Pretty self-explanatory
VonOfterdingen
Posts: 462 Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2004 3:28 pm
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by VonOfterdingen » Tue May 25, 2004 1:59 am
EC always got a great art-work on the front sleeve of an album, these 3 a better than the others though.
1. Almost Blue
2. Armed Forces (the elephant one)
3. Blood and Chocolate
They are all a perfect match with the songs and the titles are nicely connected to the cover.
Punch the Clock gotta be an all time low (cover-wise only
)
I'm not buying my share of souvenirs
daybreaker
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by daybreaker » Tue May 25, 2004 2:03 am
I would have to go with:
1. King of America
2. Trust
3. Imperial Bedroom
Branst
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by Branst » Tue May 25, 2004 3:37 am
1. Imperial Bedroom
2. Blood & Chocolate
3. Get Happy!!
Danny
Posts: 82 Joined: Sat Jun 28, 2003 5:15 am
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by Danny » Tue May 25, 2004 5:12 am
The best ones for me are:
This Year's Model (classic, iconic image of Elvis, which also really sums up the new-wave look, and the punk/post-punk obsession with fashion)
King Of America (serious yet hilarious portrait - can't read that expression at all! The cropping/lighting is perfect.)
Spike (great joke - his first record for Warners, and he's hung on the boardroom wall, as though they've 'bagged' him. And it's a "what's all this about?" image that really draws you in)
The worst ones for me are:
Imperial Bedroom (boring, 80s looking Picasso rip-off)
Punch The Clock (Apallingly dated 80s design - like a 1983 cover of Smash Hits)
Armed Forces (such a terrible painting - but maybe that's the point, and I'm too literal to see it!)
Juliet Letters (Worthy tableau that sums up a worthy, though valiant, effort)
Bob And Charlotte
Posts: 344 Joined: Fri Mar 19, 2004 2:02 pm
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by Bob And Charlotte » Tue May 25, 2004 7:14 am
01. Armed Forces (the original one. the other is just a bad painting)
02. This Years Model (Classic Costello 'pose')
03. Trust
Worst ones:
01. Punch the clock
02. Goodbye cruel world
03. Spike
norman brain
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Location: Greenville, NC USA
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by norman brain » Tue May 25, 2004 8:26 am
MY AIM IS TRUE- A classic and you can spot it from a mile- the pigeon-toed stance and "Elvis is King" checkered backdrop-instant history!
GET HAPPY!! - Bright orange and blue, '60s party album design, and the "pre-worn" label ring on the cover to represent the record's aging through use was a brilliant idea.
ARMED FORCES- I actually favor the U.S. cover, the "splattered paint" look is kinda psychedelic!
migdd
Posts: 3009 Joined: Sun Jun 22, 2003 6:16 pm
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by migdd » Tue May 25, 2004 8:34 am
KING OF AMERICA - Can't beat that great photo!
MIGHTY LIKE A ROSE - Great color scheme with bearded EC protruding from the darkness!
NORTH - Even if you're not a fan of the album you have to admit NORTH has a beautifully composed cover. Back cover leaves a lot to be desired, though!
WORST- Punch the Clock, Goodbye Cruel World, Out of Our Idiot (does this one count since it's a compilation?)
Danny
Posts: 82 Joined: Sat Jun 28, 2003 5:15 am
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by Danny » Tue May 25, 2004 10:03 am
Oh gawd, if we're counting compilations, then Out Of Our Idiot takes the biscuit!
And, yeah, North is a beautiful cover, you're right!
wehitandrun
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by wehitandrun » Tue May 25, 2004 12:31 pm
Haha, oh man, I just mentioned this in another thread.
001. Goodbye Cruel World
002. This Year's Model
003. Imperial Bedroom
EDIT: I always thought Punch The Clock would be his best album cover if it had the picture that they put on the RYKODISC CD. Such a great image.
I always hated the Get Happy!! cover, until I realized it is the laying-down-wearing-the-classic-peacoat image of him flipped upside down. I love that picture, it should have just been the cover.
so lacklustre
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by so lacklustre » Tue May 25, 2004 2:22 pm
signed with love and vicious kisses
wehitandrun
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by wehitandrun » Tue May 25, 2004 3:38 pm
Aw, I wish I thought of that.
Jackson Monk
Posts: 1919 Joined: Fri Sep 19, 2003 4:33 pm
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by Jackson Monk » Wed May 26, 2004 12:51 am
Yep SLL........the Trust cover wins hands down.....sooooo cool.
2.Spike
3.MLAR
corruptio optimi pessima
pip_52
Posts: 638 Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 10:45 am
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by pip_52 » Wed May 26, 2004 12:06 pm
This Year's Model
Trust
My Aim Is True
girl out of time
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by girl out of time » Wed May 26, 2004 4:11 pm
n°1: (a tie) this year´s model-brutal youth
n°2: almost blue
n°3: kojak variety
...the promise of indulgence in my confidential voice approached inmortal danger but you´ll never know how close....
wehitandrun
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by wehitandrun » Wed May 26, 2004 4:38 pm
My favorite soulseek friend!
brutal youth! classic.
Kojak Variety is unexpected, it is a clever cover though.
clairequilty
Posts: 237 Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2004 6:22 pm
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by clairequilty » Wed May 26, 2004 6:26 pm
1. Hands down This Years Model.
2. Trust
3. Get Happy (Elvis lying in a gutter)
When I was Cruel was also interesting.
Blood and Chocolate one of my least favorite. When I think of the wonderful content of the album, I NEVER think of the cover.
wehitandrun
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by wehitandrun » Wed May 26, 2004 6:42 pm
Trust is probably my least favorite. I'm surprised at how many people have chosen it as their favorite.
I agree on Blood and Chocolate, claire.
clairequilty
Posts: 237 Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2004 6:22 pm
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by clairequilty » Wed May 26, 2004 7:14 pm
Trust was kind of "knee jerk" on my part.
It does though, somehow, represent the EC iconoclastic vison of Elvis as the post modern punk, in all his infinite glory.
I think that the cover of GCW is, in a strange drunken way (only because I'm drunk), revealing. Whereas Who's Next (the obvious homage here) was a territorial pissing on the monolith of society, I somehow think that the Attractions were pissing on their own album with GCW, while dispersing quietly.
Don't get me wrong, though, I thoroughly embrace GCW, in spite of sniffing Daryll Halls big hair.
wehitandrun
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by wehitandrun » Wed May 26, 2004 9:33 pm
I really didn't even get its references to Who's Next.
I just thought it was really really cool .
clairequilty
Posts: 237 Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2004 6:22 pm
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by clairequilty » Wed May 26, 2004 10:41 pm
wehitandrun wrote: I really didn't even get its references to Who's Next.
I just thought it was really really cool .
Neither did I, WHAR. I make this shit up as I go along. For all I know he was referencing Cheech aand Chong.
I still like the record though.
King Hoarse
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by King Hoarse » Mon May 31, 2004 5:20 pm
Top:
1. Trust
2. All This Useless Beauty
3. My Aim Is True
Bottom:
For The Stars
Cruel Smile
The Best Of Elvis Costello - The Man (funniest title, though)
clairequilty
Posts: 237 Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2004 6:22 pm
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by clairequilty » Tue Jun 01, 2004 3:11 pm
King Hoarse wrote: ...
The Best Of Elvis Costello - The Man (funniest title, though)
"The Man" was a necessary Copyright addition, if I recall, to distinguish the singer from "Elvis Costello - The Chewing Gum", which is awful by the way.
wehitandrun
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by wehitandrun » Tue Jun 01, 2004 3:12 pm
I know you didn't just call "Chewing Gum" awful!!!!!
clairequilty
Posts: 237 Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2004 6:22 pm
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by clairequilty » Tue Jun 01, 2004 3:17 pm
wehitandrun wrote: I know you didn't just call "Chewing Gum" awful!!!!!
It depends on what you're referring to.
Chewing Gum - The Song? Chewing Gum - The Man? or Chewing Gum, the rubbery saliva-layden substance that ultimate ends up on our shoes.
As for the song, I love it. One of my favorite guitar solos in a Costello composition!