Timbale Posted October 11, 2022 Share Posted October 11, 2022 Hey - thought it might be fun to pick 5 sleeve designs that you like and 5 that you don't! Here are mine. Top 5 Signals - A very simple, strong, striking image. Love the hand drawn "font" of the name. The spacing on it, the framing around the photo...it's just a perfect piece of design. It's, like, Pink Floyd level good (and for me, the only one that reaches that height.) Exit...Stage Left - I feel like the idea is just really really clever, and it's pulled off very well. I also really like the typeface design for the band's name. Presto - I'm not sure why, but for some reason the black and white image, the shape of the hill...I don't know, it just works well for me, despite not REALLY knowing why that's the image for the record. I only ever owned Presto on CD, so maybe I would feel different holding the lp in my hand...but that image with the red RUSH (and another good font) is striking in a positive way to me. Grace Under Pressure - The cover of p/g really captures the feel of the album to me, which makes it a success. It's actually kinda busy and maybe not in a good way...but it really says something metaphorically about the contents of the songs themselves, that cold, brooding and pessimistic 80s thing. I also am always a fan of artwork breaking the rules of a form it set up (like the burn mark at the edge of the "frame" on Wish You Were Here), and the false framing becoming the water drips is a cool touch. Rush - I actually find it hard to pick a fifth that I really like...but the debut is very immediate and striking... and you can't deny that "Rush" script is pretty perfect, as their long term use of it has shown. It is not in my top 5 records by them...but I think the cover is very simple and strong. Bottom 5 Rush In Rio - f**k off with that garbage. What am I, an 8-year old?! God awful. Snakes & Arrows - busy in a bad way. All of a sudden, we're going literal, with snakes and arrows on the cover? It's ugly and really forgettable. Test For Echo - it is a simple and clear image..but I just loathe that kind of digital art. The lean into realism makes it look more fake to me. It's like seeing a movie with CGI from the late 90s. A Show Of Hands - Ugh. The colour palette is SO of its time, of course...and I just don't know why these are the image representations of the band. I just find it childish and ugly. The typeface is terrible, too. (I always thought it would have been funny - like maybe, not as the cover but as an inner sleeve design - to use the ESL art, but do a Monty Python - Gilliam-style thing where the other characters from the next 4 albums had been cut out and sort of badly added to the original image...) Clockwork Angels - again, it's a little too literal for me..although, I don't hate the idea of a clock being incorporated. But I do find it to be ugly...I guess it's the digital thing...and that red is off-putting to me. Maybe if it had been a photo of an actual clock with the indices digitally altered to be sort of melting into the steampunk icons, I don't know. The thing is it's NOT an image of a clock...it's a digitally created set of hands/indices superimposed over clouds. So it's representational...but not (to me) very artful. I wish someone had told Syme to either get Dimo Safari on the blower and tell him to bring his camera over...or get your damn paint brushes out and make something that actually reflects steampunk aesthetics better. So those are mine...the rest of the record covers fall in the middle for me. Most of them are "fine". I was going to put Moving Pictures in the top 5...but I think it's just too much of a Rush icon for me to be objective about. I'm not sure if it's great...or just the cover of a really great record. A few others, Permanent Waves and Power Windows are similar for me, I like them a lot, but I don't know if that makes them "good". Top 5 Bottom 5 - go! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughedatbytime Posted October 11, 2022 Share Posted October 11, 2022 (edited) Worst: Hemispheres Tolerable: the others Edited October 11, 2022 by laughedatbytime Power Windows is kind of creepy too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-0-0-1-0-0-1 Posted October 11, 2022 Share Posted October 11, 2022 Top 5 Moving Pictures Permanent Waves A Farewell to Kings Fly By Night Grace Under Pressure Bottom 5 Caress of Steel Hemispheres Clockwork Angels Power Windows Hold Your Fire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rush Didact Posted October 11, 2022 Share Posted October 11, 2022 (edited) Best: Power Windows - I love the concept, I love the execution. It's creepy and surrealist, and it perfectly encapsulates the music inside. It's one of the few album covers I would have hanging on my wall as art. Roll the Bones - Again, great concept, great execution. I love the dice descending into chaos in the background and the juxtaposition of the seriousness of mortality signified by the skull with the irreverence signified by the kid giving it a kick. Test for Echo - I've spent a lot of time in the Arctic and the scene speaks to me. I love the idea of an inuksuk as a "test for echo" - who else is out there? Permanent Waves - I'm a sucker for wordplay in these covers, and I love the triple entendre of the tidal wave, the permanent wave, and the man waving. It's classic Hugh at his best. Vapor Trails - I love the raw, aggressive colours and the abstract imagery, it perfectly sums up the chaos of that album's music. Worst: Clockwork Angels is an abomination. It would make a perfectly fine centre label on a record, but it's a horrendous choice for an album cover. The concept is dull and obvious, and the painfully digital-looking execution hurts my eyes. It looks like a cheap dollar store knockoff of a Rush album. Snakes & Arrows - Another one where Neil should have listened to Hugh. It's too obvious and one-dimensional, with none of the characteristic Rush wit and creativity. Counterparts - It's not bad as much as it is boring. I don't mind minimalism (I quite like Hold Your Fire, in fact) but this doesn't really have much to recommend it. Counterparts - a nut and a bolt. I get it. Haha? Rush in Rio - Yeah... what @Timbale said. Childish and tacky. Feedback - More tacky digital artwork. Edited October 11, 2022 by Rush Didact 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Entre_Perpetuo Posted October 12, 2022 Share Posted October 12, 2022 Hm, I really like the Clockwork Angels cover, especially the vinyl version with the rippling background instead of cloudy. I'm not sure exactly what top and bottom 5 would be, but I really love these: Moving Pictures Signals Grace Under Pressure A Farewell To Kings Hemispheres and these aren't my favorites: Presto Roll The Bones Snakes And Arrows Test For Echo I actually can't think of a 5th one I'm not too keen on. I really do love most of them a lot. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclonus X-1 Posted October 12, 2022 Share Posted October 12, 2022 Favorites Fly by Night Caress of Steel Grace Under Pressure Test for Echo Counterparts Least favorites Hemispheres Power Windows Roll the Bones 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nova Carmina Posted October 12, 2022 Share Posted October 12, 2022 Top Five: A Farewell to Kings Grace Under Pressure Permanent Waves Moving Pictures Vapor Trails Least Good: Caress of Steel Clockwork Angels Hold Your Fire Snakes and Arrows A Show of Hands tied with Different Stages tied with Working Man Live tied with Snakes and Arrows Live tied with Rush in Rio (I'm not sure what happened with the live albums there for a bit . . . although I liked R40 Live and R30 Live) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goose Posted October 12, 2022 Share Posted October 12, 2022 Permanent Waves to Moving Pics to Signals to Grace to Power Windows is an fantastic run that makes my top five. If they'd have used the inner HYF art as the cover it would make the list. As it is, the red HYF is my bottom cover, along with Snakes, Clockwork, Counterparts and Presto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rush Didact Posted October 12, 2022 Share Posted October 12, 2022 1 minute ago, goose said: Permanent Waves to Moving Pics to Signals to Grace to Power Windows is an fantastic run that makes my top five. If they'd have used the inner HYF art as the cover it would make the list. As it is, the red HYF is my bottom cover, along with Snakes, Clockwork, Counterparts and Presto I'm fine with the minimalist cover for HYF, but I wish that album had been a gatefold. The art on the inner sleeve really deserved a more prominent place, and having it in between the stark red front and back covers would have made the album feel like a book, with lots of cool things inside. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoahLutz Posted October 12, 2022 Share Posted October 12, 2022 Best: Fly By Night 2112 Power Windows Roll The Bones Test For Echo Worst: Hold Your Fire Snakes & Arrows Rush Counterparts Grace Under Pressure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weatherman Posted October 12, 2022 Share Posted October 12, 2022 Funny takes here! I'll do top/bottom 3: TOP: 1. Roll the Bones -- I like the shading, and the water along the bottom 2. Moving Pictures -- a great visual pun 3. Vapor Trails -- the cover is far and away the best thing about the album, beautiful abstract expressionism BOTTOM: 1. Hemispheres -- Naked guy on a brain? Wasn't one naked guy enough? It's completely hideous 2. Signals -- It doesn't say a damn thing to me about anything, certainly not the concept of signals. Total misfire. I said what I said. 3./4. SnA/CA -- the final two albums had covers that were just too busy and muddled, much like the music 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Entre_Perpetuo Posted October 13, 2022 Share Posted October 13, 2022 On 10/12/2022 at 12:13 PM, NoahLutz said: Best: Fly By Night 2112 Power Windows Roll The Bones Test For Echo Worst: Hold Your Fire Snakes & Arrows Rush Counterparts Grace Under Pressure Grace Under Pressure in the worst category??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weatherman Posted October 13, 2022 Share Posted October 13, 2022 2 hours ago, Entre_Perpetuo said: Grace Under Pressure in the worst category??? It looks like a bad sci-fi book cover from 1983. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rush Didact Posted October 13, 2022 Share Posted October 13, 2022 1 hour ago, Weatherman said: It looks like a bad sci-fi book cover from 1983. Perhaps you've forgotten just how bad sci-fi book covers could be in the 80s... 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex’s Amazing Arpeggios Posted December 1, 2022 Share Posted December 1, 2022 My Top 5 Moving Pictures Permanent Waves Grace Under Pressure Roll The Bones 2112 My Bottom 5 Caress of Steel Rush Hold Your Fire Presto Counterparts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tangy Posted December 1, 2022 Share Posted December 1, 2022 Top Hemisrears.. Yeah, it's the naked dude... but he looking at the well dressed business man. Battle of the heart and the mind upon the hemispheres. Fly by night. Farewell to kings Permanent waves Moving pictures Perhaps rush and Hugh Syme were peaking at the same time? Bottom ? Honorable mention to All the world's a stage. Simple but indicative of its contents... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeduck Posted December 1, 2022 Share Posted December 1, 2022 Top 1. A Farewell to Kings 2. Hemispheres 3. Moving Pictures 4. Permanent Waves 5. 2112 6. Caress of Steel 7. Fly By Night 8. Signals 9. Power Windows 10. Hold Your Fire 11. Clockwork Angels 12. Vapor Trails 13. Grace Under Pressure 14. Counterparts 15. RUSH 16. Roll the Bones 17. Snakes & Arrows 18. Test For Echo 19. Presto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeduck Posted December 1, 2022 Share Posted December 1, 2022 Oh it's album covers I thought you were talking about actual albums! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grep Posted December 1, 2022 Share Posted December 1, 2022 Top 5 P/G, FBN, MP, ESL, ATWAS Bottom 5 COS, SnA (LEELA SUCKS), RIR, RTB, HYF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeduck Posted December 1, 2022 Share Posted December 1, 2022 Ok, album COVERS! 1. Fly By Night 2. 2112 3. Moving Pictures 4. A Farewell to Kings 5. Permanent Waves Bottom (worst first) 1. Presto 2. Counterparts 3. Clockwork Angels 4. Roll the Bones 5. Grace Under Pressure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rush Didact Posted December 2, 2022 Share Posted December 2, 2022 21 hours ago, grep said: Top 5 ATWAS It's just a photo of an empty stage... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAccountant Posted December 4, 2022 Share Posted December 4, 2022 Top 5: 1. 2112 2. FBN 3. Presto 4. HYF 5. T4E 6. Grace Under pressure Bottom 5: Not certain about the order but it would likely include CoS, Hemispheres, CA, Signals, AFTK. Honestly, Rush's cover art has never thrilled me with the exception of the top 3 albums I mentioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grep Posted December 4, 2022 Share Posted December 4, 2022 On 12/2/2022 at 4:06 PM, Rush Didact said: It's just a photo of an empty stage... Yes. But it has atmosphere... and a sense of anticipation attached to it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lifeson90 Posted December 4, 2022 Share Posted December 4, 2022 1/ Counterparts 2/ Permanent Waves 3/ A Farewell To Kings 4/ Moving Pictures 5/ 2112 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goose Posted December 12, 2022 Share Posted December 12, 2022 On 10/12/2022 at 8:42 AM, goose said: Permanent Waves to Moving Pics to Signals to Grace to Power Windows is an fantastic run that makes my top five. If they'd have used the inner HYF art as the cover it would make the list. As it is, the red HYF is my bottom cover, along with Snakes, Clockwork, Counterparts and Presto I do like this image from Presto, though 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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