Burning Spear – Marcus Garvey and Garvey’s Ghost
UK Edition (1975), with the addition of a portrait of Marcus Garvey.
Marcus Garvey is the third studio album released by Burning Spear. One could also claim it is Burning Spear’s first album, as a solo artist. Until shortly before the recording of this album, Burning Spear was the name of the band, lead by Winston Rodney (Jamaica, 1945), with Rupert Willington and Delroy Hines/Hinds as band members. The three of them are portrayed by Dennis Morris on the back cover of this album and its dub version Garvey’s Ghost, released 1976.
The album cover shows a dramatic illustration of two warriors with earrings and spears. At the bottom of the design, a sturdy chain is interrupted by the album title, set in bold capitals of Roslyn Gothic. Roslyn is the single known typeface by lettering artist and friendly-looking gentleman Harry Winters. This typeface was released by VGC in 1972. The Bold style used on the cover was also available from Letraset. The back cover shows both the Bold and the Medium weight.
The same typeface and design concept are re-used by “Bloomfield / Travis” on Garvey’s Ghost. This time, the portrait of Jamaican political activist Marcus Garvey is the main image, reversed as if evoking his unearthly appearance.
See a post about another album named Marcus Garvey produced by Sonia Pottinger for more information on Marcus Garvey.
More info:
[Marcus Garvey on Discogs]
[Garvey’s Ghost on Discogs]
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The initial Jamaican market release (also 1975) uses the same images but in a different arrangement. Design by Trevor Campbell, who used ITC Avant Garde Gothic and ITC Fat Face.