January 2012 Archives

Below are six album covers that were preselected from this week's new music releases. They were chosen based on Amazon.com sales rank and for their noteworthy album cover designs. Please vote for the cover that you think is the best of the bunch. The winner will be announced next Tuesday.

Darrell Scott - Long Ride Home		Gotye - Making Mirrors
Leonard Cohen - Old Ideas		Lana Del Rey - Born to Die
Metallica - Beyond Magnetic		Ringo Starr - Ringo 2012

According to our AlbumArtExchange Blog poll, the best album cover for the week of January 24, 2012 is Human Again by Ingrid Michaelson. The cover received 46% of the votes cast by our readers. The Bob Dylan tribute album Chimes of Freedom was in second place with 21%. Area 52 by Rodrigo y Gabriela and C.U.B.A. was third with 11%.

The winning cover features a painting by artist Joe Sorren. Sorren's website at joesorren.com includes a very cool virtual tour of a gallery exhibition of his work. I highly recommend checking it out. You will be able to see the scale and quality of his work.

Madonna has revealed the cover art for her forthcoming album. The cover was posted on Madonna's Facebook account with no additional details or credits. Titled MDNA, the album is scheduled to be released on March 26, 2012.

Here is another addition to the AblumArtExchange Blog's ongoing search for the worst album covers of all time. The forthcoming album by by industrial metal band Ministry features a dead junkie and a big piles of chunky vomit. The album is scheduled to be released on April 3, 2012.

The puke dripping off the dead guy's goatee is a nice touch. Don't you think? The cover art fits right in with past "Search for the Worst" albums that feature things like pee, poop and dead people. I'm actually kind of disappointed that the cover doesn't include a rat eating one of the dead guy's eyeballs.

Below are 10 noteworthy album covers that were posted to the AAX gallery last week. They were selected simply because I found them to be interesting or a valuable addition to the gallery. They are listed in no particular order.

Posted by: Da Guy		Posted by: Vocephus
Posted by: Vocephus		Posted by: Da Guy
Posted by: Vocephus		Posted by: Da Guy
Posted by: Scott		Posted by: zeefritz
Posted by: Scott		Posted by: Vocephus

This déjà vu moment is more of a warning to art directors who think that putting an aging pop star in a short dress and using three poses on an album cover is original. Mariah Carey did it. Whitney Houston did it. And now Madonna is the latest to appear on a cover in triplicate.

Madonna's single Give Me All Your Luvin' featuring Nicki Minaj & M.I.A. is scheduled to be released on February 3, 2012, three days before her Super Bowl halftime performance.

Man on a Ledge, the thriller starring Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell and Ed Harris and directed by Asger Leth, opened in theaters today. The film is about a man who goes out on a ledge in New York City in order to get justice for being wrongly convicted.

The soundtrack by Henry Jackman is currently available as a digital download. A CD version is scheduled for release on February 7, 2012. The cover art for the album is a square version of the movie poster. It features a fish-eye lens view of the main character standing on the ledge. I think the image is actually more effective in the square format.

AAX gallery contributor Vocephus wrote about two album covers from 1958 that gave him a déjà vu moment.

I ran across The Ames Brothers "Destination Moon" record (for 20 whole cents) yesterday and it certainly reminded me of Esquivel's "Other Worlds, Other Sounds" in it's theme, but it wasn't until I got it home and compared them that I realized it's the exact same moon painting. The Ames Bros. record adds the rocketship, the Earth (I presume) floating in the background, and has the brothers sorting through "moon rocks" which look suspiciously more like pieces of broken concrete.

They both hit the stands in 1958 and though the Ames' have the earlier catalog number, who knows who was really "first" with the idea. In any case, they were both just two of dozens of space-themed records churned out in the late '50s and early '60s.

With GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich talking about going to the moon and invading Cuba, it certainly seems like a little bit of that earlier era is returning. Thanks to Vocephus, the album covers look as fresh as ever.

After negative reactions from fans and a former member of the band, Disney has discontinued selling a t-shirt inspired by Peter Saville's design for Joy Division's 1979 album Unknown Pleasures. In spite of the seemingly "joyful" name of the band, the album has been viewed by many as a source of sorrow since the 1980 suicide death of lead singer Ian Curtis. Seeing the iconic album cover turned into a logo for the Happiest Place on Earth was seen as disrespectful.

According to Rolling Stone, Disney discontinued the t-shirt yesterday. However, they also report that at least one is being auctioned on eBay for over $200 at the time the article was written.

While chatting online with Facebook friends, we wondered if Disney would have modified the album covers of other recording artists who met a tragic end. I don't think so.

Below are six album covers that were preselected from this week's new music releases. They were chosen based on Amazon.com sales rank and for their noteworthy album cover designs. Please vote for the cover that you think is the best of the bunch. The winner will be announced next Tuesday.

Ingrid Michaelson - Human Again		Kellie Pickler - 100 Proof
Rodrigo y Gabriela and C.U.B.A. - Area 52		Tim McGraw - Emotional Traffic
Various Artists - 2012 Grammy Awards		Various Artists - Chimes of Freedom

According to our AlbumArtExchange Blog poll, the best album cover for the week of January 17, 2012 is Further Explorations by Jazz trio Chick Corea, Eddie Gomez and Paul Motian. The cover received 33% of the votes cast by our readers. Ani Difranco's Which Side Are You On? was a close second with 28%. There was a tie for third between Future This by The Big Pink and A Different Kind of Fix by Bombay Bicycle Club, which both received 17%.

The winning cover was created by graphic designer Marc Bessant. Bessant has designed many noteworthy album covers and is probably best known for his work for Peter Gabriel. His description of the Further Explorations cover below is from his blog.

I started by looking at some of Paul Motians earlier work, especially the ECM sleeves (which are always so damn good) as i really wanted to get an aesthetic of atmosphere just like those. The triangle is obvious i suppose, a shape of three equal sides forming a whole made perfect sense considering the line-up. Then I waited for a cold, foggy day and smudged the shape with my thumb on the studio window, giving the viewer a glimpse of what lay beyond, perhaps encouraging them to 'explore further' (you see what i did then!). Very happy with this one.

Source: http://www.marcbessant.com/artwork/further-explorations/

Adam Lambert revealed the artwork for his forthcoming album via Twitter last night. Trespassing is scheduled to be released on March 20, 2012.

Lambert's tweet read:

In addition to serving as Executive Producer of TRESPASSING, I'm also Creative Director. @leecherry is my Art Director and Photographer

Political cartoonist and illustrator Robert Grossman has contributed the artwork for the cover of Occupy This Album, a forthcoming compilation album of music by, for and inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement. Art Direction for the project is credited to Alex Emanuel.

Many top artists have signed on for the project, including Yoko Ono, Devo, Debbie Harry, Willie Nelson and Jackson Browne. Additional details are available at www.musicforoccupy.org

Below are 10 noteworthy album covers that were posted to the AAX gallery last week. They were selected simply because I found them to be interesting or a valuable addition to the gallery. They are listed in no particular order.

Posted by: Scott		Posted by: Scott
Posted by: Scott		Posted by: RJSorensen
Posted by: Da Guy		Posted by: Vocephus
Posted by: Da Guy		Posted by: Aequi
Posted by: Vocephus		Posted by: PhilR

The cover art for the forthcoming 17th studio album by Bruce Springsteen was revealed yesterday. The album is scheduled to be released on March 6, 2012.

While it is difficult to see behind the ugly hand-painted typography, there is a photograph of Springsteen on the cover. I do not have credits for the art director and photographer. If the cover were more interesting or attractive, I would probably bother to find out who is responsible for it. Meh.

Below are six album covers that were preselected from this week's new music releases. They were chosen based on Amazon.com sales rank and for their noteworthy album cover designs. Please vote for the cover that you think is the best of the bunch. The winner will be announced next Tuesday.

Ani Difranco - Which Side Are You On?		The Big Pink - Future This
Bombay Bicycle Club - A Different Kind of Fix		Chick Corea / Eddie Gomez / Paul Motian - Further Explorations
Girls' Generation - The Boys		Kathleen Edwards - Voyageur

According to our AlbumArtExchange Blog poll, For the Good Times by The Little Willies is the best album cover for the week of January 10, 2012. The cover received 36% of the votes cast by our readers. Give Us Rest by David Crowder Band was second with 29% and Snow Patrol's Fallen Empires was third with 25%.

Art direction and design for the winning cover is credited to Frank Harkins. The artwork is by Marie Roberts.

Below are 10 noteworthy album covers that were posted to the AAX gallery last week. They were selected simply because I found them to be interesting or a valuable addition to the gallery. They are listed in no particular order.

Posted by: RJSorensen		Posted by: Vocephus
Posted by: BritchelM		Posted by: BritchelM
Posted by: Da Guy		Posted by: Vocephus
Posted by: SirLoyne		Posted by: Da Guy
Posted by: photino		Posted by: Vocephus

I have received several email messages from readers about using the following album covers for a Déjà Vu article. Since I do not have a "Blatant Rip Off" category to place the cover for the forthcoming Van Halen album, Déjà Vu will have to suffice. Van Halen's A Different Kind of Truth is scheduled to be released on February 7, 2012.

Below are six album covers that were preselected from this week's new music releases. They were chosen based on Amazon.com sales rank and for their noteworthy album cover designs. Please vote for the cover that you think is the best of the bunch. The winner will be announced next Tuesday.

David Crowder Band - Give Us Rest		The Little Willies - For the Good Times
Nightwish - Imaginaerum		Rebelution - Peace of Mind
Snow Patrol - Fallen Empires		Yo Gotti - Live from the Kitchen

Below are 10 noteworthy album covers that were posted to the AAX gallery last week. They were selected simply because I found them to be interesting or a valuable addition to the gallery. They are listed in no particular order.

Posted by: Da Guy		Posted by: ozmosis82
Posted by: BritchelM		Posted by: BritchelM
Posted by: photino		Posted by: Vocephus
Posted by: Da Guy		Posted by: PhilR
Posted by: Vocephus		Posted by: sumster

My choice for the best album cover of 2011 featuring an illustration is Panic of Girls by Blondie. The artwork used for the cover is a surrealist painting by Dutch artist Chris Berens.

The cover was voted the best for the week of September 13, 2011 in our AlbumArtExchange Blog poll. It received 35% of the votes cast by our readers.

My choice for the best album cover of 2011 featuring a photograph is If Not Now, When? by Incubus. The photograph of French high-wire artist Philippe Petit was taken in the 1970s by Thierry Orbach. Art dirction is credited to Sheri Lee and Incubus vocalist Brandon Boyd.

The album cover was selected the best album cover for the week of July 12, 2011 in our AlbumArtExchange Blog poll. It received 39% of the votes cast by our readers.

In July 2011, I published a recap of the 25 album covers that were selected as the best of the year by our readers up to that time. Now that 2011 is over, here is the complete list. It is comprised of all 51 covers voted the Best Album Covers for the Week in our weekly poll.

Later this week, I will post my selections for the Top Ten Album Covers of 2011, Best Album Cover Illustration and Best Album Cover Photograph.

The covers below are presented in chronological order. As always, you can click the image to see a larger view.

     

The cover for the forthcoming Scorpions album Comeblack has an uncanny resemblance to that of the 2009 album by rapper 8Ball. Both feature illustrations of chrome automobile emblems on a black background.

According to our AlbumArtExchange Blog poll, the best album cover for the week of December 27, 2011 is Meat Loaf's Hell in a Handbasket. The album cover received 48% of the votes cast by our readers. Ever After by Marianas Trench was a distant second with 19%. The Landing by Iron Saviour was third with 14%.

The winning cover features all illustration depicting Earth as a ball of human skulls. It is very fitting for the title of the album and for Meat Loaf in general. I do not have credits for design and art direction for the project.

Below are 10 noteworthy album covers that were posted to the AAX gallery last week. They were selected simply because I found them to be interesting or a valuable addition to the gallery. They are listed in no particular order.

Posted by: BritchelM		Posted by: Tim Barron
Posted by: Vocephus		Posted by: sampa1
Posted by: Mifilio		Posted by: PhilR
Posted by: zeefritz		Posted by: PhilR
Posted by: username		Posted by: Da Guy