Interesting album covers

1) Gangstarr - Mass Appeal



2) Slick Rick - The Art of Storytelling



3) Aretha Franklin - Greatest Hits

4) Blur - Best of

5) Jimi Hendrix - The best of

6) David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

7) The Beatles - Abbey Road

8) Radiohead - Hail to the Thief

Radiohead's politically named album Hail to the Thief released in 2003 is effective as on the cover (and extending 3 more pages on the insert) controversial words and phrases are written o the cover. The title itself refers to George Bush.

9) The Libertines - The Libertines

This is the album cover for the self-titled Libertines album and i think it works well as a cover as it reflects the dirty/rough and underproduced music on the alubm.

10) Blink 182 - Blink 182

Although a much more simple cover this cover for the self-titled album by Blink-182 became a major symbol for the band which was duplicated on lots of merchandise involved with the band. It is a good example of branding and a cover without people or an image that was sucessful.

Typical features of these album covers:

-The band or artist

-The name of the artist and album

-Iconography of the band in the form of symbols or logos

-Artwork

Distinguishing features:

-Blink 182 and Radiohead do not contain images of the band and rely on selling and being a memorable album cover with a iconic band symbol or artwork
-The Beatles' does not contain the band's name or the title of the album and relies on the image of the band

-Aretha Franlin's best of is simple as it will be sold on the quality of her voice and significant appearances on her album (Elton John, Whitney Houston, The Eurythmics)

-Slick Rick's album relies on his image of a 'storyteller' as a book and quill dominates the cover and contrasts with his bling and eyepatch

Functions of the covers:

-To promote the members of a band or artist and the lifestyle they lead (Gangstarr + Libertines)

-To create an iconic image? Do the artists have the intention of doing so in the case of Blur and The Beatles and so deliberately refrain from adding too much text/distractions?

-To ultimately link in the band with the kind of music they play to create a following that is loyal to the music and the band

-By creating an image of the band making sure that people assosciate the music with those people with instant recognition to and make fans more likely to go and see the band on tour as well as just listen to them