April 2012 Archives

Below are 10 noteworthy album covers and single sleeves 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.

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The cover art for Justin Bieber's forthcoming album, Believe, was revealed on the artist's official Facebook page today. The album is scheduled to be release on June 19, 2012.

According to retail listings, the album will be available in both standard and deluxe versions. The Facebook posting did not specify whether or not the two versions would have different artwork. Also, it did not provide credits for art direction and photography.

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.

The Dandy Warhols - This Machine		Jack White - Blunderbuss
LP - Into the Wild		Peter Gabriel - New Blood Live in London
Torche - Harmonicraft		The Wanted - The Wanted Special Edition

According to our AlbumArtExchange Blog poll, the best album cover for the week of April 17, 2012 is Love Is a Four Letter Word by Jason Mraz. The cover was the clear winner with 46% of the votes cast by our readers. Picture Show by Neon Trees was a distant second with 23%. Train's California 37 was third with 15%. 

The design and art direction for the winning cover is credited to Greg Gigen. I was not able to find additional album cover credits for Gigen. It is a cool design. It reminds me of 1960s pop art.

Wow! AAX contributors had a very busy week. Over 2,000 album cover images were added to the AAX gallery from April 16 through 22. That has to be a record.

Not only was a record number of covers added to the gallery, a large percentage were rare and noteworthy. Frankly, I am overwhelmed by the both the number and quality of the the recent additions. I may have to do a second feature about them later this week, because I barely scratched the surface today. Thank you to everyone who worked so hard over the last few days. It was great to see so many amazing additions to the gallery!

Below are just 10 of the noteworthy album covers and single sleeves 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.

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My Modern Metropolis blogger Katie Hosmer has written about British artist David Marsh, who recreates classic album covers using Pantone swatches.

If you are a graphic designer, you will immediately recognize these little squares that represent Pantone swatches in Adobe design software. British artist David Marsh took these functional little squares and turned them into something completely new. Take a step back to get a really good look at the pixilated scenes, which use minimal amounts of colors to form the famous and recognizable artwork.

Source: Pantone Swatches Form Classic Album Covers

Check out the covers on Hosmer's blog. All of them are instantly recognizable. My favorite is Roxy Music's Country Life. Other examples include Nirvana's Nevermind, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and Weasels Ripped My Flesh by Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention.

Because it is scheduled to be reissued on CD and vinyl next month, I was planning on writing about the controversial cover art for The Residents' 1976 album The Third Reich 'N Roll. Then, I read about the death of Dick Clark yesterday and wondered when it would ever be appropriate. So, I am just going to go for it.

The album cover was controversial because it features an illustration depicting Clark in a Nazi uniform and holding a carrot. The cover also includes several swastikas and cartoon images Adolf Hitler. As one would guess, many stores refused to display the album and it was banned in West Germany, where display of the swastika and other Nazi symbols was illegal. A censored cover (above right) was later created for the German market. All of the swastikas and images of Hitler were covered with a white strip with the word "censored" written on it.

There are several versions of this album cover. The first vinyl pressing can be recognized by the orange carrot, which is gray in second release of the album. The latest reissue will include the original artwork. It is scheduled to be released on May 8, 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.

Dar Williams - In the Time of Gods		Hank Williams III - Long Gone Daddy
Jason Mraz - Love Is a Four Letter Word		Neon Trees - Picture Show
Our Lady Peace - Curve		Train - California 37

According to our AlbumArtExchange Blog poll, Underwater Sunshine (Or What We Did on Our Summer Vacation) by Counting Crows is the best album cover for the week of April 10, 2012. The cover received 54% of the votes cast by our readers. MTV Unplugged by Florence + the Machine was second with 23%. The Strange Case of... by Halestorm was third with 12%.

The winning cover was selected through a competition hosted on the Creative Allies website. It was designed by Ivan Sciberras of Malta.

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.

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Today is the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. So, it is appropriate to feature the artwork for the soundtrack for the 1997 film about the disaster. Titanic: Music from the Motion Picture made history on its own by rising to the top of the Billboard 200, selling over 30 million copies and becoming one of the best-selling albums of all time. It also has the record for being the highest-selling orchestral soundtrack ever.

The cover art for the album has been updated for a new anniversary edition. The original version (below) is a square version of the theatrical release movie poster. It features the film's stars, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.

There is probably nothing more likely to be censored on an album cover than male nudity. A penis is certain to get a mosaic blur or a sticker placed over it. Artists who use images of naked men on their albums may do it for shock value.

Probably the most noteworthy album cover featuring frontal male nudity is Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins (right), which was released by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1968. The cover caused a major controversy. It was distributed in a brown wrapper and even seized as obscene material in some jurisdictions. The thing that made the album more controversial than other albums that featured nudity was John Lennon's penis. It was something that had simply not been done before.

Today, artists do not risk having their albums declared obscene for featuring a naked man. Many brick and mortar retailers would refuse to display the album on their shelves and online retailers would censor the image. However, there would be very little controversy. Of course, showing an erection or a sex act would be an entirely different matter.  

I recently noticed that three forthcoming albums feature male nudity. Two use frontal nudity and one is a photograph of a naked man shown from behind. Although there are many other recent examples, I think that these three covers may show a trend for 2012.

The cover art for former American Idol contestant Haley Reinhart's forthcoming debut album has been revealed. The cover for Listen Up! features a photograph of Reinhart dressed as a lifeguard. 

I think I remember that she worked as a lifeguard prior to becoming a contestant on AI. Perhaps that is something that her fans find interesting. The album is scheduled to be released to be released on May 22, 2012.

The horror film Cabin in the Woods opens in theaters today. The film is about a group of young people who set out on a road trip and end up being chased by zombies and mad scientists. The soundtrack is scheduled to be released on CD on May 1, 2012.

The artwork for the CD is a square version of the movie poster. It features an illustration of a cabin that is part Rubik's Cube (or perhaps it a Rubik's Cube that is part cabin). It is an interesting graphic that reminds me of the work of M.C. Escher.

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.

Alabama Shakes - Boys & Girls		Bonnie Raitt - Slipstream
Counting Crows - Underwater Sunshine		Florence + the Machine - MTV Unplugged
Halestorm - The Strange Case of...		Monica - New Life

According to our AlbumArtExchange Blog poll, the best album cover for the week of April 3, 2012 is Love Stories & Other Musings by Candlebox. The cover received 44% of the votes cast by our readers. My Head is an Animal by Of Monsters and Men was a distant second with 24%. The Return of the Spectacular Spinning Songbook!!! by Elvis Costello & The Imposters was third with 20%.

Art direction for the winning cover is credited to Dale Voelker. Voelker's business, Digital Lava Graphic Design, specializes in art direction and graphic design of CD and DVD packaging and marketing collateral. Other clients include Jill Scott and Barack Obama.

A theater marquee is certainly not a unique image for an album cover. I can think of a half dozen notable past examples. However, this is probably the best execution of the concept that I have seen. The man standing on a ladder makes it just a bit more interesting than the others. 

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.

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In the mid-1980s, record labels began to produce CD samplers in order to promote the newly introduced Compact Disc format. One of the most noteworthy series of CD samplers was Sire Records' Just Say Yes series. It was produced from 1987 to 1994 and includes seven volumes.

The second volume, Just Say Yo: Volume 2 of Just Say Yes, featured remixes, extended versions and non-album tracks of artists on the Sire Records label. The artwork featured a rabbit as a tribute to the label's parent company Warner Brothers and Bugs Bunny. Art direction for the project is credited to Kim Champagne. Champagne has a long list of album design and art direction credits during the 1980s and early 1990s. The most notable is perhaps the design for Paul Simon's Graceland. Other notable artists with album covers designed by Champagne include Aerosmith, a-ha, Van Halen, Chris Isaak and Faith No More.

Just Say Yo is my personal favorite in the series. It features tracks by Depeche Mode, Morrissey, Erasure and many other interesting artists of the era. I think I purchased every album that was promoted by it. 

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.

Candlebox - Love Stories & Other Musings		Elvis Costello & The Imposters - The Return of the Spectacular Spinning Songbook!!!
Nicki Minaj - Pink Friday Roman Reloaded		Of Monsters and Men - My Head is an Animal
Rascal Flatts - Changed		Wilson Phillips - Dedicated

According to our AlbumArtExchange Blog poll, Noctourniquet by The Mars Volta is best album cover for the week of March 27, 2012. The cover received 55% of the votes cast by our readers. Sonik Kicks by Paul Weller was a distant second with 23%. Vulnerable was third with 13%.

The winning cover was designed by visual artist and musician Sonny Kay. Kay is known for his photoshop collage art and original designs, which have been used as cover art by Omar Rodríguez-López, The Mars Volta, 311 and many other artists.

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.

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Pop icon Madonna shocked the world today by revealing controversial artwork for her latest single, Gang Bang. Madonna appears on the cover in what many fans initially mistook for pro-environmentalist commentary. The cover photograph shows her on what appears to be a big game hunt and kneeling next to the body of an endangered African Elephant (below).

However, Madonna's publicist was quick to issue a statement that the photograph was taken while his client was managing her successful ivory poaching business in Cameroon.

Madonna has been a major supplier of ivory to the world for over 25 years. The cover is her way of coming out to her millions of fans about her involvement in this important international enterprise. When people learn the truth about how ivory helps feed and clothe the needy of Africa, they will realize what a great humanitarian service Madonna performs.

The statement continued with the admission that 90% of Madonna's wealth is due to trade in ivory. "You really didn't think she got that rich from selling her crappy music, did you?" said editor of Madonna World magazine Matthew Richardson. "All true Madonna fans know that she's really a bitch who loves high caliber weapons and killing animals."