Sharks – Jab In Yore Eye(1974)

Biography
Sharks are a British rock band, formed in September 1972, by the ex-Free bass player, Andy Fraser, upon his departure from Free.They were signed to Island Records and were rated by critics, especially for Chris Spedding’s tasteful guitar work. The initial line-up consisted of Fraser (bass, piano), Snips (real name; Steve Parsons) (vocals), Spedding (guitar) and an American, Marty Simon (drums). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharks

Album & Cover
Despite Free bassist/composer Andy Fraser and engineer Andy Johns moving on after 1973’s First Water album, Sharks come back with a solid second outing putting Mr. Snips front and center, not only as vocalist, but as writer or co-writer of eight of the nine songs here. Jab It in Yore Eye features an absolutely dreadful album cover, sure to turn off record buyers. Where the first LP’s artwork was simple and ineffective, this cover illustration by Bill Imhoff is just awful — and misleading, for the music inside is pretty good. Fraser contributed to half of the previous album’s songs without providing the direction he helped give Free. http://www.allmusic.com/album/jab-it-in-yore-eye

According to Aubrey Powell, this cover features trompe l’oeil both visually and literally. Storm Thorgerson came up with the idea of painting an open eye on a closed eyelid. And as a result they look quite amateurish because they painted the eyes themselves…

Cover Location: Hipgnosis Studio, London, UK
Who Did What: Photography – A. Powell/S. Thorgerson. Graphics – G. Hardie
Label: MCA MCA-415(US), Island ILPS9271(UK)
Source: Vinyl. Album. Cover. Art, The Complete Hipgnosis Catalogue: Aubrey Powell

Tracklist

Credits
Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar – Chris Spedding
Bass, Vocals – Busta Cherry Jones
Drums, Vocals – Marty Simon
Engineer – Tony Platt
Engineer [Assisting] – Dave Hutchins, Jonathan Rowland
Keyboards – Nick Judd
Mixed By – Chris Spedding
Mixed By [Assisting] – John Leckie, Mick Jarratt
Producer – Peter Jenner
Vocals, Guitar – Snips