| Author | Message | ||
     spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 893 Registered: 05-2005 |
Fellas/fellaesses, I knows we done this before, but as I was in the loft today digging out some old vinyl, and I mean old, I found a 78 in there, and I'm not on about my Grandad! I found some really really inspiring sleeves. The Moodists, Dave Graney's band, had some real striking covers, their albums and 12 inchers. They all look good together and haven't dated, at all, just shows how ahead of the game their music and imagery was. Is there another group/artist/thing you guys like whose sleeve art is consistently good with every release? The Fall's sleeves all look good together, Kev? There is an art t o a Fall sleeve, I love the way it encapsulates Smith's personality and whose sleeve imagery is evocative of Fall music. | ||
| John B. Member Username: John_b Post Number: 41 Registered: 10-2006 |
Spence, I would go for The Smiths, who basically kept the same theme for covers throughout their career. I love the cover of Bauhaus' "In the Flat Field" and vagually recollect that I also really liked the cover of the first Toyah album.... | ||
| Andrew Kerr Member Username: Andrew_k Post Number: 151 Registered: 04-2005 |
Joy Division: Those original two albums are objects of extreme beauty (as well as containing music of extreme beauty). And lets face it the CDs are never going to be the same as the original LP releases: the two sleeves even feel different from standard releases. 'Unknown Pleasures' with its 'raised' textured surface and 'Closer' with its thick cartridge paper feel. Excuse me, but I'm off to run my fingers through my 45s collection now. | ||
| jerry hann Member Username: Jerry_h Post Number: 298 Registered: 07-2005 |
Vinyl is great particularly the art work,I managed to get 2 LP sleeves of Tom Waits -Raindogs and I always put them on my wall when living on my own as a student etc.Not sure her indoors would go for this now though. I like the new Ben Folds sleeve and the Badly Drawn Boy as well to mention 2 newies. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1060 Registered: 03-2006 |
Pavement, to me, have always had really cool sleeves..."Crooked Rain", "Westing", "Brighten the Corners"... | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 823 Registered: 04-2005 |
You're serious? I blame Pavement for the plague of crappy collage and ballpoint-pen album art that looks like it was done five minutes before the sleeve went to the printer. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1062 Registered: 03-2006 |
Did I say I liked Pavement's covers? No, I meant I hate them. They suck! Damn them! Well, if you put it that way, what am I supposed to say? But seriously, yeah, I thought a lot of them were really cool, particularly the ones cited. | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 826 Registered: 04-2005 |
You know I likes my album covers purty, LK. Them covers ain't purty. | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 51 Registered: 08-2006 |
A personal fave: "Bakesale" by Sebadoh. That picture of the toddler fishing around in the toilet. Bakesale, indeed. On the flip side, one guy who taste in album art blows is – no, not you, LK (I actually like the Pavement covers) – Lou Reed. The only album of his solo years that I liked, visually-speaking, was "The Blue Mask," mainly because it repurposed "Transformer"'s artwork. I think his ex-wife used to art direct for him and, man, I can't think of a winner in the bunch. Good thing they sounded great. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1063 Registered: 03-2006 |
She must have art-directed "Coney Island Baby". How can anybody have thought that was a good idea? | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 52 Registered: 08-2006 |
I just remembered another good one: "Gentlemen" by the Afghan Whigs. Again, photos of kids, but the effect is anything but funny. | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 53 Registered: 08-2006 |
LK: "Legendary Hearts" and "New Sensations," too. Great albums, bum art. None of them have aged very well. I think a key to good covers is timelessness - you have to assume people are going to be buying the record 30-40 years down the road. Born to Run still looks great. Blonde on Blonde. Television. Blue by Joni. Hell, Sinatra's Capitol records. Lou's covers always look of-the-moment, which isn't always a good thing. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1065 Registered: 03-2006 |
Speaking of EC (we were on the other thread), I thought the cover of Get Happy! with its retro stylings on pre-worn cover was extremely cool. | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 827 Registered: 04-2005 |
Oh god, "Legendary Hearts" was an awful cover! It almost made me afraid to buy the album, and I was the biggest Reed fan in the world at the time. Reed's '80s covers were truly appalling. Then even after he dumped Sylvia, he actually got worse later with the horrific "Ecstasy" cover. No one wants to see a 60-year-old Lou's face during an orgasm, sorry. Not even Laurie Anderson. I'm with you on "Get Happy!" LK. I especially loved the pre-worn look. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1067 Registered: 03-2006 |
Do 60 year old people even have orgasms? | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 55 Registered: 08-2006 |
Didn't Tony Randall have a kid when he was, like, 104? Or at least in his 70s? I think that's compelling evidence in the affirmative. Another great record cover: "Generic" by Flipper. After PiL ripped it off, they called a record "Public Flipper Limited." Any Flipper fans out there? | ||
| Wolfgang Steinhardt Member Username: Berbatov Post Number: 8 Registered: 09-2006 |
Faust - the transparent X-ray cover of their first LP with transparent vinyl inside is just unbeatable ... | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 429 Registered: 10-2004 |
I recently got this record by an Italian new wave band called Krisma, called "Clandestine Anticipation." It's hard for me to describe what's going on, but the album cover is amazing. Anyway, the first band that comes to mind is Echo and the Bunnymen, particularly the first 4 albums and a lot of the singles from that time period. Some of the coolest band photos ever, taken among some stunning scenery. I like a lot of Durutti Column album covers. Honestly, many album covers from Factory or its sister labels were pretty stunning. All those Crepuscule covers with the sleeve art by Hennebert are lovely. I agree with the comment about Joy Division covers. Smiths covers too. For a while I really liked Dead Can Dance's album covers, at least the stuff they did in the 80s. Very pretentious and goth, but I dig it. How about Roxy Music's album covers from the 70s? Any takers? At least they stuck to a pretty consistent theme! Oh, and Rob, here's a Flipper fan for you, although I haven't really listened to my Flipper records since I was a teenager. | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 832 Registered: 04-2005 |
As big a fan as I am of Roxy Music, those '70s covers are mainly provocative eyesores. (Of course, as a teenager when I first bought them, I didn't consider them eyesores at all.) The women on Stranded and Country Life may be largely unclad, but they're not exactly alluring and definitely aren't classy. The two covers from that era that work aesthetically are For Your Pleasure and Siren. I'm repeating myself from the other cover art thread, but speaking of Factory bands, New Order's "Power, Corruption & Lies" is one of the greats. | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 58 Registered: 08-2006 |
I dunno, Kurt, the Stranded and Country Life photos sort of remind me of some of the fashion photography I see now in mags. Pretty women deliberately made un-pretty. I agree with you about For Your Pleasure and Siren, though - cool covers. And PC&L is great, too. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 774 Registered: 05-2005 |
I used to love the Yes album covers... I'll get me coat. | ||
| Aidan Brewer Member Username: Uptowninvisible Post Number: 6 Registered: 10-2006 |
Moose's first couple of albums, as well as some of their singles from the same period have some supremely beautiful collages on them. Other albums that I really like the covers of include 'Emergency Third Rail Power Trip' by the Rain Parade, 'Pink Moon' by Nick Drake, and 'Pacific Street' by the Pale Fountains. | ||
| Geoff Holmes Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 175 Registered: 05-2005 |
Still love the old Heaven Up Here... | ||
| Geoff Holmes Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 176 Registered: 05-2005 |
..by the way, do any of you display your covers (that sounds RUDE!!!)???? Where my guitars live, I can prop the sleeves up as a potentially every changing backdrop. At the moment, it's got New Gold Dream, Temple of Low Men (back), The Notorious Byrd Brothers, Ocean rain, Something to deeply offend Kevin(front, gatefold and cut outs sleeve), True colours, Unearthed(SK), Cold and the Crackle, John Barleycorn must die, another black and white album to offend Kevin, The Spangle maker, Before Hollywood, High land hard rain, The Hurdy gurdy man, Forever changes, Devo live(back) and Calenture.I was going to chuck them out (what use were they?), until I came up with this solution. It's sort of sad that kids in the future may be listening to new music that has only been downloaded without the accompanying sleeve to pour over. | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1080 Registered: 05-2005 |
Steely Dan? Marshall Crenshaw? Glasgow Rangers Anthems? | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1074 Registered: 03-2006 |
Ever since I've been aware of them, I've always thought those jazz artist covers from the late 50's and early 60's just exuded cool - things like, "Blue Trane" and "A Love Supreme" and "Kind of Blue"...It's probably as much a product of the integral character of the subjects as it is the photography and design. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 899 Registered: 05-2005 |
LK nice hought, they are cool, ther seems like millions of these covers designed over the years. I have always thought subconciously about the sleeves imagery when listening to music, like Gobees when I listen to Liberty belle, I see/hear thesongs with a black and white feel to them, I was thinking the other day, the Murmer cover has this sort of rustic feel which is similar to the music, Low by Bowie has a warmth similar to the orange Man who fell imagery that adorns the sleeve. then there's Jackson's Thriller...! | ||
| joe Member Username: Dogmansuede Post Number: 7 Registered: 07-2006 |
the low sleeve is brilliant...even if i still don't have much time for bowie. i love the covers to the first couple of ride albums and early eps....pet shop boys circa 1990...japan (quite life...tin drum)...morrissey's first few records (christ that was one photogenic man)...fleetwood mac's tusk....new order/most everything peter saville...pulp's different class...."dare!"...the hounds of love... it's true, i spent far too long thinking and swooning about all this stuff. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 909 Registered: 05-2005 |
Beck has had good sleeves. tho his latest with the stickers: "make yer own sleeve" is a wonderful idea, really great stickers, oooooohhh!!!!!!!! | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 839 Registered: 04-2005 |
Beck's newest feels like some kind of breakthrough in album sleeves--totally interactive. Although I'm sure someone has done something like it before, just not as high-profile as Beck. By the way, Spence, I agree with you that the sleeve's imagery can affect how one hears the music. Although I'm not sure an album like "Unknown Pleasures" would sound any less dark if it were packaged in a bright yellow sleeve with flowers and puppies on the cover. That might be a thread idea--biggest mismatches of sleeve art to the music contained within. |