Words. Then pictures…

I’ve long been fascinated with album covers that rely heavily on typography to get their point across. Sometimes, it’s necessity; perhaps “good” photos aren’t available or they are simply more appropriate for texture and ambience. Perhaps it is a compilation or historical record where relevant photography just isn’t available. While the following covers do feature imagery, it is decidedly secondary — or, at least, secondary to the type treatment.

“WHEN RHYTHM WAS KING” Various Artists

This is another of my favorite covers. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere on the site, the Heartbeat re-branding project leaned heavily on the packaging.

I loved the title that Chris Wilson and Josh Blood had come up with — “When Rhythm Was King” — and felt it set the tone for the project.  I had some interesting period-specific shots of a Jamaican dancehall to use, but something was missing. I started editing down some of the marketing/press copy that usually goes on the back of a compilation and put it front and center on the cover. That did the trick; suddenly, it was ALL attitude: “Collectors Beware,” “Put it on, you can’t take it off,” “Serious Thing,” and “Damn right. Studio One,” and that was just on the front cover. An aggressive and strong type treatment and a mezzotint on the vintage photographs within, completed the package. We didn’t have a lot to use, but boy, did it all hang together now — a simple but strong concept. And, of course, the music inside is up to the task. Pure Jamaican rhythms. Since Heartbeart Records is apparently no longer with us, this is one to search out. You won’t be disappointed.

DEVO “Live: The Mongoloid Years”

To be honest, this is a project that I really, really, really wanted to do a die cut for. The type would be cut out of the cover slipcase, and the photo — originally a black and white — would slide in to reveal what you see here. Unfortunately, die cuts were rather expensive back in the day so I had to improvise. This comes damn close, with the title highly readable, and the imagery taking you a minute to process. Remember those amazing days when you could actually get this close to a performer? I thought the design was pretty effective overall, and did actually look like a die cut.

Ah, budgets…the mother of creativity! Who knew..?



JAMES HAND “The Truth Will Set You Free”

I recall this photo being an early favorite of mine for the cover, and perhaps James’ as well. However, it did not really lend itself to the simple Name/Title format. The negative space, usually an asset in my eyes, proved formidable. Often, the type treatments simply got lost here. Once again, I turned to the press release that had been circulated about this release, and edited out some of my favorite bits to make a short narrative that ended with the title. It reads:

Somewhere in Texas, a haunting voice reverberates
Off saloon walls, a voice rich with the echoes of
Timeless Country music
The singer & the songwriter is James Hand
And he has a story to tell
Listen once and “The Truth Will Set You Free!”

ORANJ SYMPHONETTE "Plays Mancini"

One of the best parts of being an Art Director and graphic designer is the joy you can discover within your work. That’s not to say it sometimes doesn’t go the other way; in fact, frustration is definitely equal parts of the gig. But when you come up with something that not only the client loves, but you love as well….that’s a good day. So I want to bring up a couple of record covers I recently came across, that I designed some time ago and probably didn’t get a lot of attention “back in the day.” But seeing them again made me smile. And write this backstory.

Oranj Symphonette was an experimental jazz-rock quintet formed from members of Tom Waits band in the Nineties. Led by cellist/bassist Matt Brubeck (son of Dave Brubeck), the group includes Joe Gore and multi-instrumentalist Ralph Carney. Individually these three have played with PJ Harvey, the B-52’s, Marc Ribot, and others. They released two albums on the jazz label Gramavision, which Rykodisc purchased in 1994. 

The band released their debut album Oranj Symphonette Plays Mancini in 1996, a tribute album to Hollywood composer, conductor and arranger Henry Mancini. I had a direction in mind and wanted it to be an illustration, and I wanted it to reflect the movie environment that most people experienced Mancini’s work in. I also wanted it to be somewhat playful, as that’s what Oranj Symphonette’s versions were.

Here’s what I came up with. It’s one of the few covers over two decades that features my rudimentary illustrative skills but I think it holds up.

OranjSymphonette_PlaysMancini.jpg

Unfortunately, Business Affairs felt there would be an issue with the pink movie-goer I wanted to include. And while I’m sure they were probably correct, sometimes you just have to go for it. Unfortunately, I did have to take him out, but here’s the original…Better, right?

OranjSymphonette_PlaysMancini_Original.jpg

In 1988. the band released a new album titled, simply, The Oranj Album, a title with seemingly endless directions, which can be both a good and a bad thing. I went minimalist, but with an overall concept presentation on each of part of the compact disc. And the more you opened the package, the deeper into the orange you went. The inside tray card — perhaps my favorite — perfectly played off removing the orange disc from the tray.

Click on the image below for a slideshow.

Most of the time, designers always work best when you cut them loose and give them room to try out new ideas. In this case, the band and the record label (no surprise…it was Rykodisc) totally got what I was trying to do here. It was, in the words of the immortal Frank Zappa “conceptual continuity!”

STEVE OLSON “Conversations” and “The Ruthless Shapes of Paradise”

I love working with jazz musicians. Maybe it’s the way they’re wired — pre-disposed to experimentation, risk-taking and collaboration. Most musicians I’ve worked with tend to be that way as well, but the jazz guys are always open to out-of-the-box thinking. And, maybe, it’s that I’ve been especially happy with the jazz covers I’ve designed through the process.

Steve Olson is a Baltimore-area drummer and producer who reached out to me, as a fan of the Raising Sand artwork from the 2008 Robert Plant and Alison Krauss record. We’ve done two records together, and Steve has sent several other jazz musicians my way. Here’s the backstory on Steve’s two records, Conversations and The Ruthless Shapes of Paradise.

I did not know of Steve’s work, but he explained to me “the concept behind Conversations was intimate, one-on-one duos with other musicians.” His notes, included in the CD packaging, referenced “conversations, dialogue, and aural paintings.”

We looked at a lot of images, from a variety of styles and subject matter, and kept coming back to the cafe table and chairs. I believe Steve found it.

Below left is the original color version he presented me. I recently asked him what the image said to him. He responded:

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“To me, the close surroundings, and the chairs and table, imply that a very personal communication between two people either just occurred, or is about to. Or from the listener’s perspective, they are about to have that conversation with the musicians, or eavesdrop on one.”

I definitely concurred that this image addressed all of those things. I LOVED the colors in the original, but felt it wasn’t quite right. I thought maybe the colors were too strong and wanted to simplify it, to zero in on just the image itself, so I drained all of the color and pushed the contrast to make it even more monochromatic. Now, it spoke to me. 

I also cropped the shot to two chairs, instead of the three, with one of those two also cropped out of the photo, and putting more focus on the one with its “back” to the viewer. This, combined with the starkness, gave the composition a bit of mystery… an edge. It felt like “unfinished” business to me. Did we interrupt something, rather than simply eavesdrop? Like great music or lyrics, I find things much more interesting where there are multiple possibilities, leaving that final assumption to the viewer/listener. Finally, I used very simple and strong type so that emphasis is left focused on the table and chairs.

We next worked together on, The Ruthless Shapes of Paradise, a trio featuring Steve accompanied by Denman Maroney on “hyperpiano," and Oscar Noriega on alto saxophone and bass clarinet.

Steve is a huge fan of Mark Rothko, and had hopes of licensing one of his pieces of art for this project, but that proved economically challenging. What was it, I wondered, about Rothko’s art that attracted the drummer, and why was that a starting point for this project visually? 

Olson explains: “I’ve loved Rothko’s work since I first saw it decades ago, long before I was a musician. Much of this recording was inspired by the music, and esthetic, of composer Morton Feldman, who was a close friend of Rothko’s. Their art was intertwined in the 1940s and ‘50s. So I knew right away that I wanted a Rothko-esque visual to go along with the Feldman-esque music.”

Luckily, I found a wealth of Rothko-inspired artwork that did fit our budget. I focused on the word “Ruthless” in the title; that word, to me, was very angry…very hot. Following that lead, I weeded out any works that had muted colors or earth tones. I also focused on pieces that were more shapeless, with space and breathing room, than Rothko’s more grid-oriented work.

I adjusted and pushed the colors to create a palette I felt represented all of the above, and utilized a single piece of art for the additional panels, changing only the color. I again utilized a simple typeface, less as conscious branding, but rather as a nod to the simplicity and effectiveness as those classic Blue Note and, especially ECM, covers.

So. Did we find Rothko, space, art, and music?

“Very much so. The cover depicts openness, possibility, yet also purpose and possible directions. Exactly the same as the music,” concludes Olson.

Now…about that title…

“I stole the phrase from a biography of composer Morton Feldman. The writer used it to describe Feldman’s music. I just loved the turn of phrase, and thought it nicely described both the joy and pain of creating art.”

Jazz cats…they’re a special breed.