Crappy Album Art

[tennispunk]

So I was looking at the cover of HTDAAB today, and it's really fucking ugly, despite the beautiful faces of the lads. In fact, U2 tend to have shitty album art.

Which other bands/albums have terrible covers?

the cover of "Let It Bleed" by the Rolling Stones immediately comes to my mind.

 

[Saracene]

"Just Push Play" by Aerosmith

 

[yertle-the-turtle]

Manic Street Preachers - Lipstick Traces: A Secret History

 

[Cute Irish Bono]

I don't like the cover HTTDAAB but I like that it was taken in Portugal because I like Portugal. I don't like these covers, they might be clever though but not my taste. Collective Soul-Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid. More to come.

 

[typhoon]

The cover to Audioslave's eponymous debut sucks, despite the fact that it was designed by Strom Thurgenwhatever.

(Edit: His cover for Floyd's Delicate Sound of Thunder sucks too, come to think on it.)

 

[Cute Irish Bono]

dc Talk-Supernatural

Blur-13

 

[HeartlandGirl]

Manic Street Preachers - Lipstick Traces: A Secret History

I'm gonna have to agree with that. I think they've made up for it with the Lifeblood cover, though.

 

[gareth brown]

Spinal Tap - Smell the Glove

BAH-DUM-TSH!!

 

[babyman]

pearl jam, riot act

 

[theedgefan]

i like the HTDAAB cover...

Anyway this artwork is much more terrible :

(Bon Jovi - 1,000,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong)

 

[Kieran McConville]

It's a shame that U2's album covers are rather bland these days... not that it matters overly, but I sometimes do wish they'd ditch this idea that all their album covers must be a photograph of the band.

The Joshua Tree shot is a great iconic composition, and POP is sorta cool as a pop-art take on the band identity a decade later, but otherwise this stuff is a bit redundant.

Zooropa is funky. Oh and the Unforgettable Fire cover photograph is sublime.

 

[LarryMullen's POPAngel]

i like the HTDAAB cover...

Anyway this artwork is much more terrible :

(Bon Jovi - 1,000,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong)

My eyes....

 

[Popmartijn]

Looks a lot like:

But seriously, is there anything worse than the cover for Blind Faith?

 

[theedgefan]

Looks a lot like:

- you're absolutely right!

 

[ultrraviolette]

I really don't like the cover of HTDAAB either, it's so bland and it looks cheap.

I LOVE Bjork, but this cover freaks me out!

 

[isabelle_guns]

tennispunk
I am glad that you have said it about the new U2 album, I think the album cover is ugly as well. I think any album with just a portrait is ugly, epecially of pop stars

 

[IWasBored]

barenaked ladies - everything to everyone (the one with the band looking retardedly off into the distance against the dumb sunset holding a white flag)...actually, all their album art sucks.

lars frederiksen & the bastards - the viking, or viking, whatever that thing is called. ok, i just don't like that album in general. i tried, didn't work.

blood for blood - outlaw anthems.

some others.

 

[eviltwin]

ok, call me crazy, but I have the special ltd edition cd album, dvd, & book (at least, that's what is says on the cover, titled U2//HOW TO DISMANTLE AN ATOMIC BOMB...and it has no cover. It's just a gaping hole trough which you can view the CD (concentric black/red motif) or, if you are playing the CD, a representation of the same. So for me HTDAAB has *NO* cover art.

The book(let) is a bit disappointing as well, no lyrics, or even proper schematics for dismantling an Atomic bomb! It appears they've put their efforts to making music, which suits me just fine and I don't even feel cheated...


FWIW, the Bon Jovi Elvis tribute/ripoff spoof is ok with me, the original gold lamE Elvis cover is a classic such a part of the public that domain that sampling/recreation is ok. Jon was probably just paying hommage, when he singed off that one...

 

[DaveC]

Whoever said that ANY Storm Thorgerson cover isn't good (especially DSoT) does not understand Storm and what he tries to accomplish.

EVERY Storm Thorgerson art kicks major ass. It's all very surreal and intelligent.

 

[FizzingWhizzbees]

the libertines. (album, not band.)

the cover photo is all 'here's the talent behind the band and next to him is some junkie we pulled off the streets' and the rest of the booklet just looks like nobody could be arsed to create some artwork so they opted for lyrics printed in a nice font instead. love the album but can't look at the cover.

 

[Zoomerang96]

i don't understand why u2 has to pose like boybands.

i know very well what they look like, as does everyone else who's been on earth for the past 25 years.

 

[-macphisto-]

i don't understand why u2 has to pose like boybands.

i know very well what they look like, as does everyone else who's been on earth for the past 25 years.

Give me a break, there is nothing there that looks like poppy boy band pictures out there, go do a search and look for yourself, they are way diffrent.I love the artwork, its a simple photograph of the band, and simplicity is the best, wh does everything have to be so complicated, or be so out of this world, its a great picture, and there expressions, and there body language suits the album perfectly.

 

[Zoomerang96]

Give me a break, there is nothing there that looks like poppy boy band pictures out there, go do a search and look for yourself, they are way diffrent.I love the artwork, its a simple photograph of the band, and simplicity is the best, wh does everything have to be so complicated, or be so out of this world, its a great picture, and there expressions, and there body language suits the album perfectly.

that was horrible.

 

[anitram]

 

[Zoomerang96]

yuck.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

that happens to be my favourite elvis cover. seriously. and living in elvisland (in fact, i live near where he used to live and near a lot of his favourite haunts) i should know.

being the resident (and only) duran duran fan, i'll pick two of theirs. their one-two punch of 88's big thing and 89's decade were horrible.