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Posted: |
Apr 5, 2021 - 12:44 PM
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By: |
Hitch22
(Member)
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By all means, this post is not meant to thoughtlessly criticise the labels. I know the hard work that goes into getting certain expanded titles released. There are so many releases that are just top notch and absolutely amazing. Expanded, deluxe, remastered, you name it... they all deserve (and most often get) gorgeous artwork. It's like a special present that needs to be wrapped in the most beautiful wrapping paper available... whether it's the original artwork or custom made. My greatest respect goes out to the art departement that is responsible for all those awesome album covers. Yet, once in a blue moon, I have a minor regret regarding the artwork. For example: ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK The 1988 reissue depicts a decapitated Lady Liberty; her head laying in the middle of a NYC street. Gorgeous art work, I must say. For the 2000/2003 expanded release, the cover art uses the same picture. However, for some reason the picture is enlarged. The surroundings, the broken buildings, the chaos on the street, the people running, ect... all, for the most part, is cut out of the frame. It's such a shame, imo. Not to mention the contrast filter that was applied over the artwork. The 1988 reissue: The expanded Silva Screen 2000/2003 release: Luckily, over the years I find that such pitiful changes (or downgrades imo) like the example above, hardly occur anymore. The labels put so much effort into creating the best cover art they possibly can. La La Land holds my highest esteem in this regard. Their releases, such as E.T. and Hook are just gorgeous.
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I love when the labels are able to include the alternate or unused art. Keen-eyed collectors might notice that while the Quartet Seven-per-cent Solution features Drew Struzan's Amsel-esque poster art on its cover, inside you can find Amsel's own unused and extremely similar painting.
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On the other end, THE WRATH OF KHAN GNP edition was pretty much the epitome of bland. The cover art for the Retrograde release is spectacular.
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It's hard to go wrong with Bob Peak. When I was tracking down one of my favorite-posters-for-bad-movies, The Island (1980), I found Peak's teaser poster, sort of a cross between his Apocalypse Now art and the final Island poster (done by a different artist). When I had my own office at my day job (sigh) I had them both framed on the wall, along with another favorite-art-for-bad-movie poster, Year of the Comet. As well as two Amsels and of course the posters for my own crappy movies. Now all back in storage.
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I don't think putting composers or recording sessions on covers are going to be interesting. In the booklet, yes, but they are bland as cover motives. These pictures all tend to look more or less alike and say nothing at all about the music. I find this already quite boring on some classical music CDs - I mean, how many pictures of Nikolaus Harnoncourt or Jean Sibelius does one need? - and movies have usually much more exciting and expressive artwork. Sometimes I find alternative and newly commissioned artwork very appealing, sometimes the artwork from these "alternative cover" threads is what I use.
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