A Nice Pair - Cover Art

Cover Art

The cover is by the Hipgnosis group, who did many other Pink Floyd covers, and consists of 2 grids of 18 small pictures of proposed but previously unused album cover designs. Several images depict a well-known phrase or saying in the form of a visual pun; for instance, the centre right-hand panel on the front depicts "a fork in the road", while the bottom right represents "a fine kettle of fish". Another picture presents two puns on the album title: a nice pear, and an image of a woman's breasts; the latter is censored with a black bar on some copies, while other US copies opted to cover it with a purple and white sticker over the shrink wrap. Initial copies had a picture of a Mr. W. R. Phang's dental surgery on the cover (a genuine business), but Dr. Phang objected because dentists were not allowed to advertise, and the picture was replaced with one of a gargling monk. US editions from the 1980s restored both the nudity and the W. R. Phang photo.

The album was the band's next US release after The Dark Side of the Moon, and introduced new fans to the earlier psychedelic sound of the Syd Barrett period of Pink Floyd, which contrasted greatly to the style of their more recent work. Following the worldwide re-issue of the original two albums on CD, including the original UK version of The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, A Nice Pair is out of print.