Monday, March 14, 2011

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (1978) Soundtrack Album Art

This gorgeous cast painting (which I'd never seen without text before) by John Solie, based on a Ralph McQuarrie layout, graced the album sleeve of the original soundtrack LP for Battlestar Galactica back in 1978, although it was also used for other BG merchandise, including a tee-shirt and the laserdisc. 

The album was actually one of the very first non-kids records that I owned; for Christmas that year, I received not only the Stu Phillips Galactica soundtrack, but the John Williams Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind LPs as well. I'm sure I drove my folks nuts with how often I spun those vinyl discs... how much John Williams and Stu Philips can your average parent take, after all?
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4 comments:

  1. jasonMarch 14, 2011 at 3:28 PM

    I know this painting was available as a retail poster, with the title at the bottom, as I recall. It's always been one of my favorites, a really beautiful piece of commercial illustration. I'm afraid I don't know the artist, though...

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  2. AnonymousMarch 14, 2011 at 4:30 PM

    The artist was John Solie. The layout for the poster was based on an earlier version by Ralph McQuarrie.

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  3. Christopher MillsMarch 14, 2011 at 4:37 PM

    Thanks, Phaid - I'll revise the post.

    ANd now I know who painted the U.S. art for STARCRASH, too!

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  4. AnonymousMarch 17, 2011 at 4:39 PM

    As I recall, this artwork also graced the cover of the first paperback volume of Marvel's BG comic adaptation, as well as the cover of a BG activity book. There was also a wall mirror which featured the image, and a Colorforms set which used Solie's art.

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