Where have all the decent album sleeve designers gone?

[Phil Bishop]

It has been worrying me for a while, brought home when I bought a copy of Floyd's pretty forgettable "Endless River". What on earth was going on with the sleeve design - it looks like some dreadful Athena (remember them?) poster - just plain silly:

https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/styles/article_small/public/thumbnails/image/2014/11/05/10/The-Endless-River.jpg

Compare that to this......

http://www.yalescientific.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/DarkMoon3.jpg

...or this....

http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1703/8383/products/Pink_Floyd_Atom_Heart_Mother_1024x1024.jpg?v=14853 80135

Last week, I bought Mike Oldfield's "Return To Ommadawn". The original is an all time favourite so I was in some trepidation, but actually it's a lovely album. However, the sleeve - what on earth?

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3abWfw6ERoP4AiDDq6efA3-1200-80.jpg

Compare to....

https://img.discogs.com/jJuomHS8TV1aJ9l_pXzqBV6ovtY=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():qualit y(90)/discogs-images/R-455798-1497974205-3318.jpeg.jpg

It's as if we have lost all the great album art designers - all the invention has disappeared. Where are you Storm when we need you?

Am I alone in thinking this?

Cheers

Phil

[struth]

Certainly not like the golden years but maybe they are not on lsd so much these days

[Pigmy Pony]

Things went to shit in the eighties, when the album designers looked at their new 'canvas' (CD's), and thought 'what's the point?'. Then they took up gardening and caravan holidays. Probably.

[Macca]

Things went to shit in the eighties, when the album designers looked at their new 'canvas' (CD's), and thought 'what's the point?'. Then they took up gardening and caravan holidays. Probably.

They started doing those 'inspirational' posters that they put up in the offices of companies that are really badly managed instead. If you ever go for an interview at a place and they have those pictures up, make your excuses and leave.

[Cyrus]

With the disbandment of Hipgnosis and death of Storm Thorgerson, record sleeve design took a massive downturn. People don't seem to be interested in the artwork any more.

[Macca]

I'm not so keen on the covers you picked to illustrate the good ones. DOSTM I always thought was a bit boring. Wish You Were Here, now that's an album cover. You could stare at that bloke on fire for hours, especially if the drugs were good. I mean, what exactly is supposed to be occurring there?

Here's another one of my favourites. As well as there being a lot to look at, there's a whole story going on. And it's a corking album, too:

https://i.imgur.com/rxtMOfb.jpg

[struth]

Always liked the groundhogs covers. All very good

[Macca]

Who can forget this one:

https://i.imgur.com/G0c45dm.jpg

[walpurgis]

And of course the unforgettable!

http://i63.tinypic.com/2dgnp0p.jpg

:)

[struth]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180423/d726b319298fa86a3dad98625c67e261.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180423/7eef03e199a8e4ca7ffa4a0d1c143890.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180423/e535d388a4b3e215d2bdc56baa663588.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180423/ea687461c0707953c6b82dc12d012786.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180423/ef6bbb3069afa32a80cf3b080a9c941b.jpg

[Pete The Cat]

Not much incentive for album art these days given that most of it is reduced to a pixellated postage stamp.

An old favourite of mine is "Machine Gun Etiquette" by The Damned:

https://img.cdandlp.com/2013/02/imgL/115879269.jpg

I just love the idea of Vanian as Dracula, Sensible in lurid mohair, Rat and Algy wandering past the bemused Manhattan public. I picked up a photo from the same session a few years back in which they're on the Ellis Island Ferry (dressed as above) which must have disturbed the tourists.

Pete

[Pigmy Pony]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180423/d726b319298fa86a3dad98625c67e261.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180423/7eef03e199a8e4ca7ffa4a0d1c143890.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180423/e535d388a4b3e215d2bdc56baa663588.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180423/ea687461c0707953c6b82dc12d012786.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180423/ef6bbb3069afa32a80cf3b080a9c941b.jpg

You're missing 'Solid' from your collection there Grant. Not the best cover but a good album nevertheless.

[struth]

back cover is best

https://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_500/MI0001/222/MI0001222453.jpg?partner=allrovi.com

[User211]

Not much incentive for album art these days given that most of it is reduced to a pixellated postage stamp.

An old favourite of mine is "Machine Gun Etiquette" by The Damned:

https://img.cdandlp.com/2013/02/imgL/115879269.jpg

I just love the idea of Vanian as Dracula, Sensible in lurid mohair, Rat and Algy wandering past the bemused Manhattan public. I picked up a photo from the same session a few years back in which they're on the Ellis Island Ferry (dressed as above) which must have disturbed the tourists.

PeteSaw them live 30th November 1979 at the Rainbow. Captain Sensible poured a load of beer over the support act Antie Pus.

Then audience smashed a load of the seats up and threw them into the pulpit and onto people.

The gig was stopped twice and the bleeding victims displayed onstage to try and get some sense into the idiocy of what they were doing.

It largely didn't work, and the bouncers became hyper-violent, hitting people indiscriminately.

The Captain came on stage after 12 midnight (they went through a phase of not coming on before then) with a 30ft inflatable dinosour tail and no clothes. He soon got dragged into the crowd with that.

He continued to play naked, and made the front cover of the NME with a shot from the gig with his guitar in front of his privates.

Much else happened and to this day it remains the most unbelievable gig I have ever been to.

Good cover, great album. One of my biggest regrets was selling my vinyl copy of The Black Album. That got quite rare. Nice cover too.

[User211]

The Stranglers The Raven 3D is probably the best album cover I have seen.

Not point in posting the 2D or even 3D version. You have to have it in your hands.

[Pete The Cat]

The Stranglers The Raven 3D is probably the best album cover I have seen.

Not point in posting the 2D or even 3D version. You have to have it in your hands.

Spot on. One of very few records I've bought because of "collectability" (as well as being a great album).

Pete

[Phil Bishop]

They started doing those 'inspirational' posters that they put up in the offices of companies that are really badly managed instead. If you ever go for an interview at a place and they have those pictures up, make your excuses and leave.

Great comment, although I doubt it was the same folk selling themselves out. I agree, the more you see of that inspirational sh*t the more you have to worry. Likewise, companies with large corporate communications/PR departments filled with "luvies" forever going on about how wonderful it is to work there - usually an inverse relationship to how good the company actually is.

Have to disagree about DSOTM and WYWH sleeve designs though - it is DSOTM that holds all the mystique for me :ner:

As for the comment from another poster about "no incentive" I beg to disagree, vinyl sales are important - did I not read recently that "sales" are outstripping downloads? In the heyday of vinyl, the artwork was pretty well as important as the music as it often sealed the sale with punters often not having the luxury to listen before they bought.

Cheers

Phil

P.S. Also like the Groundhogs sleeve designs and have (or had) a copy of the Stranglers' "Raven" 3D.

[Pete The Cat]

The excitable media headlines imply that vinyl sales are material. The bar chart in this report on 2017 shines a light, with digital (streaming and download) sales being almost double the volume of physical sales, and of physical sales vinyl is still a small minority.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jan/03/digital-streaming-behind-biggest-rise-in-uk-music-sales-for-two-decades

I guess my point was that, bar PC-based streaming, I don't think most folks are spending time appreciating 12" by 12" art, which is a great shame.

Pete

[Floyddroid]

Certainly not like the golden years but maybe they are not on lsd so much these days

i disagree. check out the album covers by Ed Unitsky