ALBUM COVERS:

I looked at some older album covers which I found inspirational.
I thought that these would be more insync with the quality that we would be able to achieve successfully, as many modern album covers are made very expensively.
I realised that many old album (or 'vinyl') covers used illustration and simple font:
The Doors - Weird Scenes Inside the Gold MineThis cover depicts the lead singer and his three other band members in what appears to be ink and watercolour. The cover connotes the hippy movement at the time, and the mellow and pretty sounds of The Doors.
Chet Atkins - In HollywoodThis album cover is a single photograph that has not been digitally altered yet still manages to look sophisticated and effective. The colours are co-ordinated (guitar, girl and building). The artist is not shown on the cover, but is replaced by an attractive female, which could act to attract the overly-male audience that listens to this particular artist.
Iron Butterfly - LIVEThis cover is extremly eyecatching. It depicts the bandmemebers in religious clothing, decorated with illustrated butterflies, roses, sparkle among many others - very feminine imagery. This acts as a contrast to the male figureheads of the band, who mostly are masculine men, complete with beards and moustaches. The cover has a sugary and collaged feel to it which seperates it from most band album covers.
Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass - Whipped Cream & Other DelightsThis is one of my favourite album covers. The colours are bright and zestly, the imagery orginal and eye-catching and the font original and funky. Whipped Cream sold over 6 million copies in the United States and the album cover alone is considered a classic pop culture icon. It features model Dolores Erickson wearing chiffon and shaving cream. This again is used by the male band members to draw the audience in, as it isn't actually them featured on the cover but someone much more beautiful.Robert Gordon - Rock Billy BoogieThis is a classic look for a 50s Rockabilly artist. The colours are themed in black, white and purple promoting a very iconic look. The artist is the main focus of the cover, in a classic 'Elvis' style stance. Marvin Gaye - LIVEThis cover is simple yet effective. The artist is clear, even repeated twice for dramatic effect, and the main focus of the cover. The colour theme is clear - a patriotic blue, red, and white. The font matches the blue, red and white sparkle of Gaye's clothing, and immitates his name 'up in lights', a classic sign of fame and importance. The black background helps the title and the photograph stand out.
Eloy - PerformanceThis cover has a orignal and psychodellic feel to it. The two characters look out of place and mis-matched, using neon poles to play Snooker. It is unclear whether these are the band members or not, since they are so cleverly disguised, however looking at Eloy's past record of album covers they often use imagery.