Look! It’s me on the cover! Me!
I could never be a rock star. Apart from having no apparent musical talent, I couldn’t stand people looking at me all the time. Oh, I could get used to the poncing around on a stage bit and repeating the same stuff over and over again in interviews, but what would be really bad would be having to look at racks of records and CDs with me on the cover.
Bunging a picture of yourself on your record sleeve, particularly in close-up, seems to be a prerequisite for being a solo artist; a strange piece of self-indulgence which appears to get worse with age and ‘going solo’.
Take Morrissey for instance. The Smiths had fabulous, brilliant LP covers, made even more compelling by the fact that they knew better than to ever grace the front of the sleeve themselves. Then bang!, as soon as Mozza embarks on his solo career then it’s all the way with ever-more wrinkle revealing close-ups. And look whose mugs are there on the cover of the first Electronic record – why it’s Johnny Marr and Bernard Sumner (of similarly band portrait denying New Order). They clearly just couldn’t help themselves. See also: Ian Brown, Bernard Butler, Donald Fagen, Bryan Ferry, Peter Cetera, Bert Jansch et.al.
And then there are people who have long been hugely sucessful solo artists. Everyone knows what Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and Madonna look like by now and we don’t need to be reminded. Same goes for the slightly less ubiquitous, but still ego loving Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, Mary J. Blige and Patti Smith. But still they insist on plastering themselves over their covers. I suppose, at the very least, it’s a victory of some kind against age-ism.
I know there’s a marketing theory / ‘cult of personality’ thing behind this, but if you’re flicking through the CD racks at your local high-street record shop you already have to be in ‘B’ section to find Beyonce – you’re not just looking randomly through a pile of plastic CD cases for someone whose name you can’t quite remember, but that you think might be pretty good looking. And in these days of downloading, album artwork increasingly means nothing at all.
In any case, whether I’m under-estimating the record buying public or not, I just hope that Mark E. Smith* continues to plow his lonely furrow.**
*The Fall may as well be a solo project
**alright, apart from on a few occasions.
Tags: music = opinions
February 13th, 2009 at 4:17 am
I’ve always like ‘the freewheelin’ bob dylan’ album cover. Very sweet of them to include his girlfriend (Suze Rotolo) like that. Now, there’s something you don’t see anymore?
February 13th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
I noticed that some artist get slip case on the cd’s with pictures of the artist and their name writ large, they are usually a not unattractive female (indie/americana)singer who intilaly plumped for arty tasteful cd but the marketing types said look if you going to sell any of these put the lass with the nice smeil and twinkly eyes on the front.
ps. Pedant’s corner lowlife by N.O has band shots on it (although not together)
February 13th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
I always liked album covers with some sort of artwork. Where you could tell that the singer can taken some time in getting a cover put together. It wasn’t just somebody taking a picture of them and plastering it on the cover. There was some thought behind making a cover that connected with people.
February 13th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Hello Ms Empress, I like that cover too and Highway 61 Revisited is one of my favourite covers ever. But that’s a whole other blog post. I can’t think of any other covers with girlfriends on them, but there must be! I know there is! Where is Planet Mondo when you need him?!
BLTP, alright forgot about Lowlife – but even though they are close-ups they are kind of arty… and it IS the exception.
Keith, yes I like covers where people have made a bit of an effort or just done something different. Actually, I don’t mind a lot of Sinatra’s covers because they are not just straight head shots and they are drawn (like Come Fly with Me and Songs for Swinging Lovers). But really, I’m just having an unjustifable moan with this post!
February 13th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
C: I’m sure Van morrison has on one cover with the delightfully named Janet planet on a horse on it! plus all the foxy roxy music lps have the bands “Girlfriends” lolling about well they manage to cop off with them after shoot if that counts! What’s the chance of Mozza having his beau on lp oh he’s in love with himself I see
February 13th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
It would have to be an amazing person to put up with Morrissey and his ‘I’m so hard done by’ issues…
Does the Captain & Tennille count as boyfriend and girlfriend on a cover? They’ve also got their dog on Love Will Keep us Together.
February 13th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
I forgive David Bowie, though. Can you imagine anything else on the cover of ‘Aladdin Sane’? Or ‘Heroes’? Phwoooooaaaaar.
February 13th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
“But really, I’m just having an unjustifable moan with this post!”
My favourite type of moan. Accounts for about 80% of my blog posts…….
I think Morrissey is a little too enamoured by his own iconography. It would almost seem wrong if he wasn’t to appear on the front of his latest album. And yes, his relentless self pity has stopped me buying any more of his records.
February 13th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
To be honest ISWB, I’ve never really had a Phwooooaar moment with Bowie, although I do agree that those covers are pretty damn good (or at least better than Pin-Ups!). But if you’re talking about Bryan Ferry now…
Well, I wasn’t going to say anything Ill Man! ;)
But yes, Morrissey. He and I lasted until Vauxhall and I. Great album, then I just lost interest in him and his self-indulgence/weak material. See also: REM, Sonic Youth, Perry Farrell, U2, The Cure…teenage heroes… sigh…
February 14th, 2009 at 2:58 am
I stuttered on to the last album before his current effort (can’t remember it’s name now…)
No more! He used to write about the world around him sometimes. Now it’s ever decreasing returns as he re-hashes the issues in Speedway over and over again.
Pouvre Moz, Pouvre Moz…….