The cover design of the gatefold, by Josien Mars, is beautiful for its bold simplicity. Sliced potatoes serve as a stamps for the band name.

These 'marks 'also represent the title of the album in a metaphorical way. The ink is still wet and you can almost smell the freshness of the peel. Great for a band's debut album that is still searching for its definitive sound.

The inside, shot by Frits van Swoll, depicts the bandmembers, the track listing, and general information about the production.

Alquin is:
Hein Mars
Paul Weststrate
Dick Franse
Ronald Ottenhof
Rob Tarenskeen
Ferdinand Bakker

Alquin was an innovative Dutch band who released four studio albums during the early to mid-70's With a mixture of rock, jazz and classical music, they show elements of Soft Machine, Caravan, Pink Floyd, Curved Air with tinges of Roxy Music. The band split up in 1977 and had a comeback from 2003 untill 2012 (with 2 new albums: 'Blue Planet' and 'Sailors and Sinners').

Their first release, 'Marks' (1972), is mostly instrumental with a highly jazzy feel.Their best progressive effort, however, is their second album 'the Mountain Queen'(1973) which features long instrumental passages with prominent lead guitar, whirling Hammond organ, dual saxophones, electric violin and catchy choruses in a slightly Canterbury style

The Mountain Queen