Great Album Covers- Thrust

I really wish I could find a bigger version of this cover. One that wasn't washed out looking, anyway, but short of scanning and stitching together images of my vinyl copy of this album, this is the best we can do.

There are many things I want to say about this cover, though perhaps it's best to start by saying that Thrust's artwork is more akin to a Parliament-Funkadelic live show than anything else in the world. Note the absurd keyboard controls for his weird bubble spaceship. Note the "surely inspired by drugs" intricate detail of absolutely everything going on here: the switches and dials at Herbie's hands, the mountain and labyrinth (maybe) he's flying toward, the moon, etc.

You'll also want to note Herbie's expression, which absolutely sells how badass this cover is even though it is also simultaneously dated and lame. What I mean is, even Ceelo couldn't get away with this kind of artwork in today's world. Even under the veil of retro kitsch it would be too far.

Also, it bears mention that this is a damn good jazz/funk record. My copy has skips in it that make it seem like it's making loops of itself for use on hip hop tracks; hearing it without them loses something, at least in my mind.