Album covers - best and worst

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Jarvio

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In your opinion, what is the best of U2's album covers, and what is the worst?

For argument's sake, let's exclude the best of compilations, passengers, EPs etc... and just go for the 14 official U2 albums.

For me:

Best - The Unforgettable Fire, as I'm a sucker for castles

Worst - Songs Of Innocence, as I don't bat for that team lol
 
lazarus said:
Maybe keep your homophobic comments to yourself, asshole.
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I honestly didn't mean to offend. I'm not homophobic. We are talking album covers, and I had to pick a least favourite. I would rather look at castles, horizons, shots of the band, trees, scenery, etc, than a topless man, this doesn't mean I'm homophobic :huh: Homophobic would mean I'm against it. I'm not. I'm talking about preferences.

But I guess my tongue in cheek reason didn't go down well, so I apologise for that.
 
Diemen said:
While you may not be homophobic, your comment about SOI certainly is. Try harder.
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I don't see why it is. A straight man not being keen on the idea of looking at a man topless on an album cover is not homophobic.

Homophobic means you are against homosexuality.

There is absolutely nothing in my post to say that I'm against homosexuality. And I'm not, why would I be?

Furthermore, it wasn't even a serious comment really, I put a lol on the end.

I find it very silly how people on the internet are so hungry to argue with people and call names over absolutely nothing, just for the sake of it. The point of this thread was to see other 'best' and 'worst' album cover decisions. If people are more concerned with telling me I'm being homophobic, when I'm actually being pretty polite to those that are telling me so, then just close the thread. There is enough darkness in the world, and it's a poor show if we can't post anything without being accused of things.

I suppose you think people are racist for not wanting a black james bond. I suppose you think people are ageist for not wanting to start a relationship with someone 20 years older than them.

But whatever. I apologised. And I don't want to argue about something that isn't even really there.
 
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RockNRollDawgie said:
look again at "as I don't bat for that team lol"
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Well that's just how people are interpreting it. It's one tiny sentence, I didn't mean to offend anyone with it. And the lol on the end just shows that I wasn't exactly being serious anyway. It was a joke that clearly didn't go down well. And I apologised. So.... I've done and said all I can really, haven't I?
 
Jarvio said:
Well that's just how people are interpreting it. It's one tiny sentence, I didn't mean to offend anyone with it. And the lol on the end just shows that I wasn't exactly being serious anyway. It was a joke that clearly didn't go down well. And I apologised. So.... I've done and said all I can really, haven't I?
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True. It's over with, but even in jest that might ruffle a few feathers.
Time to move on.
 
Jarvio, saying "I don't bat for that team" in reference to a picture of a shirtless man certainly seems to imply a level of distaste with being associated with something "gay." But I'm willing to take you at your word that that's not the case.

Though if you're going to claim you're being treated unfairly, maybe don't follow that up with your assumptions about what else I must be offended by.
 
If you want to literally translate "homophobic", the "phobic" part means fear. And if you're so put off by a topless man that you can't bear to look at a fucking album cover, it seems like you're pretty afraid of it.

Must be hard for you at the beach or any swimming pool.
 
Favorite: Joshua Tree
Least Favorite: HTDAAB/SOI




Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference
 
October is the worst, it's not even a well-lit or sharp photo. I don't know how this is even debatable.

HTDAAB is indeed lame because they're sitting down and it makes them look geriatric (aside from Edge who at least looks like a badass East L.A. gang member), but the actual photography is nice, plus I really like the font/typography reminiscent of a web address and the red slashes on the black border.

I think if you're judging solely on the pose you're really not taking the whole cover into account because it's not only about Corbijn but Averill's work as well.

The Joshua Tree obviously has a great photo but I also love the widescreen framing and all the black space. TUF has great coloring with the burgundy as well as the blurry, impressionistic photo that is a great representation of the music.

Achtung is a clever idea, riffing on Exile on Main Street while reflecting on the chaotic atmosphere of Berlin/the new EU, and the bursts of color giving the band a fresh look.

Ultimately I think I have to go with War as the best. The photo is so striking, so perfect for the album's themes, and I love the self-reference to the Boy cover. Plus that bold red lettering pops so well off the black & white.
 
I thought No Line had great cover art.

But I would say Rattle and Hum has the best cover art IMO, and Bomb is the one I like the least. There is something off about that photo on Bomb. I like the packaging of the rest of the album, though.
 
I don't see how such an innocuous shot of a naked male torso can get considered so grotesque to completely bring down the album's cover art to "worst" status. Anyway..

The worst for me is BOMB. It just comes across as cheap and nasty (and if that is the intent, I don't get why). The photo of the band is abysmal.

My favourite is probably WAR, with Achtung Baby a close second.

I am probably biased towards WAR as I wrote an essay that was a semiotic analysis of the album cover back in the first year uni!
 
Unpopular opinion: most of U2's album covers are pretty terrible. There's nothing particularly eye-catching or iconic about generic black-and-white shots of the band or some random scenery.

Rattle & Hum is by far the best cover since it actually is a cool image. War and Pop are both thematically and visually interesting, and Zooropa is at least original. The first three at top tier, then Zooropa is a step or two down, then there's a big dropoff to maybe AB's cover as 'adequate' (and even that is basically a ripoff of Exile On Main Street).

On the plus side, if that end-of-the-show image is the SOE album cover, it'll immediately vault into the top tier.
 
intedomine said:
I don't see how such an innocuous shot of a naked male torso can get considered so grotesque to completely bring down the album's cover art to "worst" status.
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I didn't say it was grotesque though, did I.

Anyway, other than TUF, other favourite covers of mine are AB, Zooropa, and NLOTH, as I find them interesting.

Other LEAST favourites are October (it looks unfinished and like it needs work). I have mixed feelings on HTDAAB, on one hand it looks generic, but on the other, I like the red lines pattern used.

Ah screw it, here's my best to worst order:

1 - TUF
2 - NLOTH
3 - AB
4 - Zooropa
5 - TJT
6 - ATYCLB
7 - War
8 - Pop
9 - Boy
10 - RAH
11 - HTDAAB
12 - October
13 - SOI
 
Yeah SOI is a weird cover to me - i wish it tied in more thematically to the Boy and War covers but it feels a bit disjointed from that theme. Maybe because Larry's son's face is cut off by the top of the record.

It's a great record though.
 
aviastar said:
Yeah SOI is a weird cover to me - i wish it tied in more thematically to the Boy and War covers but it feels a bit disjointed from that theme. Maybe because Larry's son's face is cut off by the top of the record.

It's a great record though.
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I agree with that... I think if Elvis's face was visible and his hair styled in the same way as Peter Rowan, then it would be have made more sense and been more obvious to the lay person what they were going for.
 
Surprised no one has made the comment, would a naked woman have been as offensive?

Best: Boy or AB
Worst: October or HTDAAB
 
I'm not even offended by it either. Not repulsed, afraid, or offended by it. Never said I was. This whole thing needs dropping, we should continue to discuss the album covers in the other thread I'd say.
 
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