Album Covers Pre-1990 vs Post-1990

Which era of album covers do you prefer?

  • Pre-1990 (LP era)

    Votes: 6 75.0%
  • Post-1990 (CD era)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Mix

    Votes: 2 25.0%

  • Total voters
    8

tomswift2002

Well-Known Member
i was just wondering, when it comes to album covers, do you prefer album covers that were made prior to the 90’s in the major LP era, or since 1990 in the major CD/digital era?

If so why? For example, if you prefer covers from pre-1990, is it because they were designed for the larger LP format and were more intricately designed than covers from the CD era?
 
I think almost every music fan (of a certain age) misses the large LP format for covers. Of course a lot of today's albums come out on vinyl too, so the art form hasn't really been lost.

I think, as far as "album cover art" goes, older covers were maybe more interesting from an artwork standpoint because they were done by hand, where a lot of the artwork you see today is computer-aided. But there are awesome examples from any era.

I like the bigger size of LP covers, but I still get the same thrill opening a new CD when I discover a well-designed package inside...especially if it's a release I wasn't expecting anything special with the package. (The album I'm Not Me by Mick Fleetwood's Zoo was a good example...it was not a hit record by any means, yet the reissue CD that just came out a couple years ago had a really nice package with multi-page booklet, lyrics and an essay about the album.) And, if it's a major release that warrants a "deluxe-ish" page, I get the same letdown when I find a minimal package that I used to get when I'd open an LP and find one of those plain white sleeves with the hole in the middle inside, and nothing else.
 
LP covers I find are a lot more preferable over CDs. Especially if you look at album covers in the 50s and 60s, there would often be a lot of information on each track, or even an essay about the album, printed on the back. Sometimes there would be a humorous note (like Peter Sellers' track-by-track rundown of the Pink Panther LP), or one popular artist writing album notes for another. In the CD era, this would have to be hidden inside.

LP covers were also like an art form with a 12-inch canvas. ECM Records featured a subdued style of art for their covers. CTi featured the photography of Pete Turner in a cover layout designed by Sam Antupit. Many photographers made their mark photographing album covers. There were also variations on album covers where they were die cut in various ways. Some had an embossed feel, like a book. For some LPs, the innersleeves were an additional 12-inch canvas, while with others (especially early in the LP era) it served as a means of advertising other releases on the label. LPs occasionally contained posters inside. A small number of LP releases today will include the CD version of the record inside.

And who can forget slitting the shrink wrap to open a new LP? :D

The way my eyesight is now, reading CD covers is frustrating even with reading glasses, not to mention very poor choices in colors that occasionally make it even more difficult. With jewel cases, everything is limited to a booklet. Digi-paks at least can unfold into something different, and box sets often have clever packaging as well. A Mini LP format is kind of a neat throwback but on the other hand, most of those I have do not have any type of liner notes, and if they are reproductions of LP covers, they are similarly impossible to read.
 
I was just looking at some of my LP’s today, and it’s amazing how some of the covers could suck me into the scene. One was a 5-LP Reader’s Digest set by RCA called “An Old-Fashioned Christmas” that featured a painted image of a family hanging out around the Christmas Tree on Christmas Eve in a room in possible a Victorian house with green/gold-1920’s style wallpaper meeting white chair rails, with Grandma & Grandpa looking out the window at the falling snow and laughing. Mom (who’s already in her nightgown and housecoat), who is sitting in a Victorian wing chair, and Dad, who is sitting on the floor, are on the other side of the tree by the fireplace talking about something, while the brother and sister are in front of the tree, with brother lying down looking at a book, and sister in a blue jumper skirt, on her knees about to put a present under the tree.

Judging by the clothing & hair styles, and the tree decorated in silver garland and icicles, I’m guessing that it’s from the 70’s (I can’t find a copyright date). But I remember when I saw it in a pawn shop a few years ago, it didn’t matter who was singing, the artwork just grabbed me and reminded me of Christmases long ago. I’ve never had that type of reaction to a CD box set (unless it was a set, like the Chipmunks Christmas where they reused the 60’s LP artwork) that was made since 1990.
 
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Oh gosh, it isn't even close. I would probably say even albums pre-1980 had better covers. The artwork, the content and context was well thought out. Of course, there were horrible covers also, but the imagination ran wild. I did always think that the album covers from the 1950's were not well thought out and sometimes were a disservice to the artist or group. Christmas covers seemed to have a little more pop than others. Happy Halloween.
 
We could probably do an entire "bad album covers" thread here. :D

I agree there were some covers that were, to put it mildly, uncomfortable to look at. The back side of Al Hirt's Honey In The Horn comes to mind. The lower right photo...what is that, mid heart attack? It looks worse in person--pretty sure there was sweat involved.

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One thing RCA cleverly did with many of their album covers in the 50s was give a hint to the music inside. It was at the top of the logo block on the front cover.

From Mancini's Music from Mr. Lucky:
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Rosemary Clooney and Perez Prado, A Touch of Tabasco:
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Tito Puente's Tambó:
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Bobby Troup's Stars of Jazz:
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