Good Albums With Bad Artwork

[habsfan1 3,665]

Man, a lot of these covers are so bad, it sends chills down my spine. Especially that god-awful Megadeth cover.

I can't believe there was actually a time when people thought these were good. Some older covers have stood the test of time, despite the old technology. Others...I just don't know...

[Frenchie 130]

It may be dated, but it's not bad.

Not bad? I call it a piece of art... nice overall composition, not too much focus on the band members, and if I recall, there is a Joshua Tree picture in the back and/or inside.

And designers sometimes will try to stay away from the obvious... subtlety is a skill...

[the admiral 27,453]

Two rebuttals for Marquee Moon's inclusion:

1) It really captures the essence of the album's sound to me: shifting the colors makes everyone look just far enough from "normal" to make you feel like something's up, just as the music does with the interweaving lead guitars and Verlaine's weird vocals. Combine that with the white Helvetica on black and you get pure late-Seventies Bowery grit.

2) It's a Mapplethorpe, you dummy.

Generic faux-moody nothingness that totally belies everything about such a great album. The reissue changed the album art completely (how often does that happen for non-censorship reasons?).

[stumpygremlin 452]

(MOD REDACTED)

Need we say more...?

Edited November 19, 2013 by Lee.
Let's link to that one for obvious reasons.

[Funky Bunky 162]

Man, a lot of these covers are so bad, it sends chills down my spine. Especially that god-awful Megadeth cover.

I can't believe there was actually a time when people thought these were good. Some older covers have stood the test of time, despite the old technology. Others...I just don't know...

I know with the Megadeth cover, the band actually hated the cover, but they couldn't really do anything about it.

The first 3 Depeche Mode albums aren't my favorite, they're okay, but I'm really not a fan of any of the album covers. Speak & Spell is probably the worst one.

[habsfan1 3,665]

MOD REDACTED

Need we say more...?

And their music is good?

Edited November 19, 2013 by Lee.
Again, link it.

[DG_ThenNowForever 14,655]

Unless I'm missing something, this is dumb:

Also, I prefer this:

to this:

[Xodius 55]

Most of The Black Keys's album covers are pretty meh, but this one is just...

[the admiral 27,453]

Yeah, All That You Can't Leave Behind is just beige, pseudo-pensive tripe, but I don't think it's even a good album after the third track.

I like the colorful Armed Forces better.

[infrared41 8,747]

Yeah, All That You Can't Leave Behind is just beige, pseudo-pensive tripe, but I don't think it's even a good album after the third track.

Interesting. In my book, it's right up there with Acthung Baby and The Joshua Tree. What don't you like about it?

[Sport Billy 44]

Interesting. In my book, it's right up there with Acthung Baby and The Joshua Tree. What don't you like about it?

That album will always be special for me.

Despite being released a year earlier, track after track, it seems like it was written for 9/11.

The concerts, with the names of those killed scrolling to "One", brought me to tears.

In fact, the Bono said it inspired "City of Blinding Lights" from HTBAAB. He talked about seeing tears streaming down the faces of fans as the lights panned out. At one point, he was so moved during a NY show, he shouted, "Oh you look so beautiful tonight".

[Bayne 1,005]

A lot of these covers fall into the category of being so bad they're actually good. So for that reason a lot of these submissions are void.

[Bayne 1,005]

It may be dated, but it's not bad.

Not bad? I call it a piece of art... nice overall composition, not too much focus on the band members, and if I recall, there is a Joshua Tree picture in the back and/or inside.

And designers sometimes will try to stay away from the obvious... subtlety is a skill...

Okay, you've hit my weak spot U2. LOVE this album cover. How on earth could it be considered bad? The colours, the mood, the expressions, the composition, the landscape....it works beautifully. Not saying its the best album cover of all time but it's definitely a good one.

All That You Cant Leave Behind is also quite nice, I don't think it's bad at all. I'm doing my best to remove any bias, even though thats impossible for me and U2.

[the admiral 27,453]

Yeah, All That You Can't Leave Behind is just beige, pseudo-pensive tripe, but I don't think it's even a good album after the third track.

Interesting. In my book, it's right up there with Acthung Baby and The Joshua Tree. What don't you like about it?

I wish I could articulate it better than I can, but everything past "Elevation" just doesn't grab me. It could be that the stuff up front is just so good that nothing can compare to it, I don't know, but it just lacks something. Even with the strength of "Beautiful Day" and "Elevation," it's behind War, The Joshua Tree, The Unforgettable Fire, and Achtung Baby. And Boy, which no one talks about nearly enough, as far as I'm concerned.

Incidentally, if you were to consolidate All That You Can't Leave Behind and How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, which is even spottier than its predecessor, you'd have a really good album.

[masterchaoss 297]

Iron Maiden-Dance of Death

IMO, the only bad album art they have ever had.

[The Six 751]

Because someone doesn't understand apostrophes.

[OnWis97 4,481]

Because someone doesn't understand apostrophes.

Winner. That is maddening for a professionally-produced product.

[B-Rich 1,181]

One off the top of my head:

 

Very good album-- basically all of Side 1 is killer. Side 2 is not as kick-ass; "Stalker" is kind of a noisy afterthought of a song, and "Dropout" is a low-key slow-tempo change, but still good stuff overall. Plus the bonus weirdness of the (very) hidden track "Operation Kissinger" (hidden after 20 minutes of silence following the last song on the CD version!)

 

But I always wondered what was going on with the cover. The dominating, bleed-off "UO" logo is appropriate for this extremely image-conscious, self-aggrandizing band, and the album title. I also assume in the context of the album over, is acting as a "sun" . But if that is the case, it is facing the wrong way for the shadows on the skyscrapers. And speaking of which, why was the skyline of HOUSTON selected for this band out of Chicago? Plus the Geffen label is too big up in the left corner-- almost like the artist was trying to make it a "moon" in counterpoint to the UO "sun"...

[EddieJ1984 1,583]

[RyanMcD29 742]