QotD: Art over Music

What are your three favorite album covers of all-time? Any honorable mentions?

Question submitted by Tamara

 Call me lazy. Call me prepared. Below is a straight revamped copy of a (now unavailable elsewhere) response to a meme posted back in 2002. I'm sure I've spotted album covers which have had some impace on me in the intervening years, but these are still valid, too.

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To be honest, I don't much judge music by their covers (unlike books, in which case I am incredibly judgmental). Anyway, as a consequence, I don't pay that much attention to album covers. Kinda weird for an artlover, heh. And if along the way I've spotted some beauties, I've forgotten about them now. Thus, as I attempt this that week's Top 5 from Scotty's Cowbell Chronicles, I rifled through my minimalist collection and picked out those that caught my eye, at least momentarily.

Top 5 Album Covers

Underneath by The Verve Pipe. Art direction by Brett Kilroe and Frank Harkins, photography by James R. Minchin III.  I've seen several CD covers with similar pictures to this since the release of Underneath in 2001. None of them have had that brilliant blue that I love, the depth of colour. The guys are at the end of the road well travelled, and it's been uphill. I actually have this image as my desktop, I like it that much! What's totally cool about the photo is the knowledge that it was taken above the clouds in Topanga Canyon. They're way above, and yet the album is entitled Underneath. Yeah.

 

Well, this is Pacifier by Pacifier (who have since sensibly dismissed the fear of offending any one in a post September 11 world, and reverted to their much favoured moniker, Shihad), from 2002. Art direction by Doug Erb, photography by Stephen Oxenbury. What can I say? It's red raw, and it rocks. Rather like the music, in fact. The silhouette of Jon (complete with twig-like arms) with a touch of snakeskin is pretty groovy, too. I like red.

 

Broadcast is an album from Strawpeople, a production, mixing effort of Paul Casserly and Mark Tierney. The vocal input on Stephanie Tauevihi, Fiona McDonald and a handful of other wonderful New Zealanders made this one of the more innovative albums of 1994. A fantastic blend of styles, this album is still one of my favourites, and still gets a regular outing, despite being on cassette! The design is by Wayne Conway and the photogrpahy by Alistair Guthrie and Wayne Conway, and the Strawpeople. If you look closely, you'll see that the picture is made up of lots of the same image. I like it.

 

 

To Bring You My Love, by PJ Harvey, circa 1995. The photography is by Valerie Phillips (from a film by Maria Mochnacz), and the art is by Cally. I'm not sure why I picked this one, except to say that it's PJ Harvey. She looks kinda dead, pale yet glamorous, adrift in the water. Don't ask me to describe her music.

 

When I originally posted this entry, the top five was rounded out with a mention of Roll from The Brainchilds. At the time I had included a scan of the cassette cover, but that image was lost in a long ago server shuffle, and I can't (easily) find a copy online. Sure, I could scan it again, but I did mention that you call me lazy, right? Anyway, the cover concept and artwork is by Elizabeth Thomson, the design by Mission Hali, the cover photography from the Electron Microscope facility at Victoria University and the band photography by Jamie Lean. I've always found this cover fascinating. It's some thing magnified a whole hell of a lot, and there they are, trying to roll it. Maybe there's some hidden message about the insignificance of man, our place in the world, how small things can be big problems. Whatever, I just think it's clever! The music is a pretty nice blend of ballads and uniquely kiwi quirky pop (that still gets the odd play now and then).