Ode to Barry Godber (1946-1970)

My last round of Random Flickr Blogging made reference to the cover of In the Court of the Crimson King. For starters, I wanted to post the original album cover, so that readers would better understand the reference. The more I kept looking at the image, the more I wanted to delve further into it.

I was one year old when this album was released in 1969, and it took me about 15 years to catch up to it. I distinctly remember seeing the cover for the first time and not having any clue as to what the hell was going on over there. But yet, this cover art set this album aside from every other piece of vinyl in the shop. After listening to the album and freaking out multiple times, I came to appreciate that Crimson cover. Now, just like Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon with its timeless simple prism design, one look at that cover tells you everything you need to know. And the artist didn't even live long enough to view the impact of his vision.

That artist was Barry Godber, a computer programmer and artist who was friends with Peter Sinfield, King Crimson's (and later ELP's) lyricist. The word is that Peter brought a few tracks from the album to Barry for ideas on a cover. The result was his interpretation of the 21st century schizoid man, with the smiling Crimson King adorning the inner sleeve. Interestingly enough, this was the only painting he had ever made. Shortly after the album's release, Barry died of a heart attack at the age of 24. I'm unable to find much info about Barry, aside from some recollections from Peter Sinfield himself.

I won't make you split up into discussion groups to think about one's purpose in life, and so on. However, I will say this: I raise a glass to Barry Godber, a man who gave us one of the most compelling and memorable pieces of album cover art. Ever.

Cheers, Barry.