Reinhard
Luc wrote
Whats does a books cover matter? Its all about the content.
You are right, we should just be glad it comes in a CD box. Don't complain if the next one comes in a brown paper bag with "Clapton" written on it in ballpoint pen. ?
Tokai-SA
Reinhard wrote
Tokai SA wrote
Perhaps he doesn't want an unoriginal cover posing with a guitar looking like his 40 years old.
He could have got Annie Leibovitz to do a photo session, plastered his face with makeup to cover the wrinkles, gone the photoshop route and had an album cover that looked exactly the opposite to what he feels and looks like these days.
I think the cover sends us the message he wants to send, that he's an 'old sock' that likes hanging around on a Caribbean beach being lazy.
I buy Clapton albums without previewing any of the tracks, it's Clapton, I know it's great stuff.
If he puts his hands on a guitar I know whatever he plays will be magical.
I only had google image to work with ? An his recent pics didn't give me much to work with and I couldn't find any vacation/tropic/old dude chillin' pics either.
You did a great job, it looks very cool indeed. 8)
AlanRatcliffe
Tokai SA wrote
I think the cover sends us the message he wants to send, that he's an 'old sock' that likes hanging around on a Caribbean beach being lazy.
+1. I'm not a fan, but that seems obvious to me.
Old socks are scruffy, often unfashionable, but comfortable.
Bob-Dubery
Luc wrote
Whats does a books cover matter? Its all about the content.
Yes. A bum cover does not mean a bum album any more than impressive packaging guarantees great music.
Reinhard
It is still about presentation. The old sock, been around the block idea could just have been visualized better. It's like slapping a Datsun body on a Porsche chassis and saying "What are you complaining about, it still performs like sports car". And yes, before anyone says it, I know the visual aspect is more important in cars than album covers.
I'll admit it, I am a sucker for good/nice packaging.
singemonkey
It's not about whether he looks old and comfortable. It's the fact that the cover does not look professionally done. It's taken on a point and shoot or a phone camera in all likihood, in the harshest of light, and then they've used the most absurd font and surrounds. If it was done on purpose, the purpose was to make it look crappy. It's not a question of how Clapton feels. Either the graphic design was farmed out to a high-school kid, or they were intentionally trying to make it look ultra cheap-'n-cheerful for some reason.
Bob-Dubery
I think packaging can send a message, but I think Clapton doesn't have to worry about that particularly. He's not, at this stage of his career, needing or, I'd wager, particularly expecting to gain new fans. He's probably got a core of fans who will buy whatever he puts out anyway. His last few albums have not sold bus loads, and I doubt that new album sales are his greatest source of income anyway.
A bit like the Stones, I guess. They can charge massive sums for tickets to their live shows, but people, and especially young people with disposable income, are not going to queue around the block for the new Stones album.
I think the artwork looks shoddy (though I don't mind the actual photo that much) but I can't see it causing him much damage.
domhatch
well i, for one, couldn't give a damn what the cover looks like, i'm headed straight for the store to buy the album. certainly sounds intriguing - ten covers and two originals, or so. i hate missing out on something new from clapton, whether it be interpretations or original material. he's always been a big influence on me - he and knopfler are the biggest reasons i picked up a guitar in the first place, barring paul simon.
i'll let you know what it's like in about an hour.
dh
domhatch
dang. pre-order only on itunes. i thought the release date was 7 march.
guess that hour will have to stretch out a bit. the previews sound promising though.
dh
Bob-Dubery
domhatch wrote
dang. pre-order only on itunes. i thought the release date was 7 march.
Might be different release dates in different territories.
singemonkey
I think some people seem to be missing the point. No one's saying, "The artwork is crappy indicating that album is not worth having?" We're asking, "Why is the artwork so very, very, crappy for such a prominent artist?"
domhatch
the argument is then moot - there's no-one around to answer. we must just accept that crappy it is, and has no bearing on the music.
that said, packaging has been shown to have huge influence on purchase decisions. so it is a peculiar choice. then again, despite their peculiar packaging, millions put up and gaze upon posters of gaga, keef, bieber, gahan, manson (marilyn), etc.
it's a weird old world
dh
singemonkey
Mysteries are there to be solved, domhatch ? Even if you don't solve them entirely, they often take you on weird and wonderful journeys - far more exciting than the original mystery. ?
Bob-Dubery
A mystery, as regards record covers, is why Paul is barefoot and out of step. I've seen lots of albums with crap artwork and I can't fathom out if it's crap taste, lack of money, incompetence or some combination. But I don't waste a lot of time pondering it.
Oh... the other mystery is why Ian Anderson has 11 fingers (or, for Singemonkey, 2 thumbs and 9 fingers) on the cover of Stand Up
domhatch
i hear ya singe. but i agree with bob. i'd far rather concern myself with the actions of russia...
Tokai-SA
singemonkey wrote
"Why is the artwork so very, very, crappy for such a prominent artist?"
Well, the title "Old sock" is 'odd' in itself...the only title I can think of that would be more odd would be, "Old underpants".
Taking the crazy title and adding that to his 'smirk' in the cover photo, maybe he's stressing the point that he just doesn't give a "F".
Or maybe he wanted the cover to look like it was done by a school kid, perhaps thinking about his son and how his son would have designed the cover?
Arno-West
Ha ha ha! He looks like one of those pensioners that retired to Miami. The ones they always rip off in TV-Shows and Movies. Ha ha. What a chop.
Chabenda
Edited
Chabenda
There is a review and clip here
http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2013/Apr/Album_Review_Eric_Clapton_Old_Sock.aspx
There are some rather uncomplimentary comments at the bottom of the page too.
IceCreamMan
the reviews of this album have been pretty much in line with the album cover ....
