Whenever I think of album artwork...I think of that scene from
Spinal Tap when they're discussing the cover art for SMELL THE GLOVE.
Hilarious.

We can all agree that Stones' music is great and would sell no matter
how it is packaged etc.... but do you think the artwork influences your
feelings about the music? your perception of the album? whether it becomes
a classic?

In previous threads IORRers have commented on how the warm yellow colors of
the Goats Head Soup album cover are in harmony with the music of GHS etc...
And I can't listen to Some Girls without thinking about the cover art...seems to
fit so well. Same with Exile etc...

The album art for Bridges To Babylon did not help.
Had the cover art for A Bigger Bang been better....it may have been perceived
differently. Any thoughts?

In your opinion has the album artwork ever done a DISSERVICE to the music?


IORR............but I like it!

Not to change the original thread but........isn't it OBVIOUS that the Stones
should be using RON WOOD'S artwork for an album cover or 2?? Others have.




IORR............but I like it!

Well, each post-Undercover album art has left something to be desired, no doubt.

It's a dying "art".

Why? Because the canvas size has changed? That's a cop-out. It's a changing art, one which those designers the Stones choose have yet to grasp.

The importance of album art has diminished through time. This fact is really too bad because great cover art made the record buying experience better. The art does nothing for the music, however, it enhances the album as a whole.

I must be the only person in the world who likes the cover for A Bigger Bang.

I like it also. Its better than Steel Wheels. LOL!!!!!!!!!!!

You're wrong Loog Droog, I'm crazy about the photo on ABB. Almost like it more than the music. I agree that album art matters! That's part of the reason I've gone back to vinyl. It's great to hold a piece of history in my hands, then play it.

...sorry..it always reminds me of this paul mccartney album cover.

obviously the album title (A Bigger Bang) came before the photography.....options
are limited when the name of the album is lame.





IORR............but I like it!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2007-03-17 20:19 by sweet neo con.

frankotero Wrote:
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> You're wrong Loog Droog, I'm crazy about the photo
> on ABB. Almost like it more than the music. I
> agree that album art matters! That's part of the
> reason I've gone back to vinyl. It's great to hold
> a piece of history in my hands, then play it.

I like it too. Miles better than the few that came before it. Voodoo Lounge was ok, but before that you have to go back to Tattoo You to find one I really like.

Voodoo Lounge, Bigger Bang, Stripped and Sticky Fingers are my favourites!!!

Album artwork is what gives the music a colour, inspiring people's minds for synaesthesis (I think it's called that).

The artwork of an album is more than just the cover: there is the booklet, the inlay behind the CD, the label and the backcover, too.

Here's what I'd say on the artwork of their recent albums:

-Steel Wheels: maybe the worst album title of their career, but the artwork is OK
-Flashpoint: not too much artwork there, but those pictograms are well done.
-Voodoo Lounge: that animal on the cover deserves to be as famous as the tongue. Great artwork.
-Stripped: well done, mostly down to the good photography of the band pictures
-Bridges: a bit over the top, but the view without the slipcase is cool. That's what they should all look like.
-No Security: well, I wonder what the 2 people on the cover think about it these days. It just doesn't look like a Stones album, because it's got somebody else on the cover
-Forty Licks: very well done, as is a must for an album that will most likely still sell well in 100 years time; nothing over the top, just the basics like the tongue
-Live Licks: it was funny to see that they put a bra on the anime girl in the US
-A Bigger Bang: the cover design is good, but the black back cover lacks; a dark reddish purple star constellation on the back cover would have been way nicer synaesthetically.

Man...you know what's a real trip? Try this...

Put Satanic Majesties Request, Sgt Peppers, Beggars Banquet, Let it Bleed in your CD changer (or stack 'em (the LP's) all up on yer turntable post if yer old school) and lay out all the album covers opened up on a coffee table (the CD cover art won't have the same effect because they are smaller).

Then play the music, drop some acid or take shrooms and stare at all the album covers while listening and try to discover the hidden meaning(s)...

Whoa....mannnnnnn..... now that's HEAV-YYYYYYYYYYYYYYY.....

Sweet Neo Con, I understand your comparison to Paul McCartney's album. However, I think The Stones picture is a little more sinister (or realistic). Maybe they're just keepin' the competition alive?

I've tried to ascertain the meaning behind some of the objects that you can see illluminated in the flash on the Bigger Bang cover. From what I could make out:
- Dice: Tumbling Dice
- Chalice of Wine: Loving Cup
- Clock: Time Is On My Side

I think of all the album covers since Some Girls, it's the most effective. It tells a story. Are the Stones at the creation of the universe? Are they causing a supernova? It's very interesting.

I've also thought about what the effect would be if Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed switched album covers. Not because Let it Bleed's cake would be more appropriate for a "banquet," but a toilet wall seems more appropriate to me for a kind of "end-of-the-world" album that Let It Bleed really is. They seem interchangeable. The cake on Let It Bleed is a bit of a hodge-podge, much like the songs on Beggars Banquet, so it still works. Let It Bleed seems to have a stronger narrative going on - the songs seem to revolve around more of a theme: grimy, dirty, backrooms seem to be the ideal place where this album is heard in the background. Just a thought.

But at the same time, part of the effectiveness of both of these albums are the images that we associate with them. Both are iconic images that really serve each, so it's a toss-up.

frankotero Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sweet Neo Con, I understand your comparison to
> Paul McCartney's album. However, I think The
> Stones picture is a little more sinister (or
> realistic). Maybe they're just keepin' the
> competition alive?


Competition?

Without getting too deep into it, I'm on the same sheet of music with you Jumpin' Jack Frash. I've seen the same things on the ABB cover. Isn't funny how people can see the same thing? Probably because we're big fans, but still an interesting social/cultural experience. Also, I think it's great we can still Rock N' Roll in the year 2007. Let's go another 50, how about it !!!!!!!

In response to Jagger Fan, I mean the friendly competition that used to happen (or still is?) between The Stones and Beatles. What about Let It Bleed and Let It Be. Stuff like that.

Jumpin'JackFrash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I've tried to ascertain the meaning behind some of
> the objects that you can see illluminated in the
> flash on the Bigger Bang cover. From what I could
> make out:
> - Dice: Tumbling Dice
> - Chalice of Wine: Loving Cup
> - Clock: Time Is On My Side

I seem to have read that by a different poster some months back.
Just about any item placed on a table could be connected to a Stones-song.
If there were 10 items there which were all connected one of their hits, I'd understand the "meaning", but this ABB cover-meaning seem to be...somewhat thin.

"Voodoo Lounge" is a great cover as is "Bridges to Babylon" as is "A Bigger Bang" as is .......

...the only real clanger in the Stones portfolio "Steel Wheels"

...but of course size matters...just ask the girls *lol* But surely you get a better pic on a tradional vinyl cover than those small CD-thingies.....

Well, if there weren't a 26 year gap or so between albums, I'd maybe agree. As far as A Bigger Bang being more realistic... huh? They're both photographs, bu thte Stones has that flashy effect thing with juxtaposed 'reflections'. I'd say the Egg cover is more 'realistic' or less abstract.

It's wierd that the recent Stones live albums have worst covers one can imagine.
No Security, Flashpoint and Live Licks. One can argue about if Voodoo Lounge, for instance, has a good cover-pic, but I don't think that ANYBODY thinks that the 3 mentioned live albums has a nice cover. Well, there might be 2 people who adore the No Security cover.
If there is a band who could have a great concert pic on an album cover, it is RS, but obviously they don't care too much about it.

Live Licks, No Security and Rarities are the only Stones covers I'm offended by seeing.

What's wrong with the Live Licks cover?

JaggerFan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What's wrong with the Live Licks cover?


It looks like a drawing by a 15-year-old influenced by Metallica and Sex-cartoons.

Erik_Snow Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> JaggerFan Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > What's wrong with the Live Licks cover?
>
>
> It looks like a drawing by a 15-year-old
> influenced by Metallica and Sex-cartoons.


What's wrong with the Live Licks cover?

Considering it's a still from animation made for the concert, it's apt. It's not that bad. I just think you're afraid of boobies.

.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2007-03-18 04:32 by Beelyboy.

JaggerFan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Considering it's a still from animation made for
> the concert, it's apt. It's not that bad. I just
> think you're afraid of boobies.


No, I like Rim Shout and the backside of More Fast Numbers.
The girl on the Live Licks cover is NOT, I repeat, NOT sexy.

Erik Snow: Booby Fear-er