Slow Motion

The Slow Motion borders

The artist formerly known as Alfred E. Newman - the most reclusive Manfan ever?

Shown here as a 'work in progress' Griffin's proposed borders for the front cover did actually get used, although not quite with the level of detail intended. On the 12" vinyl LP these ink sketches frame the photograph of the band on the back cover. Look carefully though and you'll see that some of the inked lettering on the cameos intended to illustrate concepts such as 'time', 'space' 'notes' and 'tones' never quite made it through to the finished pieces. On the later CD release the borders are used extensively throughout the inner booklet, wrapping Man's work up in Michael Heatley's notes in Rick Griffin's pictures.

Alfred E. Newman, cover star of Mad magazine as interpreted by Rick Griffin.

Although lacking much of the later detail all the key composition elements are here in this initial sketch of the central character.

From the simple outlines shown above the next stage was to introduce the band name. With the similarities between 'Man' and 'Mad' quite plain to see, it would have taken only a small step to create a pseudo-cover for the Slow Motion magazine.

A close look at the lettering of the band name reveals that much more detail was on the way, and this informal layout merely hints at the grand design. When issued though, and indeed also in the suppressed version, the three characters making up the band name have been greatly simplified.

Under development - the Slow Motion magazine begins to take shape

The full concept of the original cover design has retained its air of mystery and intrigue over the years. Here though are the results of Griffin's labours, as displayed in Roger Dean's book of record covers 'The Album Cover Album' which is itself now once again sadly out of print.

Man fans remain puzzled but amused that Mad magazine, who had built an entire business out of their lampooning of others, were able to prevent the use of their character Alfred E. Newman in what would have been an affectionate pastiche of the magazine's cover style.

The Slow Motion cover - as printed in the Album Cover Album

The test slick of the design, shown here on the right, displays a far better depth of colour than the example taken from Roger Dean's book above. A brief comparison with the UK sleeve design shown on the left highlights how the end result wasn't quite what had originally been expected. The Man-Mad magazine pastiche of Griffin's concept is all but lost.

To further confuse matters there were also a small number of differences between the UK and US sleeve designs. A direct comparison between the UK and US versions shows the US sleeve to have been printed in much lighter and brighter colour tones (this isn't just a difference in the scans on the two examples used here).

Compositionally, while all the main elements remain essentially unchanged, the US version shown here uses the original larger sized lettering for the band's name. The album's title is relocated to the bottom of the sleeve and, especially for the sharp-eyed, Alfred has gained an extra tooth!

The Slow Motion cover - variations on a theme.

There were a few other early sightings of the original cover design. These escaped to the public domain on a variety of posters and press adverts. The tantalising glimpses quickly died away however, and the story of the cover gradually became one of the many shrouded legends that surround the history of the Manband.

In 2005, collector Dennis Wheary contacted the Archive with some further insights. He'd been exchanging e-mails with Gordon McClelland, author of Rick Griffin (Paper Tiger/Perigee 1980, and now again in print from Last Gasp ) about the censorship of the 1975 MAN Slow Motion album cover, and here’s what Gordon wrote back:

“This is what I recall. The Man cover got proofed with the full image (several hundred copies on slick paper) and then went to the legal department at United Artists. We were immediately told by the record company representative that they would not even try to publish it and in fact didn't even want to bother trying to get permission. They said the decision had come down from the legal department and was final.

In desperation I sent a copy of the proof to Mad magazine and asked them to call us back. They called us back and said they wouldn't give written legal permission to use the image, but that if we went ahead and used the cover as is, they would positively not even attempt to sue, as they loved the cover and thought it would be great to have a spoof made on them. They were actually excited about it happening.

We told the record company this information and gave them the phone number of the person we talked to at Mad magazine, but it fell on deaf ears.

All the final album covers, both American and English, that I saw, came out with the cropped illustration. That said, I do have one copy of a large size, English published, publicity poster for the record, with the full image on it, so someone in England decided to go for it. I went to the Man web site (it's a nicely done job, and the Slow Motion section was fun to look at and read). The promo poster with the full design in the bottom right corner is the one I have.

It's also interesting to note that the book publisher (Paper Tiger) decided to go ahead and use the original art, as created, and Mad magazine, true to their word, never said anything about it.”

- Gordon McClelland, e-mail to DW 3/31/05

Dennis adds:

"As for the meaning of the cover, the Rick Griffin book reveals exactly what the artist was depicting in his cover design: The Baptism of Alfred E. Neuman. That said, let me offer my elaboration:

While many cartoonists and contemporary artists today lampoon, satirize and just plain trash American fads, products and imagery, as perhaps they should, it occurs to me that one of Griffin's greatest gifts was his ability to grab images from that same cultural stream (or cesspool) and enhance, elevate and otherwise improve upon these advertising cartoon characters and product designs, and by doing so, make a new statement that was both beautiful and profound.

What did Alfred E. Neuman always say, when caught in the middle of some new disastrous situation on the magazine cover? Always the same, he said, "What, me worry?" Alfred was clearly clueless.

But for once, in Rick's MAN painting, this "new man" should not be worried. And he knows why! In this illustration, Alfred looks tan and healthy, dripping with water, a swimmer or surfer fresh out of the ocean after a great session. In his hands, which mimic those of a guitar player (editor's note: for Alfred's left hand I agree, but for his right hand, more of a biker I'd suggest), he firmly holds a deep water tuna, wiggling and also very much alive. He is MAN, The man and all men, and the fish is Jesus Christ. The vertical figure and the horizontal symbol across his chest, with only a blue background, are presented centered, static and symmetrical, a boring composition really, except for that WATER. Griffin painted water as if he spent time IN it, and here the water drips and flies, adding sparkle, liquidity, life and movement, so that what we see is both slow and motion. And given that context, Alfred's usual idiotic expression looks happy, aware and even sublime.

Still don't get it? Take a look at the pen and ink border. I read it as a counter clock wise trip on the path, through the ship's rigging, up to the light, a slow motion journey to spiritual consciousness, through time, space and water, breaking the chains that imprison the world, back down to the beach and home.

Yes, Rick was a quiet man, but that doesn't mean he had nothing to say, or that what he said was nonsense. When comfortable, Rick Griffin could be extremely articulate [see: http://www.tcj.com/257/i_griffin.html] but more importantly, he left us some incredible eye candy, that also contained some cryptic and provocative messages.

Denis Wheary

Portland Oregon USA