Cuba: Music and Revolution

Cuba: Music and Revolution. is the first ever book about Cuban record sleeve design and features hundreds of rarely ever seen vinyl records that were produced in Cuba from the start of the Cuban Revolution at the beginning of the 1960s up until 1991 when Cuba’s Special Period, brought about by the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The withdrawal of Russia’s financial support for the Cuban government led to many economic hardships including the demise of vinyl record manufacturing in Cuba. The artwork featured here stunningly reflects both the cultural and musical depth of Cuba. The political influence of revolutionary communism on the island manifests itself both in the music created and the artwork of the record designs included here. Generously illustrated with hundreds of colour images, Cuba: Music and Revolution. presents the history of Cuban record cover art, including many examples previously unseen outside the island itself. From the extremes of pre-Revolution Cuba’s vibrant imagery to the covers of 1980s salsa and jazz albums, via the socialist realist and geometric abstract designs of the 1960s and the folkloric Afro-Cuban roots styles of the 1970s, this volume of Cuban record cover art traces a musical form in an almost constant state of revolution. The book is compiled by Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker who together compiled two more large format record design books: Freedom, Rhythm and Sound - Revolutionary Jazz Cover Art. and, Bossa Nova and the Rise of Brazilian Music - Original Cover Art.