The Stories Behind the Record Covers Return! / BLOG: Bill Bruford, Feels Good to Me [1978]

This series originated in the early days of the COVID pandemic and, partly due to its great success, continued for more than two years. Every week, volunteer Gerrit-Jan chose an iconic or special record cover and delved into the story behind it.

In June 2023, Gerrit-Jan gave an interactive lecture in our Podiumcafé, based on said blogs. In honor of our 50th anniversary, we asked him if he wanted to provide another edition. Gerrit-Jan was immediately enthusiastic and immediately wrote a new blog — this time about Feels Good to Me (1978) by Bill Bruford. Coincidence or not: Bill Bruford will be on our stage next week, together with the Pete Roth Trio.
Tickets are still available: https://poppodiumboerderij.nl/programma/peterothtrio/
We will soon announce more about the new Record Cover Lecture. Keep an eye on our website and socials for updates.

Blog: The story behind the record cover: Bill Bruford, Feels good to me [1978]

Drummer Bill Bruford on the cover of his solo LP ‘Feels good to me’ from 1978. How old is he here? Let's do the math. He was born on May 17, 1949, so he’s 29 years-old. 29 is not really old. Yet the Brit already had a whole career behind him as a drummer with leading bands Yes and King Crimson. But King Crimson fell apart in 1977 and Bruford was left to his own devices. That put him in a difficult spot. What next? He was in two minds. He had always been a jazz fan, but he had grown up as a drummer in progressive rock.

He chose progressive rock, somewhat half-heartedly. He joined U.K., which aroused great expectations due to its line-up: Alan Holdsworth on guitar, Jon Wetton on bass, Eddie Jobson on keyboards and Bruford on drums. Bruford also went on a world tour with Genesis; the band was mega-popular at the time. But U.K. never fulfilled its promise of being a supergroup and Genesis was just a hit machine. The path he had chosen was a dead end, that's how Bill Bruford felt.
But what then? His own band? A solo career? For drummers, that's a daring step. They're not so much in the spotlight. Still, Bill Bruford decided to go for it. It gave him complete freedom to write his own music - so a bit of jazz after all! - and to choose his favorite musicians. It resulted in four fantastic solo LPs: ‘One of a Kind, ‘Feels good to Me’, ‘Gradually Going Tornado’ and the Bruford Tapes’.
Bruford really lets loose on these LPs with groovy rhythms together with bassist Jeff Berlin, amazing guitar solos by Alan Holdsworth and stunning synthesizer sounds by Dave Stewart. But what is especially striking is the special voice of singer Annette Peacock. Her vocals fit perfectly with Bruford’s jazzy music. Bruford had found his own sound, Bruford was back on the right track. Hence: ‘Feels good to me’.

The cover of the LP is simple. Bruford’s face is prominently visible and a gong in the background: the symbol for his drum set. In videos on YouTube, Bruford is built in between all kinds of percussion instruments. Not just a standard rock drum kit but all kinds of whistles and bells, such as various gongs. That makes his drum sound unique. The photo was taken by Gered Mankowitz, an English photographer who has been in the music industry for more than five decades. He has worked with a wide range of artists, from The Rolling Stones to Jimi Hendrix, from Marianne Faithfull to Kate Bush, from Suzi Quatro to Annie Lennox, from Slade to Oasis.
One of his iconic album cover photos is ‘Between the Buttons’ by the Rolling Stones. And the photo on the cover of ‘Red’ by King Crimson from 1974 is also his. And who is on this cover? Among others, drummer Bill Bruford. So they already knew each other when Mankowitz took the photo for ‘Feels good to me’.
Anyone who knows me, knows that I can daydream about album covers for hours. It’s part of the life of a prog rock fan. The one big risk with stories about music from the seventies lies with giving the impression that everything used to be better in the old days, which is the moment for young colleagues from pop venue De Boerderij to drop out. I can see/hear them thinking ‘Oh dear, there he goes again; grandpa tells a story’.
But nostalgia is not my motivation to talk about prog rock and album covers; my starting point is that history pushes the future forward. These days, lots of beautiful music is made too. It has been given the name ‘independent’ instead of prog rock. Many of the young musicians find their inspiration in drum legends like Bill Bruford. Take drummer Morgan Simpson of Black Midi, a top band in alternative music. Simpson endlessly analyses Bruford’s drumming on King Crimson LP’s. Also stunning: a conversation between the two musicians on www. Talkhouse.com. Go listen to it!

No, not everything used to be better in the old days. And that also applies to album covers. Today's LPs are not only bought by the younger generation of music fans for the music, but also for the design of the record covers. Take the Arctic Monkeys; for their covers, this top band collaborates with young artists. And on King's Day, a girl of about eighteen asked if I also sell Billy Eilish LPs (traditionally, I have a stand with LPs on the street, this year April 26). She thought the cover was so beautiful.
Now for something completely different (maybe not). As we all know, De Boerderij is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. I have been asked to resume my series of stories about record covers that I made during the corona period (2020-2022) in this anniversary year. Of course, I cannot refuse such a request. I still have a few stories on the shelf. In addition, great musicians will be coming to De Boerderij in the coming months, all of whom have released great LPs, with – indeed – great record covers.

To start with, Bill Bruford. Next week, May 8, he will be coming to De Boerderij – 75 now – with a jazz combo. I can’t wait to ask him what his favorite record cover is. And who knows, he might have some great inside stories about record covers by Yes and King Crimson.
Feels Good to Me ….

Gerrit-Jan Vrielink

Translator: Alex Driessen