Extraordinary Records
Published by Taschen
Regular price
$70.00 USD
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Extraordinary Records Details
This visually stunning vinyl encyclopedia redefines album art through the lens of design and music history. Produced in collaboration with Colors magazine, it showcases over 500 exceptional records from the collections of Alessandro Benedetti and Peter Bastine, exploring vinyl as both a sonic medium and artistic object. The book celebrates the full spectrum of vinyl innovation—from classic monochrome pressings to rare glow-in-the-dark variants, silver and gold editions, multicolored discs, etched vinyl, shaped records, and picture discs. Each category reveals the creative boundaries artists and manufacturers have pushed. A particularly compelling section documents "ribs" or "bone music"—bootleg records pressed onto discarded Soviet x-rays during an era when Western music was forbidden. These artifacts tell a story of cultural resistance through sound. Featuring iconic artists like Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Prince, Michael Jackson, and Bon Jovi, the book examines how visual identity—color, texture, and design—becomes inseparable from the music itself. This is a richly illustrated journey through the intersection of photography, music, and design, celebrating vinyl's enduring appeal as both a listening experience and collectible art form.
Hardcover, 11½ × 11½ inches, 472 pages. Multi-lingual edition (English, French, German).
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About the Authors
Alessandro Benedetti, Giorgio Moroder, and Peter Bastine
Alessandro Benedetti began collecting colored and unusual records in 1981, and now has 8,000 discs, including 1,200 colored vinyl discs. In 1998 his collection won recognition inThe Guinness Book of Records. His dream is to open a record museum so he can share his collection with the public.
Italian producer and songwriter Giorgio Moroder helped create electronic dance music, and has worked with Donna Summer, David Bowie, Janet Jackson, Barbra Streisand, and many others. He also founded Musicland Studios in Munich, once used by legendary acts like Led Zeppelin, Queen, and Elton John.
Peter Bastine has been a DJ, record seller, and concert organizer. From 1977 until 1998 he collected every kind of picture disc; since then, mostly historical 78rpm records. Today his collection comprises around 8,000 picture discs, and has been the subject of several European exhibitions.