Stormtron Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 I got so many metal albums as a kid just based off of the covers. The thrash covers were especially cool to a nine year old. How are you supposed to be a kid who's into G.I. Joe, action movies, video games like Contra, etc., and not want to find out what an album like that is about? Even today the artwork plays some part in what I buy. Like when the latest Mastodon album came out, I knew I had to have that sweet quadruple gatefold version. http://i.imgur.com/ToXSanr.png 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super25Smasher Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 You know album art that absolutely sucks is mid-90's alt rock and grunge covers. Mind you, I enjoy grunge, but I wouldn't like seeing this on my shelves! http://audioinkradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/garbage.jpg http://cdn.discogs.com/U-zpMMBZGV9T8nM0vA1x_PTnxB4=/fit-in/300x300/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb()/discogs-images/R-3262538-1361075237-6620.jpeg.jpg Purple's cover was better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foghorn-leghorn Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 Yes, it's how I got into RUSH back in the 70's. ATWAS was sat in the import rack but was sealed, so I could only see the outside. Still, I was fascinated, not only by the fact there were just 3 guys in the band. I Liked the fact it had been recorded over 3 nights. That told me it "Must" be good . As an import though, it was very expensive. Anyway, I saved up 2 weeks allowance.That meant I had to go a whole week without buying any music. Not easy, but thank goodness I held out. I made other purchases in the early days based purely on the cover. Sometimes it works, sometimes it's a total disaster. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyBlaze Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 I don't think I've ever bought an album just for the cover art, I was cheap and did research on it before I bought it to ensure that I would be spending money on something I enjoyed. But having said that, I have a tendency to listen to albums with covers I find most interesting"Research" was extremely limited 30-40 years ago. The only research possible would've been to go over to your buddy's place and listen to his albums before buying a particular album yourself. Holy Diver Buddy! HELL YES! I had to take care of a neighbor's house back in 1982 for a week.The dude had a huge vinyl collection.I spent hours and hours and hours at his house playing his records.I remember actually falling in love with Alan Parsons Project and Blue Oyster Cult that year. When I met Alan Parsons a few years ago I told him that it was the "Eye In The Sky" record I listened to at a neighbor's house and fell in love. Alan was impressed that I remember the exact year the album came out. I am... "OLD AND WISE" LOL! That song will be played at my funeral. Serious.My oldest bro had a huge vinyl collection in the 70s. He had everything! Knowing that he got rid of all of it some time in the 80s just blows my mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue J Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 I can't recall that I've ever bought an album just because of its cover art. But there are certain things that I've bought because I already knew I'd like the music, and based on the cover art, it might enhance my enjoyment/appreciation of it, in a particular way. That's always a plus. But then there are some clunkers in that respect, too. But (entirely subjectively, of course) 'bad' cover art will not deter me from buying an album if I dig the music. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rutlefan Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 (edited) I liked comic books and Conan (the Cimmerian, not the goofy looking late night guy) books so Molly Hatchet and Kiss album covers were the best back in the 70s and early 80s... http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width/hash/17/e4/17e4640217106fc5f1f3e7b69e5bc6e5.jpg?itok=z-o2V4p0 http://www.rocknrollhell.com/kiss/lovegun.jpg I loved (still do) Frank Frazetta's paintings. As a kid, bought the Howard Conan books and the Burroughs Pellucidar books because of the Frazetta covers (still have the original ACE paperbacks with the Frazetta covers; they are cooler on a book than in a book). Thought it was so cool when I saw a popular band was using some of them. To the topic, album covers definitely color how I hear the music. Sh*tty cover art is like a bad first impression at a job interview, great album art is the opposite. Doesn't mean the music will get the job or lose it because of the cover, but it's got an easier case to make with the good art. Back in the day I jumped off the Rush band wagon because of the cover for PoW before I ever heard the music (the anorexic Howard Jones teen doesn't do it for me); hearing the music just cemented the decision (appreciate it more now). Apart from Hemispheres (sucky cover, awesome album), I think Rush cover art through HYF corresponds really closely to the quality and tone of the music. PeW and MP are perfect, just like the music, CoS and 2112 promise a truckload of badassery within. Edited March 7, 2016 by Rutlefan 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod in Toronto Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod in Toronto Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 http://www.octanecreative.com/Parodyville/worst_album_covers/19.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod in Toronto Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 http://www.theuntappedsource.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/worst-album-covers-taste-of.jpg 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod in Toronto Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Day of Light Posted March 7, 2016 Author Share Posted March 7, 2016 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Day of Light Posted March 7, 2016 Author Share Posted March 7, 2016 http://i1.wp.com/www.metalinjection.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Ghost-Meliora.jpg?fit=750%2C1000 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Day of Light Posted March 7, 2016 Author Share Posted March 7, 2016 http://media.beingblogged.se/2015/09/Lana-Del-Rey-Music-To-Watch-Boys-To.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
x1yyz Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 Even today the artwork plays some part in what I buy. Like when the latest Mastodon album came out, I knew I had to have that sweet quadruple gatefold version. http://i.imgur.com/ToXSanr.png Does that Mastodon album come with a couple hits of LSD? :P 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cat 3 Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 I was just discussing this with BlueJ... A few years back I was in a record store and I saw the album, "Satellite Rides" by Old 97s. Something about the cover just caught my eye...kind of a retro 60s vibe. My friend, Wayne,who worked at the store walked up and said, "you'll like them, that's your type of music". I bought the album and could not stop playing it. They quickly became one of my favourite bands and I bought all of their previous albums. It was a great find just by looking at the cover. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue J Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 I was just discussing this with BlueJ... A few years back I was in a record store and I saw the album, "Satellite Rides" by Old 97s. Something about the cover just caught my eye...kind of a retro 60s vibe. My friend, Wayne,who worked at the store walked up and said, "you'll like them, that's your type of music". I bought the album and could not stop playing it. They quickly became one of my favourite bands and I bought all of their previous albums. It was a great find just by looking at the cover. I saw that they are playing in Louisville, KY, in about a month. It's only about two hours away for me... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foghorn-leghorn Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 What do ya think ? ... Buy it, or leave it in the bin ?? Kinda has that kitchy, floral appeal to it. There's like a 50/50 chance I'd bin it! Probably much higher if I never have the opportunity to listen to it before buying. Bin it! But give me some Ned's Atomic Dustbin! This is Heino, who believe it or not, is now a heavy rock cult figure in Germany. Here he is, singing with Rammstein at the Wacken Festival........ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fritz44 Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 I think the last album I bought because of the cover was Le Petit Mort by James. Class! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
custom55 Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 (edited) I used to do this all of the time at EJ Korvettes in NJ. Some were good and others not. Here's one that I bought off the cover and the name of the album. After picking this I followed The Strawbs from the early 70's through the 80's. Rick Wakemen played with them. http://youtu.be/8XlT1jlD-xU Edited March 7, 2016 by custom55 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
custom55 Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 What do ya think ? ... Buy it, or leave it in the bin ?? This person came to mind when I saw this cover. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cat 3 Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 I was just discussing this with BlueJ... A few years back I was in a record store and I saw the album, "Satellite Rides" by Old 97s. Something about the cover just caught my eye...kind of a retro 60s vibe. My friend, Wayne,who worked at the store walked up and said, "you'll like them, that's your type of music". I bought the album and could not stop playing it. They quickly became one of my favourite bands and I bought all of their previous albums. It was a great find just by looking at the cover. I saw that they are playing in Louisville, KY, in about a month. It's only about two hours away for me...I'm seeing them in NYC in May. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cat 3 Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 http://assets.rollingstone.com/assets/images/album_review/73e4ccd34cd1ebc7094f339af1a003a8197d961b.jpg This album cover more than any other had the most immediate visual impact on my life. It was 1976, I was 13 years old shopping at a drug store after dinner one night with me Mum. It had this crappy little section that had records, magazines , books, etc. I saw the front and back cover and was just mesmerized. I was familiar with the song "Rock and Roll All Nite", but this was my first big close up look. I had no money, as was the case for most 13 olds in 1976, and I knew the answer I would get if I asked for it. Saving myself the humiliation of public rejection, up the back of my jean jacket the contraband album went. I was a pretty small kid, so walking out of the store and to the car without drawing attention to myself with my newly formed funky "Frankenstein-like" walk was a pretty delicate task. I remember trying to sit a certain way on the ride home as to not bend the cover. Home at last, quick to my bedroom...to the record player it went and the rest was history...just under 35 minutes that changed my life! I loved to draw...I spent that night listening to that album over and over while replicating the characters on the front until I got it right with the logo and all. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue J Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 I was just discussing this with BlueJ... A few years back I was in a record store and I saw the album, "Satellite Rides" by Old 97s. Something about the cover just caught my eye...kind of a retro 60s vibe. My friend, Wayne,who worked at the store walked up and said, "you'll like them, that's your type of music". I bought the album and could not stop playing it. They quickly became one of my favourite bands and I bought all of their previous albums. It was a great find just by looking at the cover. I saw that they are playing in Louisville, KY, in about a month. It's only about two hours away for me...I'm seeing them in NYC in May. What venue are they playing there? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyBlaze Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 http://www.theuntappedsource.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/worst-album-covers-taste-of.jpg ...and then in certain situations he states his first name last...that's just trouble 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 That looks like a box of maxi pads 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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