The Powerslave album cover

A

Anonymous

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I only wanted to give you some food for thoughts. Just compare the following pictures:

allnall.jpeg
album05_powerslave_a_small.jpg


The All'N All (Earth, Wind & Fire) cover artwork was made by a japanese artist called Shusey Nagaoka. The album was released in 1977.

The Powerslave cover was made by master painter Derek Riggs, who doesn't need to be introduced any further here. The album came out in 1984.

So. Coincidence?
 
May be so, may be not. An Egyptian temple is not the most absurd thing to paint on an album cover.
Except...
The temple's situation in front of a pyramid, and the pyramid's peaks are both, well, lighted.
Not to mention that both look awesome!
A homage maybe? I don't think that Riggs was so uncreative at that point of time that he needed to steal cover artwork.
 
Don't get me wrong, I never said he stole it. Only that he may have found in this picture some source of inspiration.

Derek is a great artist and this comparison doesn't diminish his talent. Not to me anyway! [!--emo&^_^--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/happy.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'happy.gif\' /][!--endemo--]
 
[!--QuoteBegin-Maverick+May 15 2004, 06:38 PM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Maverick @ May 15 2004, 06:38 PM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--] So. Coincidence? [/quote]
Yes and no. Take a look at this one to see what I mean:
[img src=\'http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/abusimbel1.jpg\' border=\'0\' alt=\'user posted image\' /]
 
Me neither would cry "Theft!", but rather "aha, a source of inspiration for Riggs, for sure".
And I do find Riggs drawinng/painting more interesting.
Or more "nutty", rather, which ain't bad.
 
[!--QuoteBegin-Maverick+May 15 2004, 06:38 PM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Maverick @ May 15 2004, 06:38 PM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--] I only wanted to give you some food for thoughts. Just compare the following pictures:

[img src=\'http://www.kjps.net/user/thmiyake/images/jacket/allnall.jpeg\' border=\'0\' alt=\'user posted image\' /] [img src=\'http://www.maidenfans.com/imc/pictures/pictures05_powerslave/album05_powerslave_a_small.jpg\' border=\'0\' alt=\'user posted image\' /]

The All'N All (Earth, Wind & Fire) cover artwork was made by a japanese artist called Shusey Nagaoka. The album was released in 1977.

The Powerslave cover was made by master painter Derek Riggs, who doesn't need to be introduced any further here. The album came out in 1984.

So. Coincidence? [/quote]
Abu Simbel is a really well known temple. Probably Derek used it as an inspiration (as it obviously is on the E, L & P cover). Or maybe he just used the E, L & P cover as a guide...
 
The two covers have enough different elements to suggest each artist may well have been working on his own. It would be interesting to know if Riggs had seen the EW&F cover, but I could easily believe he had not.

Obviously, the EW&F cover is a painting of the Abu Simbel temple directly. Nagaoka's main idea was to present it as it might have looked in its prime with only minor variations. His viewing angle is sligthly downwards towards the temple, we can see background (city and desert) behind it, and his pyramid changes angle in the middle. I know there's an Egyptian pyramid which changes angle just like that, but I can't remember its name.

By contrast, Riggs used the Abu Simbel architecture as a starting point and added elements from other locations. The Sphinxes are one obvious addition; the dog-head statues are probably taken from the Temple of Ramses (if I remember my ancient temples correctly). Riggs gives us an angle looking up to the temple instead of down and shows us foreground instead of background. He also uses a pyramid with a constant angle of ascension.

Also, I notice that the EW&F cover doesn't have a particular focal point; I tend to see the whole thing at once. Powerslave is obviously drawn is such a way as to focus your eyes on Eddie, making everything else seem like a less signigicant detail by comparison.
 
GREAT observations SMX! I noticed that even though both tips are lighted like mentioned before, the EW&F cover's pyramid is reflecting sunlight while Powerslave's is obviously a power surge.
 
I always thought the cover was just another phase (metaphorical?) in the story of Eddie! When I was 15 I thought on Piece of Mind Eddie escaped but dies, on Powerslave he's dead and on Live After Death reborn(wow).

As for the resemblance to the EWF cover... never realized that similarity... and I own both Powerslave and that EWF album. Which one do I prefer? Well I'm not posting on an EWF board here am I? Perhaps Dennis Stratton would be happy to hear that someone else doesn't listen to just Metal!
 
eh, the powerslave cover has more of a sense of humor, bearing the eddie face on the sphynx, and is a more interesting cover.
 
what goes around, comes around. These usd to be part of the commentary, they're the little details the commentary has:

[img src=\'http://img51.photobucket.com/albums/v155/gorbeast/powerzoom1b.jpg\' border=\'0\' alt=\'user posted image\' /],[img src=\'http://img51.photobucket.com/albums/v155/gorbeast/powerzoom2b.jpg\' border=\'0\' alt=\'user posted image\' /]

[img src=\'http://img51.photobucket.com/albums/v155/gorbeast/powerzoom3b.jpg\' border=\'0\' alt=\'user posted image\' /],[img src=\'http://img51.photobucket.com/albums/v155/gorbeast/powerzoom4b.jpg\' border=\'0\' alt=\'user posted image\' /]

[img src=\'http://img51.photobucket.com/albums/v155/gorbeast/powerzoom5b.jpg\' border=\'0\' alt=\'user posted image\' /]
 
i dont think he copied it, the only similarity is that they both have pyramids and are set in egypt, why cant two albums have that same setting?
 
Another email, unexpectedly replied about a year after I sent it!

Hi George, it's Riggs
I was going through some past emails that I didn't get around to answering and I found yours, so I thought I would answer it.

1. do the hieroglyphics on the Powerslave Backcover actually mean anything
or are they randomly put? do you remember what they mean (if they do)?

A. yes they do mean something. I copied them from a book about heiroglyphics. they are a small part of the prayer to Osiris. it a very long egyptian thing that just says that Osiris is the meanest mother in the world and you definatly should not mess with him.

2. i guess you must have seen recent attrocities that maiden have as covers.
is there any chance that you would accept to work with them again? i know
that their management is very unpleasent to work with, i have tried asking
permission for reproducing some lyrics and thry're not very helpful to say
the least.

A. yes, their latest covers are trash. I laugh at them regularly.
really though, they were so rude and unpleasant about everything, always trying to sound clever and taking credit for the ideas on the covers that I don't really care if they do well or not any more.
according to them, they had all the great ideas and I was just the stupid monkey who painted it for them.
the truth is that for about 75% of the time they didn't even know what was going to be on the cover of their album or single- they couldn't possible have known because I was making it up as I went along. so really even I didn't know untill it was on the cover...
basically they were just jelous and insecure because the covers were getting more attention that the music.

I have had enough of working with adults who behave like selfish children so I left maiden to do something else. I though it might be nice to work with grown-ups instead.

have fun
all the best
D


[a href=\'http://www.sria.org/gospelofosiris.htm\' target=\'_blank\']http://www.sria.org/gospelofosiris.htm[/a]
 
That's brilliant, Gor!

The close-ups will re-appear on the Commentary one day, don't worry! (along with Riggsy's comments I presume [!--emo&^_^--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/happy.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'happy.gif\' /][!--endemo--] )
 
Perhaps it's merely another one in the line of Maiden steal's
 
Cheers Mav [!--emo&B)--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/cool.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'cool.gif\' /][!--endemo--]
 
I think mav you've missed a detail from the cover:

[img src=\'http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v155/gorbeast/derekdetailonpyramid.jpg\' border=\'0\' alt=\'user posted image\' /]

derek threw himself on the pyramid, while designing the cover. thats the best closeup I have right now I'm afraid...
 
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