recorded for Blue Note, in '93) is even better


Edited by Quinino - September 25 2017 at 11:09

AFlowerKingCrimson wrote: I bet at least one person bought ITCOTCK that way and I'm sure many people bought albums based on the Roger Dean artwork alone. I personally can't remember doing it though. Usually I at least heard of the band.

I can say that I have done this with Roger Dean.  I bought a Space Needle album because it had Roger Dean artwork. 

In regards to King Crimson, I was a fan of Yes, and I wanted to check out Bill Bruford's "side project".  :)  I don't remember off hand which King Crimson album I bought first.  I think it was Three of a Perfect Pair.

Symphonic Slam and Maxophone.

Alan Sorrenti's second album. I had never heard anything about RPI. A difficult and unloved music but the beginning of a love story with Italy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlyTI4KHZ3U