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Old 31-01-2015, 12:09
Doghouse Riley
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The covers of albums can help the sales quite considerably, if they are eye-catching.
An obvious example is Roxy Music's 4th album "Country Life."
But some are more subtle.

I've a few Chris Rea albums, but not this one. But I like the cover.



https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ch...ox%3B500%3B500

It's an homage to Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nighthawks
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Old 31-01-2015, 15:57
Hav_mor91
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I do love album covers and agree some become as iconic as the album themselves some of my favourites:

Madonna- Like a Virgin
Katy Perry- Teenage Dream
Kate Bush- Hounds Of Love
Britney Spears- ...Baby One More Time (international)
Bork- Homogenic
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Old 03-02-2015, 09:39
Glawster2002
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As a Rock fan the artwork of Storm Thorgerson, Aubrey Powell and Peter Christopherson from Hipgnosis has always been of interest to me. I have several of their books including one signed by Storm.
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Old 03-02-2015, 11:11
jlp95bwfc
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I love the covers for Rihanna's Talk That Talk (very eye catching) and Loud (just stunning and quite simply sums up the image of that era)
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Old 03-02-2015, 11:22
Lucy Van Pelt
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Dark Side of the Moon
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Old 03-02-2015, 11:43
Eddie Badger
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Roger Dean's work on numerous Yes albums
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Old 03-02-2015, 12:01
Slojo
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We all like a nice cover on an album and it will help sales by being attractive in the store racks but I can never understand people who refuse to buy an album because they DON'T like the cover. Surely the only thing that really matters is the music.
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Old 03-02-2015, 12:50
Doghouse Riley
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We all like a nice cover on an album and it will help sales by being attractive in the store racks but I can never understand people who refuse to buy an album because they DON'T like the cover. Surely the only thing that really matters is the music.
You can't get a simpler cover than this, from 1958, but boy did it sell! and is still selling!
Of course the title had to be copied by a group of uninspired numpties decades later, but that's the way it goes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somethi...7_Else-jpg.jpg
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Old 03-02-2015, 17:02
scrilla
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Much as I appreciate album covers and picture bags on singles I do think it may have been better if everything just came in a white sleeve or company sleeve because then we would be less swayed by packaging and the artist's 'image' and more concentrated upon the music. Obviously that would be a very worrying situation for some of today's pop stars especially!
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Old 03-02-2015, 20:19
mgvsmith
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Much as I appreciate album covers and picture bags on singles I do think it may have been better if everything just came in a white sleeve or company sleeve because then we would be less swayed by packaging and the artist's 'image' and more concentrated upon the music. Obviously that would be a very worrying situation for some of today's pop stars especially!
I'm surprised you say that as I think the visual element in modern music is lost as so much is downloaded and there is little need for packaging.

My favourite covers include John Martyn's 'Solid Air', Joy Division's 'Closer' and 'Unknown Pleasures'

Many reckon this is the best cover of all.

The Clash 'London Calling'
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Old 03-02-2015, 22:33
scrilla
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I'm surprised you say that as I think the visual element in modern music is lost as so much is downloaded and there is little need for packaging.

My favourite covers include John Martyn's 'Solid Air', Joy Division's 'Closer' and 'Unknown Pleasures'

Many reckon this is the best cover of all.

The Clash 'London Calling'
I always loved 'Closer', right down to the paper stock. I had the clothbound copy of 'Still' too.

Yes, I do like the sleeve art but I have mixed feelings about it, like I would about any sort of presentation of the artist (especially the promo video), as I feel that this can colour people's views of how they perceive the music.

I guess I'm harking back to the days before my time when people used to hear a record on the radio and go out to buy if based on the sounds they heard alone. They didn't know what an artist looked like. I believe that can really level the playing field. There is a simple honesty in it. Don't get me wrong: I love video footage too but it influences people's choices.

I own some records by people who you can barely find images of, never mind video footage and unless you love the printed labels or memorising matrix numbers it has to be all about the music - no aspect of the artist looking 'hip' or aspirational. I'm quite sure I was attracted to the Sex Pistols appearance when I was a kid.

I have quite a lot of Jamaican 45s and they don't tend to have picture sleeves, so if the artist never was lucky enough to get an album release you might not have even known what they looked like (pre. the internet) unless you bought books or magazines.

Another unrelated bugbear is how vulnerable picture sleeves are to damage. CDs, often with their jewel case 'exoskeletons' survive far better but regardless of the arguments over which format sounds better, there's no doubt that vinyl is the looker and the twelve inch format is the ultimate means of displaying sleeve art.

Last edited by scrilla : 03-02-2015 at 22:38. Reason: more
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Old 03-02-2015, 23:55
FMKK
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I'm surprised you say that as I think the visual element in modern music is lost as so much is downloaded and there is little need for packaging.

My favourite covers include John Martyn's 'Solid Air', Joy Division's 'Closer' and 'Unknown Pleasures'

Many reckon this is the best cover of all.

The Clash 'London Calling'
The Clash pinched the titling of that from Elvis though.
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Old 04-02-2015, 08:40
Glawster2002
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Much as I appreciate album covers and picture bags on singles I do think it may have been better if everything just came in a white sleeve or company sleeve because then we would be less swayed by packaging and the artist's 'image' and more concentrated upon the music. Obviously that would be a very worrying situation for some of today's pop stars especially!
But then music has always been intertwined with image, it always will and it is impossible to extracate one from the other.

Even if everything did come in plain white packaging people would still be swayed by what they heard on the radio.

However no matter what the packaging, people still buy a record, CD, MP3, or whatever, because of the music.
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Old 04-02-2015, 08:42
evkylemeatsix
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Kelly Clarksons My December was a pretty decent album cover
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Old 04-02-2015, 08:49
little-monster
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I love Rihanna's Rated r album cover

I actually don't like Katy perry's teenage dream photo. It's essentially an album cover for teenage boys to satsify their sexual needs to, not a photo to sell the album. The fact her ass is just about covered by a pink fluffy cloud is tasteless, rather than sexy. She is a lot better than that. Plus the repacked album cover version of Teenage dream makes her look like she has just had dental treatment and she can't move her mouth due to the numbness.

The teenage dream single cover should of been the album cover.
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Old 04-02-2015, 10:39
Lewnaticc
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Mariah Carey - The Emancipation of Mimi is the greatest "diva" album cover ever.
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Old 04-02-2015, 12:51
Inkblot
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Great web site devoted to album covers: http://lpcoverlover.com/category/drugs/

I've given the URL for the "drugs" category because some of those are hilarious but check out some of the others...
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Old 04-02-2015, 13:10
scrilla
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But then music has always been intertwined with image, it always will and it is impossible to extracate one from the other.
Not when the the artist has never been photographed, which can be the case. Believe it or not, many decades ago people did not necessarily see who they were listening to.

Even if everything did come in plain white packaging people would still be swayed by what they heard on the radio.
Yes. That's exactly the point I'm making.

However no matter what the packaging, people still buy a record, CD, MP3, or whatever, because of the music.
I believe some people buy into an image they identify with and that the music is secondary. You own the music because it comes with the territory. Think of some artists who rely very much on imagery and imagine how there sales could be different if everything we bought was simply a response to a blind listening test.
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Old 04-02-2015, 13:22
JohnnyForget
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Many reckon this is the best cover of all.

The Clash 'London Calling'
Which completely ripped off this cover from 1956:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis_P...lbum_Cover.jpg
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Old 04-02-2015, 13:53
Glawster2002
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Not when the the artist has never been photographed, which can be the case. Believe it or not, many decades ago people did not necessarily see who they were listening to.
I'm fully aware of that. In the 1970s most members of the biggest bands in the world could walk down the street without being recognised, except maybe by a very few.

Even today that is true for many bands. Brian johnson of AC/DC said that the best thing about his job was that not only does he do something he loves with one of the biggest bands in the world, but at the end of the tour he can hang up the cap and waistcoat he wears on stage, put on a jacket and no one recognises him.

Yes. That's exactly the point I'm making.


I believe some people buy into an image they identify with and that the music is secondary. You own the music because it comes with the territory. Think of some artists who rely very much on imagery and imagine how there sales could be different if everything we bought was simply a response to a blind listening test.
A considerable amout of singles chart music would fall in to that catagory.
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Old 04-02-2015, 15:12
Youcancallmeal
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The covers of albums can help the sales quite considerably, if they are eye-catching.
An obvious example is Roxy Music's 4th album "Country Life."
But some are more subtle.

I've a few Chris Rea albums, but not this one. But I like the cover.



https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ch...ox%3B500%3B500

It's an homage to Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nighthawks
On the subject of Edward hopper. Stone roses guitarist john squire who himself designs his solo and stone roses covers. His second solo album was all songs that were about Edward hopper paintings.
Anyway back to cool covers, always liked Love's forever changes, the album is so iconic and seemingly the multicoloured design was to disguise the fact the band had black members. Good to see something beautiful coming out of something so shocking.
Also spiritualized's ladies and gentleman we are floating in space. Was a neat concept. The original cd release had the cover like a medical tablet box. Inside was the tracklisting etc on what looked like a prescription and the cd looked like a tablet.
All of the funkadelic/Parliament covers done by pedro bell are like works of art
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Old 04-02-2015, 16:52
Doghouse Riley
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Great web site devoted to album covers: http://lpcoverlover.com/category/drugs/

I've given the URL for the "drugs" category because some of those are hilarious but check out some of the others...
That's where I got the first photo in this thread. It's also the source of many of the photographs in my "Nice Photographs of Women With Vinyl," thread.

A really interesting site.
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Old 04-02-2015, 16:58
barbeler
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I used to be impressed by Roger Dean's album covers for a short time, but then realised that they're actually pretty amateurish. One of the most enigmatic covers of all time has to be In The Court Of The Crimson King.
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Old 04-02-2015, 18:48
SweetHeartHolly
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I love the front pictures for Days Of Our Lives, Sunset Man, and Shake What God Gave Ya! from my most favorite singer James Otto.

God bless you and him always!!!

Holly
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Old 04-02-2015, 19:15
Doghouse Riley
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There's a companion to this, "Nice Photographs of Women Who Collect Vinyl."
Which I've posted before. It's only fair.

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/thread...-vinyl.336486/


It's "Nice Photographs of Men Who Collect Vinyl."

But it only only runs to ten pages.

Some well known faces amongst the content, a lot of Elvis.


http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/thread...-vinyl.339069/
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