Go2 Kontroversy

Yesterday in Southwold, I happened upon a CD Fair. That was pretty much the rest of the afternoon written off!



Trawling through the 1960s section, I found some Kinks. Owning only Something Else and Village Green Preservation Society on CD, and a greatest hits compilation, I snapped up The Kink Kontroversy. And what a great record it is.

However, music aside, the back sleeve was intriguing. At first glance it is standard fair for a 60s release. Title, track listing and blurb about the band.



But on closer inspection the copy involves a lot of humour which mocks the band—such as bemoaning poor Pete for singing on Till The End Of The Day—which I thought was quite brave for 1965.



Then, as I read the Michael Aldred penned piece about the band, I got the feeling that it seemed somewhat familiar.



After a few minutes I worked out what it reminded me of; XTC's sleeve for Go2 (below), by Hipgnosis. I have always considered this sleeve to be an ironic postmodern masterpiece, in terms of sleeve design, and further to this, I had also previously thought of it as being completely original. Now I'm wondering whether I'm right in that assumption. Not that this new knowledge changes my view of the brilliance of Go2, everyone has to get their inspiration from somewhere, and Hipgnosis developed the concept much further and took it to its logical conclusion.

Compare the two pieces and make up your own mind about whether the 1978 post-punk classic below is indebted to the 1965 mod original above. (Click on images for larger view).

Stoned

I got the new Roots Manuva CD, 4everevolution, through the post today and was immediately struck by the track listing on the reverse.



From the photographs I'd previously seen of the cover, I hadn't realised that what I was looking at was a real stone carving. However, this is clearly the case seeing the reverse. Stone carving is very beautiful when done well, and the type here demonstrates that. I was also drawn to the fact that the process is on display. Rather than seeing the finished article, we get the see the sketching—the marking out—before the chisel has finished all its strokes and the chalk is washed away.



On the inner sleeve the demonstration of process is continued with the stone that forms the front cover shown in the studio of stone carver Jim Kirby.



Designed by Oscar & Ewan, this theme is followed through into the CD booklet, where Rodney Smith's (Roots Manuva) own process is on show, that of his handwritten lyrics. Roots has always been a great wordsmith, twisting words and syllables to fit his dub and hip hop hybrid rhythms, and I've often wondered how he writes. Whether these are first drafts or rewrites is not known, but that doesn't matter. In both stone carving and in Smith's lyrics, we are actually seeing the hand of the artist and that brings a human resonance to fore in this ultra digital age. And while Kirby's hand is literally set in stone, Smith's is formed on paper to later be recorded and evolve into some form of cultural permanence through the tunes we hear as listeners that get lodged in our minds.

It's rare that a CD sleeve provokes so much thought in my mind before I've even heard it. I'm looking forward to getting to know this piece of work if initial impressions are anything to go by.

Links:
Oscar & Ewan
Jim Kirby

R.I.P Alex Steinweiss

Alex Steinweiss, Columbia Records

Despite the fact that I trawl design blogs daily, I seem to have missed the announcement that Alex Steinweiss died earlier this month.

Steinweiss has been dubbed by many as the originator of Album Art. This seems to do him some disservice in my mind. He didn't just come up with the concept of putting images on plain cardboard record sleeves, he produced some very beautiful images that were effectively evocative of the recordings they accompanied. In doing so he spawned an art form in its own right. We can never truly know whether there would have been no Saville, Garrett, Hipgnosis, Bubbles, Oliver et al without Steinweiss, although I think the majority of graphic designers (and music fans) can agree that we owe the man a great debt.

I've mentioned in posts here before that if it wasn't for record sleeves I wouldn't have become a graphic designer. One of the first pieces of artwork I did that I can call 'graphic design' was a mock sleeve for a Clash song in an art O' level class. Then, before doing a degree, what kept my visual creativity going while working in the print trade and through bouts of unemployment was doing artwork for bands I was involved in—cassette sleeves, record sleeves and gig posters became a hobby that I enjoyed more than actually being in a band. I was able to produce something that was tangible, and that had a direct applied link to another form of creativity. This gave me a bigger buzz than standing on a stage shouting at people. Many others have said similar things and I've lost count of the number of interviews I've read with graphic designers who cite record sleeves as their primary inspiration for deciding to pick up a pencil or mouse.

So it is with great sadness to hear the passing of Alex Steinweiss. Not because we won't see anymore of his work, he'd done with the record industry sometime in the 1950s, citing that his imagery didn't work for Rock 'n' Roll. We should mourn his passing because he was an innovator, because he bought us many fantastic record sleeves, and because his influence lives on through others.

Links:
Alex Steinweiss website
Interview with Alex Steinweiss, Eye Magazine
NYT obituary

No surprises

Luckily my King Of Limbs package, the latest physical release from Radiohead, wasn't damaged by being left in the sun all day by our local postie. I had to resist ripping the wrapping off to see if the vinyl was warped as soon as I rescued it from my doorstep and got it through the door. I resisted because I wanted to get some photographs of the unveiling, as I had avoided reading any blog posts about it and I didn't know what to expect.

Thankfully the 10" discs weren't warped, but the packaging was pretty conventional, so overall, no major surprises. That said, the artwork generally didn't disappoint. But then Stanley Donwood rarely does in my opinion. From the paintings and drawings that adorn the record sleeves themselves, along with the screen printed CD sleeve on uncoated cardboard, to the newspaper accompaniment filled with more drawings, paintings, random text and photographs (newspaper not pictured), it is a package to be pored over. And like all great album art, one that needs to be pored over while listening to the album as an accompaniment to the music. In fact, you have to play the record several times through in order to do the artwork justice, considering that King Of Limbs is a relatively short recording, and the artwork is pretty extensive. The promise of the first ever 'newspaper album' in press releases many months ago, long before the physical release was available, unfortunately proves to be a let down, or rather it doesn't live up to what my imagination conjured up of what that could have truly meant. But that is a minor point, and that was marketing after all, (sucker).

That said, there is one disappointing aspect of the whole, and that is the inclusion of the acid tab style sheet of icons.

The reason this feels like such a let down is not because of the item itself, but because it is so incongruous to the rest of the concept. It feels like a last minute idea. One that someone felt just had to be included regardless of whether it aesthetically worked with the rest of the package. Unfortunately it breaks the tone of voice of the whole. It is rare that Stanley Donwood appears to have a moment of insecurity about what he does, either in his own work or for his Radiohead commissions. However, that is exactly what this feels like, a last minute addition, included incase people felt they weren't getting their monies worth. Personally I think it would have been better to keep it for its own purpose rather than for it to be shoehorned into another. Otherwise, why not throw in a pack of stickers as well, a few badges, and how about a Radiohead patch to sew onto denim jackets?

You don't have to be Prince

In a less than regular feature highlighting the album sleeves currently residing in the Album Art frames on my landing, I've just recently been up in the loft to choose 3 new LP sleeves to showcase there, and here. This is my current selection:

According to Andrew Sherman's blog, Age Of Chance did three things right:
1 they wore cycling clothes,
2 their artwork was done by the fledgling Designers Republic,
3 they did a great cover version of Prince's Kiss.

I have to agree with all three. Looking somewhat dated now, (see video for Kiss below), it is impossible to gauge the reaction I had to seeing them live at Essex University in 1986, as I was just starting to pick up on hip hop, sampling and ironic intent in music. They went a little too pop for me later on in their short lived career, toning down some of the sonic guitar frequencies they were keen on dropping into the middle of their songs and polishing up their drum sound. I liked the fact that rawness and technology gave them an industrial bite to their hybrid pop sensibilities.

All very 1980s. If you wonder what Wolff Olins researched in order to design the 2012 olympics logo, then I think you'll find a few pointers in that video.

On the subject of Designers Republic, for whom Age Of Chance were one of their first clients, they have an exhibition coming up in Croyden. Details here.

PS—Since my last post on Album Art frames, the Wire triptych of Pink Flag, Chairs Missing and 154 have been displayed. These regular favourites will return and I'll post about them then.