Favorite Album Covers of 2007

By: Lee H | in: Design, Music |

In the age of downloadable music I think cover art has unfairly taken a back seat. (I also think hype has taken a back seat to good music but that’s another post for another time.) When I was a kid I used to love thumbing through my dad’s records looking at the covers and imagining what they sounded like before playing them. George Clinton used to scare the bejesus out of me but I still listened. My dad said that sometimes he would buy a record based on what the cover looked like without even knowing the artist. I’ve been seeing a lot of year end list about bad cover art and felt it was time for someone to show some love and not just to the usual suspects (Bjork, Arcade Fire I’m looking at you.) I own most of these albums and most of them are a good listen but this is about artists who know that sometimes it’s what’s on the outside that counts.

Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury

1. Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury
Those uninitiated with the Clipse need to only know one thing: They used to sell drugs. A LOT of drugs. While saying a rapper used to sell drugs isn’t exactly head spinning their cryptic wordplay is; “Minus the wicked jumper/ street baller like the Rucker/ Skip To My Lou if you looking for a couple/ roosters in a duffle/ keep the hood screaming Cock-a-doodle-doo fuckers” If you don’t get it, that’s sort of the point. (Hints: rooster = bird= kilo, Skip to My Lou is a person and Rucker is a place) Still don’t get the cover? OK, here’s one more
hint: “Eggshell on the scale for my snow coppers/ Don’t ask what I sell, shit I’m Bet Crocker.”

Umphrey's McGee - The Bottom Half

2. Umphrey’s McGee - The Bottom Half
I don’t really know what to say about this one. I just think it’s a really cleaver use of semidry. I’m also a big fan of beautiful women.
Onions, not so much.

The White Stripes - Icky Thump

3. The White Stripes - Icky Thump
This cover says to me: “You know who we are we don’t have to beat you over the head with it.” Even in black and white you know exactly what they’re about. Awesome album title too.

Air - Pocket Symphony

4. Air - Pocket Symphony
At first look I just thought this was something someone made in photo shop. On closer inspection I realized that either that was a really huge couch in the background or these were miniature statuettes of the band standing on what appears to be a breakfast tray. That’s a lot of work to go through for an album cover. I wonder what they’re doing with the statuettes now.

Wiley - Playtime is Over

5. Wiley - Playtime is Over
Wiley takes what is a pretty lame cliché and an even more lame album title and redeems it with this cover. That is the most gangster playground I’ve ever seen.

Artanker Convoy - Cozy Endings

6. Artanker Convoy - Cozy Endings
The cover made me look. The title made me chuckle. This cover was the reason I made the list.

The Twilight Sad - Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters

7. The Twilight Sad - Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters
In my opinion the best album covers make you look and go “WTF?”
Mission Accomplished. There are so fake many scenarios you can make up rom looking at the picture. I think there’s an alternate cover with the same masked kid smothering his mother with a pillow.

CocoRosie - The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn

8. CocoRosie - The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn
Photographed by Pierre et Gilles the cover art is probably the least ambiguous thing about this LP. Don’t believe me? Here’s their explanation for this album: “Birthed through an intricate process of prank phone calls and clairvoyant documentation, The Adventures of Ghosthorse & Stillborn follows CocoRosie and their crew of miscreants through the Mechanical Forest of Feelings.” Listen to the first track “Rainbow Warriors” and it makes a little more since… but not much.

Sleeping In The Aviary - Oh, This old Thing

9. Sleeping In The Aviary - Oh, This Old Thing
When I first saw this it reminded me of a short film I saw a few years ago by Brent Green and Califone called “Francis.” It also looks like something Edward Gorey would draw. It was actually drawn by band member Elliott Kozel. Google Edward Gorey, Brent Green and Sleeping in the Aviary if you’re unfamiliar with any of them, you won’t be sorry or maybe you will. In either case - made you look.

Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass

10. Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass
If you listen to Aesop Rock this cover totally makes since. If you ask two Aesop Rock fans what this cover (or any of his songs) means you’ll probably get two different answers. All I know is what it means to me.
Trust me, it’s a good one.

Honorable Mention:

11. Brand New - The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me
This album was released at the end of 2006 but it’s so incredibly odd that I had to include it. It seems like something you’d see in a Harmony Korine movie.

Lupe Fiasco - The Cool

12. Lupe Fiasco - The Cool
This isn’t the actual album cover but the art from the CD booklet. The Cool is an album based around 3 characters (from l-r): Michael Young History AKA The Cool, The Game, & The Streets. That’s not the interesting part though. If you squint your eyes a little you realize The Cool is played by Kadeem Hardison, better known as Dwayne Wayne from A Different World. That tickles me for some reason, I’m sure Lupe feels the same way.

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Posted on December 24, 2007

Comments

6 Responses to “Favorite Album Covers of 2007”

mozzer on December 24th, 2007 7:46 pm

Up until RIGHT NOW I had the mistaken impression that the Air guys were life-size statues. Shows you how much I pay attention…

Oh yeah, Artanker Convoy wins album cover of the year for all the wrong reasons. I hear there may be some music to acompany the pic.

Peety on December 25th, 2007 10:16 pm

Wishing the Plug belted Christmas greetings and all the best in 2008!

Lee H on December 26th, 2007 11:51 am

The Artanker Convoy album is pretty good. Laid back jazzy stuff to listen to with your lady. Another reason why this album wins is that the first track is called “Open Up.” How do you beat that?

Cameron on December 30th, 2007 10:35 pm

Hey, nice list (a couple of artists I really like are on there too), but there was one thing nagging on my mind. Generally, I’m not a stickler for grammar, but you used “since” incorrectly twice and it unfortunately took away a lot of credibility from your list. Sense and since are two different words: I took the garbage out since it was full. I took the garbage out because it just made sense.