Album Covers

 

Here is the Album cover for Radioheads OK Computer. The cover of the CD has the title of the album and the name of the band but the text itself is quite small and hidden in the corner showing that the band is not the main focus of the cover. The cover is quite an abstract one because there isn't really any clear meaning behind the illustration but the colour suggests the album may be calming/deppressing with a slower rhythm, also the size of the artwork in comparison to the text could suggest that it is more about the art form rather than the band itself as music in its own right is a form of art. The back of the cover shows all the songs that are on the album and these are also quite small compared to the art work. The names of the songs aswell give off an artistic feeling as they are quite quirky and each song sounds different from the other (such as subterranean homesick alien and airbag.. The illustration on the back is of a train station which is quite peculiar but it could be suggesting a location in which you could listen to the music. Overall the theme of the album cover is artistic as the center piece of both sides is the artwork as the mass blue stands out and when you look closely at what the picture is its a main road and a train station which is peculiar but it shows that the music can be for wherever you are and it is a calming album due to the fact that the main colour is blue.The cover does give off an experimental vibe due to the fact that the picture looks like it has been done on cyanotype and the image has then been distorted to give it a more hypnotic look/feel. The album is also quite unconventional as it does not show the artist but instead it shows artwork which shows the genre of music as individualistic.

Here we have the Kaiser Chief album Employment which has a textured front (it looks like leather) and the Album name and artist name are located in the center of the cover in a yellow box. The type face is quite simplistic for the band name however the text for the album name is more formal as it is made up of Serif letters. This type face connotes that when you are employed you have to look very elegant and smart when you are working even when you really are quite simple and relaxed whilst you are at home.   The cd cover looks as if it is a book because of the texturing on the front and the bright yellow colour around the album and band name attracts the viewers attention to the front, the cover also looks like it should be the cover of a portfolio as it does look like leather and the yellow looks like a label so it could be that the artist is trying to show who they are and what style they are and that this album is the sum of their work. . On the back the way it has been coloured makes it look like an ending bibliography because it is made to look like the back has been folded over and it looks as if it would be on the end page of said portfolio. Apart from that it is quite a plain back which just lists all the names of the songs on the back but the real difference on this album is that they have shown a link to their website. This album is also conventional as the artist does not appear on the cover and it looks textured which is a very uncommon feature for album covers, this shows that the band is both unique and they are all about their work rather than the money that comes from it.


 
Here we have the Genesis We cant dance album. The front of the album shows the name of the band and also the name of the album, the text is presented in an unusual way as some of the letters are backwards which is quite a quirky technique to use but is something that makes the band name memorable. However the name of the album is shown to be less important as it is a lot smaller than the name of the band. The front of the album has two people looking up to the sky and the illustration is made up of bright colours so it seems like the album will be quite an uplifting work and it will be something to connect to people. The back of the album however shows the same two people at night which may suggest that you can listen to the music night or day but it could also show how some things can last forever or are just memorable as they remain a constant within our mind. The back also has the name of all of the songs but again it is is a smaller style so the song names would not be as memorable. The back of the album also includes the name of the record company 'virgin records' which shows that the album is quite popular as virgin records i quite a large company. This album does not have the artist on the cover either which shows that it is not about the band it is more about the artistic influence in which the music makes..