TWO BOOKS WITH AN ARTISTIC FLAIR WITH THE WHITE ALBUM THEMES:
Recently I acquired a couple of books on eBay that had previously slipped by me in my seemingly endless task of searching for interesting books about the Beatles. Maybe it is a sign of me slowing down with age as I do not recall having seen these two titles before. In any case, I was very happy to run across them on eBay. It is truly amazing to see how so many angles can be devised for book publications with the Beatles as the inspiration for their respective projects! Both of the books in question have artistic expression as their focal points.
The first title “The White Album: A Collection of Images Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles was put together to mark the White Album’s 40th anniversary. The songs in the book are not strictly limited to White Album numbers!
The first book was put together by artist and writer Russell Walks. Despite having The White Album as part of the title, there are some songs illustrated by the various respective artists within that are featured in the book that are not from the White Album. I have provided a few links for you to learn more about this release!
The two White Album titles explored in this post, perfectly fit the type of Beatles book that strongly appeal to the collector in me. They are small books in the number of pages and had a smaller circulation than larger mass appeal Beatle titles. It is these independently published books that I love to show to others when they view my collection as they have a special appeal to other collectors as well. For example, when one of these titles is shown to a fellow collector, you can often hear “Wow, where did you find that book?” or “Can you find a copy of that book for me?”
Those type of questions are music to this collector’s ears!
The White Album by Russell Walks on Apple Books
I obtained my copy of “The White Album: A Collection of Images Inspired by the Songs of The Beatles” from this eBay vendor
OFTIMESPAST | eBay Stores
THE PUBLISHER’S DESCRIPTION:
“Artist and writer Russell Walks gets a little help from his friends and explores the work of the greatest band ever in “The White Album: A Collection of Images Inspired by the Songs of The Beatles”. Think of “The White Album” as a series of “visual cover songs”, each of which was inspired by the Beatles song of the same name. In addition to the images, each contributing artist speaks about their work – Not just about the songs that originally inspired them, but about the choices they made as they worked. There’s no doubt that The Beatles influenced the way many of us look at the world, and in “The White Album”, we can see those influences in the gorgeous, meaningful work of 17 artists at the top of their game.”
The copy of the book that I obtained on eBay was signed by artist Jeff Pittarelli
The website of the above book featured artist renditions of the songs Good Day Sunshine and Revolution that appear in the book. Here a few sample excerpts from the book:
The back cover of the book:
The original press release for THE WHITE ALBUM BOOK by Russell Walks with many contributing and the work of participating artists that appear in the title as well!
Original Press release:
“Forty-five years ago, The Beatles invaded America, bringing with them a sound and attitude different from anything any of us had seen or heard before. They challenged and inspired us, forcing us to think about how things could be if we would only realize the importance of love.
Its now 2009. Although its been nearly forty years since The Beatles broke up, and yet their message is as relevant and influential as ever. The greatest band in history is still inspiring hope and dreams, still changing lives and fostering creativity, still shaping the way we look, listen and think.
Announcing THE WHITE ALBUM: A Collection of Images Inspired by the Music of The Beatles.
Compiled and introduced by writer and illustrator Russell Walks, and showcasing work by artists including Spencer Brinkerhoff III, Matt Busch, and others, THE WHITE ALBUM presents an exciting array of dynamic, emotional works of art, each of has been inspired by a song from The Beatles extensive catalogue.”
The book made its debut back in 2009 as is evidenced in this description from one of the websites describing the book:
“THE WHITE ALBUM looks at the work of The Beatles through a kaleidoscope of artistic styles and viewpoints. Â THE WHITE ALBUM will be available for the very first time ever this summer at the San Diego Comic-Con (July 22 -26, 2009). Don’t miss your chance to pick up a copy at the only location where every artist will be available to personalize your book.”
“Participating Artists Include”:
Spencer Brinkerhoff III
Matt Busch
TC Cor
Nicole Falk
Grant Gould
Gabe Hernandez
Paul Michael Kane
Leah Mangue
Meghan McMahon
Jeff Pittarelli
Jamie Snell
Russell Walks
John Watkins-Chow
THE WHITE ALBUM PROJECT ART BOOK 2014 – BY FRANK VACANTI First pressing numbered copy 092/150 36 PAGES OF WONDERFUL ARTWORK DONE ON ORIGINAL BEATLES WHITE ALBUM COVERS!
Frank Vacanti’s website for interested parties of the book:
The book that I purchased: (the photographs shown below are the photos from the eBay advertisement that I purchased the items as a result of)
I obtained this book through this eBay site: Beatles Yesterday,Today andTomorrow | eBay Stores
Though a small book in the number of pages, this 2nd book that I acquired recently was also a true pleasure to obtain. This White Album book’s primary focus are Frank Vacanti’s visions of designing a piece of art on an individual copy of the White Album.
This book entitled The White Album Project is truly a unique presentation of using the stark white Beatles album cover to be adorned with individual artistic designs by Frank Vicanti on individual copies of the LP. A work of art on a work of art. I am sure John and Yoko would have loved this idea.
This 36 page booklet was put together and organized by Frank Vacanti out of San Francisco, California and was published in 2014 by Garland Graphics!
The front cover of the book:
Credits and acknowledgements from my copy of this book:
A special artistic surprise under the Apple sticker in the book:
A few samples of the cover artwork designed for the White Album by Mr. Vacanti and a visit from Sir Walter Raleigh on this one!!!
KING KONG on the cover of the White Album?
For those of you who would like to have a copy of this wonderful book, here is Mr. Vacanti’s website:
Postscript – RICHARD HAMILTON
Would like to end today’s post with a brief discussion about artist Richard Hamilton whose minimalist cover follow-up to the grandioise Sgt Pepper previous album design of Peter Blake raised quite a few eyebrows in the critic circles. The Beatles reputation for always doing something different was certainly secure. Richard Hamilton is the artist that the Beatles hired to design both the White Album cover of “The Beatles” the double white album and the poster contained within the LP. Several years ago I bought this Richard Hamilton book featuring his signature for my collection.
The all white motif of Hamilton’s was to become a fixture in the Lennon household specifically, with the white piano used on Imagine and the pure white room at Tittenhurst Park used for the Imagine video. The White Album cover with no pictures/photos on the cover, fit in well with Yoko’s affinity for minimalist art. I can see why John’s favorite Beatles album was THE WHITE ALBUM as he was coming back from his psychedelic haze of 1967.
Hamilton’s signature:
Back cover of the book:
A photo that I saw on the internet and the photographer was unfortunately not listed. It is a photo of Richard Hamilton working on the White Album poster as Paul is there to check on the poster’s progress.If anyone knows the photographer of this shot please let us know and we will offer proper acknowledgement. Thank you!
This is another example of having a collecting obsession. As I was writing this post, Copy #9 of THE WHITE ALBUM PROJECT ART BOOK 2014-BY FRANK VACANTI also became available on eBay at the beatlesplusbaseball seller ID!
I could not resist having copy Number 9, Number 9, Number 9 so I purchased it as well. well, I guess the only harm that I caused as a result was to my wallet. LOL!
Happy hunting!
Be healthy and be happy!
Buzz
OUR BOOK OF THE WEEK AT THE BEATLES BOOKSTORE
It’s All Too Much
It’s All Too Much is the unique memoir by music industry veteran David Stark, who grew up in north London during the 1960s as a dedicated Beatles fan and was lucky enough to meet his musical heroes on various memorable occasions. From gate-crashing the Yellow Submarine film premiere in 1968 (aged just fifteen) and ending up sitting directly behind the group, to meeting all of them individually in some extraordinary circumstances, David has some highly entertaining stories about his many Beatles encounters which have never been told before.
