Squaring the Circle

A huge part of my childhood and most people from my generation, growing up in the 60's & 70's, was staring at album covers, reading every word of the liner notes just visually ingesting art, for art's sake. This documentary gives us a glorious, backstage, pass to the inner workings of some of the biggest bands of the era. Hearing Noel Gallagher detail about how his daughter didn't understand that album artwork was a thing was absolutely heartbreaking. We would literally just stare at the album cover while listening to the album much like we sat at the breakfast table and stared at the cereal box and read every word on the front and back and sides when we were eating cereal in the mornings. It just brought back so many great memories and the thrill of physically holding an album the smell of the album cover You felt going through the motions of opening the sleeve, putting the album on the turntable and then sitting back and waiting to hear something you've never heard. It really was a beautiful time to be a music and art lover. This gargantuan outlet for artists is now, as Noel said, just a tiny square, on iTunes.

This documentary might seem a bit of a deep cut from the outside. The story of a design studio focused on record sleeves. Is it not all a bit boffiny. Well yes a little, but Hipgnosis do have quite a pedigree and with Anton Corbijn at the helm here, what transpires is a celebration of experimentation and creative expression. We all know the artwork. Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, T-Rex, Wings... er, 10CC but who was behind it all? Storm Thorgerson has a profile doesn't he. That's the (excellent) name you think of, certainly if you've been through art school. Po Powell though might be a bit more obscure. The other cofounder, he leads us through the 60s psychedelic boom, those early fumblings as they figured things out, LSD indulgence, riding their luck and falling on their feet, all whilst playing with visuals not seen anywhere else in pop culture. There's lots of voices here though, Dave Gilmour and Roger Waters (not together of course), Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, Paul McCartney, Noel Gallagher who sums things up beautifully saying "They represent the golden age of the music business, where people believed that music was art and it could change the world. Whereas now music is a commodity". There's as much about the environment and culture they worked in as how they actually created some of these works, but there's enough to keep every viewer happy. Whether it's terrifying stories of Zep's fearsome manager Peter Grant or Peter Saville hinting his inspiration for Joy Division's Unknown Pleaures. It's a fascinating story, made up of hundreds of little stories that paint a picture of a dizzying group of artists all feeding off one another, both good and bad. Egos, excess, flying pigs.

Fascinating film about the 2 extraordinary guys who were responsible for the most iconic album cover of all time and countless others album covers from the late 60 onwards. Great interviews from the likes of Dave Gilmour, Roger Waters ,Jimmy page, Robert Plant ,Paul McCartney and many more. Some great stories behind the album covers (Animals is particularly funny) and the thought process behind them. After all these years I never understood the significance of the man on fire on Wish You Were Here Its shot in black and white and colour to dazzling effect and each time I watch it I notice something new. The film manages to convey the absolute chaos and spontaneity of there lives This harks back to a time when the album cover was nearly as important than the vinyl inside Hopefully there will be a soundtrack album as well. Anyone who laments the end of an era of truly inspiring music will love this.

Mixed bag, this film is. There are some redeeming moments of discovery, though. Lots of redundant imagery which is ironic, because this film reveals the kernels of Storm and Po, the creative duo who created lauded LP covers from the 70s and beyond. Anyone who is a graphic designer or photographer might be quite interested in certain portions of this film. Generally, I felt that most of the moments when Po is featured are like his ego is taking an extended bubble bath. But my review is not intended to discount his fine creative output, back in the days long before Photoshop. If you're enamored of a large host of Chirping Musician Heads, you might adore this film. Led Z members, Paul McCartney, Peter Gabriel, and a few from 10cc all share opinions. To be expected, just a handful of women are featured. For the back story on certain LP covers, the producers linger far too long, and the tone seeps into the arena of hagiography. The running time could have done with a tighter edit. Ironically, the final moments are rushed and a bit maudlin. Like many docs, it's neatly wrapped up with a tidy bow: just a few, perfunctory sentences. Believe it or not, I somewhat recommend this film, apart from the above reservations.

I was interested after seeing the trailer, and decided to see it, because I knew the director with the unpronounceable name is really good. I loved the film about Joy Division, and his videos are certainly way better than most.

If you're over a certain age, you're going to really love this film. If you loved Pink Floyd, and most of the album covers that accompanied the vinyl albums, you are really going to love this film. If you're curious what Hipgnosis meant, and how they got the name, yes, hope it plays in your town.

Like so much in life, the incredible success story could never make it into a feature film, because it's too ridiculous to believe. But this was real, and amazing coincidences kept happening, time and time again, making a really wonderful fairy tale, that's all true.

I see a lot of movies, and as the film ended, I wanted to clap. If you have any chance of seeing this in a theater, don't miss the opportunity.

You'll be happy you went.