Worst looking CD/LP artwork

[Peter Power Pop]

I love this thread ..

Me too. The responses are making me laugh. A lot.

[Peter Power Pop]

[asin]B00MR4FR8M[/asin]

Golly. That is one unflattering photo.

[TheGSMoeller]

Golly. That is one unflattering photo.

I think I sat next to him in high school, he was always so uninterested in class. 

Plus they have Vasily seated so his body seems to expand as it gets lower, looks frumpy.

[Peter Power Pop]

I think Tharaud tried to do a little better in this one but it didn't quite work out.

He looks like the typical white-guy-with-no-rhythm.... and it's a "swing" album---- oy vey!!!!! Classical guys aren't usually known for their rhythmic freedom----

yes- all the pics are ghastly poor guy

The way Alexandre's hands are positioned, it looks to me like he's holding an imaginary clarinet. I reckon someone could easily come to the conclusion that this is a clarinetist's album. (Random Prospective Album Buyer: "Is Rhapsody in Blue on it?")

[Peter Power Pop]

[asin]B00MR4FR8M[/asin]

Golly. That is one unflattering photo.

I think I sat next to him in high school, he was always so uninterested in class. 

Plus they have Vasily seated so his body seems to expand as it gets lower, looks frumpy.

That'd be due to the unfortunate arm position.

And what is he doing with his hands? Does he have hands?

[TheGSMoeller]

That'd be due to the unfortunate arm position.

And what is he doing with his hands? Does he have hands?

No hands. And from his expression, possibly no life or energy left.

[Peter Power Pop]

And another unhelpful photo of Alexandre:



Don't photographers like him?

My first thought:

Brilliant!

Here's Alexandre at home:

[Peter Power Pop]

[asin]B00MR4FR8M[/asin]

Golly. That is one unflattering photo.

I think I sat next to him in high school, he was always so uninterested in class. 

Plus they have Vasily seated so his body seems to expand as it gets lower, looks frumpy.

That'd be due to the unfortunate arm position.

And what is he doing with his hands? Does he have hands?

No hands. And from his expression, possibly no life or energy left.

A man who's given up.

I guess that's one of the perils of playing Shostakovich.

[Peter Power Pop]

I thought the original cover looked bad enough but this one just takes the cake:

Yuck.

The more I look at that cover, the more I find to not like about it.

1. Just how many fonts were used for the text on that cover? It's a mess.
2. "The Miraculous Mandarin" text tramples over "Bartók". Grrr.
3. The accent over the "o" in Bartók" has been pushed down so that it encroaches on the "o". Grrr.
4. Is that a one or a seven at the end of "Bartók"? And why is it so close the end of the name? It looks like it's a part of it (i.e., "Bartók1"). Grrr!
5. Iván's shadow looks a bit iffy to me. It looks like it was copied and pasted on to the image, rather than his actual shadow. Grrr I tell ya!
6. And the top and bottom of the diagonal lines for Béla's picture bothers me too. (There's plenty of "Grrr" to go around here.) I'd prefer it to begin at the corners, and extend to the other end of the cover, like so:




I think the other cover for the album is better, but not by much:

[ibanezmonster]

I think I sat next to him in high school, he was always so uninterested in class. 

With that in mind, I feel very similar to the guy now...

[Peter Power Pop]

[asin]B00MR4FR8M[/asin]

I think I sat next to him in high school, he was always so uninterested in class. 

With that in mind, I feel very similar to the guy now...

Don't give up! Things'll be fine! Don't listen to Shostakovich!

[Florestan]

If there was such a job as cover artwork critic, you guys would make the Hurwitzer look like the most amiable, gentle and tolerant person in the world. 

[EigenUser]

Brilliant!

Here's Alexandre at home:

He needs to record the Ligeti piano concerto (or, at least some of the Etudes) and use my modified cover as the cover art. I think it would be a good fit.

[Peter Power Pop]

And another unhelpful photo of Alexandre:



Don't photographers like him?

My first thought:

He needs to record the Ligeti piano concerto (or, at least some of the Etudes) and use my modified cover as the cover art. I think it would be a good fit.

Yep.

[Pat B]

My first thought:

Thank you.

[Madiel]

I can't say I see anything wrong with the Petrenko cover. Sure, it's not glamorous but I don't think it's supposed to be. It's late Shostakovich, for heavens' sake.

The Tharaud pictures on the other hand... oh dear. The best explanation as to why the record company might have gone for a bull's head instead is (1) well, it does say the French for "beef" on the cover, which google translate tells me also means "jam session"**, and (2) they finally gave up trying to photograph their pianist.

**Seriously, PPP, translate the covers! Every time you say "why" I spend a couple of minutes with Google and come up with a completely plausible reason.

[Pat B]

I can't say I see anything wrong with the Petrenko cover. Sure, it's not glamorous but I don't think it's supposed to be. It's late Shostakovich, for heavens' sake.

I'd go further and say all of those Petrenko Shostakovich covers are well above average for Naxos.

This thread has become not very fun.

[Peter Power Pop]

I can't say I see anything wrong with the Petrenko cover. Sure, it's not glamorous but I don't think it's supposed to be. It's late Shostakovich, for heavens' sake.

The Tharaud pictures on the other hand... oh dear. The best explanation as to why the record company might have gone for a bull's head instead is (1) well, it does say the French for "beef" on the cover, which google translate tells me also means "jam session"**, and (2) they finally gave up trying to photograph their pianist.

**Seriously, PPP, translate the covers! Every time you say "why" I spend a couple of minutes with Google and come up with a completely plausible reason.

I understood the beef thing, but I'm a vegetarian, and the sight of an animal's head on a plate is, to say the least, off-putting. My "Why?" was along the lines of "Didn't the record company think there'd be people out there who might not enjoy seeing a photo of an animal's head on a plate?"

And are there flies buzzing around that head? (In the words of young people nowadays: "Ewww.")

[Mirror Image]

Yuck.

The more I look at that cover, the more I find to not like about it.

1. Just how many fonts were used for the text on that cover? It's a mess.
2. "The Miraculous Mandarin" text tramples over "Bartók". Grrr.
3. The accent over the "o" in Bartók" has been pushed down so that it encroaches on the "o". Grrr.
4. Is that a one or a seven at the end of "Bartók"? And why is it so close the end of the name? It looks like it's a part of it (i.e., "Bartók1"). Grrr!
5. Iván's shadow looks a bit iffy to me. It looks like it was copied and pasted on to the image, rather than his actual shadow. Grrr I tell ya!
6. And the top and bottom of the diagonal lines for Béla's picture bothers me too. (There's plenty of "Grrr" to go around here.) I'd prefer it to begin at the corners, and extend to the other end of the cover, like so:




I think the other cover for the album is better, but not by much:

Pretty much my sentiments about the cover design. Looks like a third grader created it. I'm glad I bought the box of Fischer's Bartok:



This cover is a million times better than any of the covers from the original releases and the reissues.

[Peter Power Pop]

I'd go further and say all of those Petrenko Shostakovich covers are well above average for Naxos.

Well, they make a change from the standard, we've-always-done-it-this-way Naxos cover (i.e., white with some text and a rectangular image).

This thread has become not very fun.

Maybe you preferred the covers when they were mind-blowingly, indescribably indescribable, like...









They're the first four covers on Classic FM's list of "The worst classical album covers ever".

I'm very pleased to say that one of my recent CD purchases made the list (at number 6):



Woohoo!