Worst looking CD/LP artwork

[Wendell_E]

Better to quote the original, than have a picture from a modern, updated production that no one would ever guess was Mozart's opera.  Unoriginal, certainly, but hardly a candidate for "worst" looking.

[Jo498]

The Schinkel is a classic, but man, it's been overused in the last 200 years. I'd still call those decent covers, not bad looking ones.
Probably the non-magic-flute-ones play with the "Nachtmusik" - Queen of Night/Starry Sky association.

[Moonfish]

One more....   

But why is this in this thread? I think the painting is a fantastic piece of art/cover! 

[kishnevi]

Harmonia Mundi used a variation for the Jacobs recording.

But Abbado's recording, which uses the same point as seen in the production it was associated with, does belong here.

[Peter Power Pop]

Better to quote the original, than have a picture from a modern, updated production that no one would ever guess was Mozart's opera.  Unoriginal, certainly, but hardly a candidate for "worst" looking.

One more....   

But why is this in this thread? I think the painting is a fantastic piece of art/cover! 

I agree.

Sorry about putting the artwork (and my grumble about its ubiquity) in this thread. I honestly couldn't think of where else it would go on the forum.

My complaint wasn't about the painting per se, but about how it's been devalued courtesy of overuse (like the Mona Lisa appearing on tea towels), and the lack of imagination shown by record companies (or to be more accurate, their graphic design divisions).

Sudden Realisation: It didn't occur to me until just now that I could have started a new thread. But I'm not a "could have" kind of guy, so here it is.

Oh, and thanks, Moonfish, for the image. That's going on the pile.

[Brian]

We do have a thread called Same cover - different disc!

[Peter Power Pop]

We do have a thread called Same cover - different disc!

Oops.

Thanks, Brian.

I wonder if I can migrate my posts over to there. (Or maybe some kind forum moderator can do it for me.)

Update: Done, done, and done.

[Peter Power Pop]

We do have a thread called Same cover - different disc!

I've put the posts on that thread. Here are their new homes:

Karl Friedrich Schinkel's Die Zauberflöte backdrop used for umpteen album covers:



Jean Delville's painting, The Angel of Splendour, used for five album covers:



Jean Delville's painting, Satan's Treasures, used for two album covers:

[Peter Power Pop]

Back to the topic of "worst artwork"...

Is this cover real?



It is.

This is the album.

The painting is Gabrielle d'Estrées et une de ses sœurs (Gabrielle d'Estrées and one of her sisters), by an anonymous artist:



What I want to know is: Why on Earth did the graphic design folks at Decca choose a nipple tweak for an album cover?

What's even more baffling is that the nipple tweak is for the music of Sibelius and Elgar. Huh?

Is Decca saying the conductor Pierre Monteux is "a bit of a tit"?

What's going on here?

Any clues would be mighty appreciated, because that cover is doing my head in.

[mn dave]

 

[Peter Power Pop]

And in the "Unflattering Photo Of A Conductor" department:



AllMusic
Amazon.co.uk
Buywell
Fish Fine Music
iTunes
MusicWeb International

[Peter Power Pop]

And in the "Unflattering Photo Of A Conductor" department:

Here are some decent photos of Eduard van Beinum:


("The note my right hand played on my invisible piano was A-OK.")



("My invisible baton is this long.")



("The darnedest thing just happened. I was hugging her, and she simply disappeared.")

[Ken B]

Back to the topic of "worst artwork"...

Is this cover real?



It is.

This is the album.

The painting is Gabrielle d'Estrées et une de ses sœurs (Gabrielle d'Estrées and one of her sisters), by an anonymous artist:



What I want to know is: Why on Earth did the graphic design folks at Decca choose a nipple tweak for an album cover?

What's even more baffling is that the nipple tweak is for the music of Sibelius and Elgar. Huh?

Is Decca saying the conductor Pierre Monteux is "a bit of a tit"?

What's going on here?

Any clues would be mighty appreciated, because that cover is doing my head in.

So you're saying it's an enigma ...

[Peter Power Pop]

So you're saying it's an enigma ...

Noooooooooo!

[Peter Power Pop]

And in the "Unflattering Photo Of A Conductor" department:



AllMusic
Amazon.co.uk
Buywell
Fish Fine Music
iTunes
MusicWeb International

Here are some decent photos of Eduard van Beinum:


("The note my right hand played on my invisible piano was A-OK.")



("My invisible baton is this long.")



("The darnedest thing just happened. I was hugging her, and she simply disappeared.")

Dude likes that shirt.

Or the photographer was snap-happy at that session. ("Look, I have 257 photos of the maestro. How many would you like?")

[Peter Power Pop]

I must admit that I'm not keen on this cover at all:





I like butterflies, but I don't like them attacking people.


I first saw the cover in this post over at the ~ French Baroque ~ thread.  Thanks to Gordo, who posted it there. But no thanks to the graphic designers who thought of that cover.


(Album details at Deutsche Grammophon)

[ZauberdrachenNr.7]

I must admit that I'm not keen on this cover at all:





I like butterflies, but I don't like them attacking people.


I first saw the cover in this post over at the ~ French Baroque ~ thread.  Thanks to Gordo, who posted it there. But no thanks to the graphic designers who thought of that cover.


(Album details at Deutsche Grammophon)

I like it - for sure it doesn't meet the 'worst-looking' qualification for this thread. It's also superbly metaphorical, formally and thematically.  The blindfold (in line with the form of the work, masquelike), suggests one cannot know the future, thus evoking the theme of Caldara's work, astrology "the harmony of the planets" and there are 15 butterflies depicted, one for each of the colorful arias contained in the work. 

[North Star]

Dude likes that shirt.

Those photos are clearly from the same occasion.

[North Star]

And I was clearly being sarcastic.

Sorry, I must have forgotten to switch my detector on. 

[Peter Power Pop]

I like it - for sure it doesn't meet the 'worst-looking' qualification for this thread. It's also superbly metaphorical, formally and thematically.  The blindfold (in line with the form of the work, masquelike), suggests one cannot know the future, thus evoking the theme of Caldara's work, astrology "the harmony of the planets" and there are 15 butterflies depicted, one for each of the colorful arias contained in the work.

Unfortunately, all of that symbolism is lost on me. All I see is a woman being attacked by butterflies.

It reminds me of...

https://www.youtube.com/v/YWnxqUfRJTA