Worst looking CD/LP artwork

[71 dB]

It takes a special kind of mind to look at that and say "Yep, this is it! This is the cover art we are going to use for this release!"   

[pjme]

Nice & nostalgic design. Would have made a great/better cd cover.....A style that was popular in the fifties. Brussels had the 1958 "EXPO" , with the Atomium as central eye-catcher.

Tempus fugit.....

[aukhawk]

A drawing compass, I assume. You didn't use one in school?

Those are dividers.  They come in pairs, like trousers, or virginals.

[JBS]

I have this CD, and have never been able to figure out why they're posing with fluorescent ceiling lights.

I assume they were battery powered, since there's no sign of external power source.

(H/T @André )

[Irons]

I have this CD, and have never been able to figure out why they're posing with fluorescent ceiling lights.

I assume they were battery powered, since there's no sign of external power source.

(H/T @André )

Perhaps they are fans of Star Wars.

[71 dB]

I have this CD, and have never been able to figure out why they're posing with fluorescent ceiling lights.

I assume they were battery powered, since there's no sign of external power source.

(H/T @André )

This artwork could actually look cool if they were in an otherwise dark room those ceiling lights being the only source of light. Also, the font and the large caps between the letters don't work here.

[Madiel]

While I can understand finding it strange, for me it barely registers by the standards of this thread.

[JBS]

This artwork could actually look cool if they were in an otherwise dark room those ceiling lights being the only source of light. Also, the font and the large caps between the letters don't work here.

The font and the other aspects of the lettering are the same on all their Erato CDs.

[71 dB]

The font and the other aspects of the lettering are the same on all their Erato CDs.

That doesn't make it work in this instance!

[KevinP]

Sure, we may be at the point where 'Well that's an odd juxtaposition' shouldn't be synonymous with 'worst' or even 'bad' anymore, but...

[JBS]

Sure, we may be at the point where 'Well that's an odd juxtaposition' shouldn't be synonymous with 'worst' or even 'bad' anymore, but...

I assume it's meant to illustrate the "Schoolmaster" title, but the photo websites where the photo can be found (it dates to either 1950 or 1952) give no indication of who the man is, who the boys are, or what connection they might have.

I think this is the first cover image in the 2032 series not taken by a 21st century photographer.

[AnotherSpin]

Sure, we may be at the point where 'Well that's an odd juxtaposition' shouldn't be synonymous with 'worst' or even 'bad' anymore, but...

Nothing terrible here, just a gentle post-war moment of family teamwork. On a dusty rural road, a grinning grandfather, bundled in a coat and hat, lounges on a little Vespa while a small boy in sturdy clothes pushes with all his might, helping the old man start his bike, get to work if he's lucky, and bring home some bread. It's 1950s Italy in one quiet, humorous frame: scarce fuel, shared effort, and a child's proud contribution. Far from exploitation, it's tender and warmly human.

[DavidW]

Nothing terrible here, just a gentle post-war moment of family teamwork. On a dusty rural road, a grinning grandfather, bundled in a coat and hat, lounges on a little Vespa while a small boy in sturdy clothes pushes with all his might, helping the old man start his bike, get to work if he's lucky, and bring home some bread. It's 1950s Italy in one quiet, humorous frame: scarce fuel, shared effort, and a child's proud contribution. Far from exploitation, it's tender and warmly human.

I'm starting to think this thread is for extremely literal people who don't understand cover art and have no interest in something being aesthetically pleasing for its own sake.

[AnotherSpin]

I'm starting to think this thread is for extremely literal people who don't understand cover art and have no interest in something being aesthetically pleasing for its own sake.

By the way, in the extensive booklet for this album in the Haydn 2032 series there are several more photographs by the same photographer, David Seymour.

[JBS]

By the way, in the extensive booklet for this album in the Haydn 2032 series there are several more photographs by the same photographer, David Seymour.

That's their standard practice: a single photographer for each installment. The only difference would seem to be that for the first time the photographer was not active during the last 25 years (unless Seymour had a career that lasted from the early 1950s through some point after 2000).

[AnotherSpin]

That's their standard practice: a single photographer for each installment. The only difference would seem to be that for the first time the photographer was not active during the last 25 years (unless Seymour had a career that lasted from the early 1950s through some point after 2000).

David Seymour was killed in Egypt in 1956. One of his early-1950s photographs shows Arturo Toscanini at home in Milan:

[Number Six]

I have this CD, and have never been able to figure out why they're posing with fluorescent ceiling lights.

I assume they were battery powered, since there's no sign of external power source.

(H/T @André )

In pro rasslin, there is a format called Light Tube Match. Light tubes will be hung around the ring for the wrestlers to use them as weapons. And use them they do!

Maybe these folks are actually a tag team ready for a light tube match?