A long, strange trip for Alan Aldridge

Over at Jacket Copy, our sister blog about all things literary, Carolyn Kellogg writes about the new book "The Man With Kaleidoscope Eyes: The Art of Alan Aldridge," which presents a history of the artist's elaborate, psychedelic illustrations.

"Unlike most retrospectives," Kellogg writes, "this book doesn't set up a clear chronology or thesis -- instead, it leads visually, letting the art and design create the narrative. In it, text and illustration have traded roles."

Though you may not know the name, you know his work -- whether album covers for Elton John ("Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy") or corporate logos for House of Blues and the Hard Rock Cafe. Aldridge also illustrated the 1973 children's book "The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast," which won a Whitbread award.

By the way, Aldridge will be at Book Soup in West Hollywood at 7 p.m. Wednesday to sign copies.

And for a photo gallery of his work, click here.

-- Scott Sandell

Illustration: "The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast." Credit: Alan Aldridge/Abrams