! updated artwork ! NEW ALBUM + SINGLE + LIMITED EDITION ARTWORK : ellie goulding - delirium + on my mind

This is an interesting one... So Ellie Goulding's star has been steadily rising over her last two albums and with her next release 'Delirium' she is going for all out Pop princess (especially if she carries on with songs like the Max Martin-penned 'On My Mind' - what a tune!). 

The album was announced along with the single and some limited edition release options also, all with their cover artworks. But now, with a month left before release date, the artwork has been tweaked slightly to use a serif typeface, rather than the orignal sans serif. This may seem like a non-event to some, but actually for such a stripped down cover the change to the text actually has a strong visual effect. Let's have a look below:

The "new" version of the cover (this is the standard edition of the album):

And here is the "original" version (using the same typeface as the 'Halcyon' cover art):

Below is a comparison of the two logos:

Here is the new cover for the deluxe edition of the album, with the new typeface also:

Hmm... to me it seems an odd turn of events. This next release is highly anticipated for Ellie, with some asking if she can take it up a level and maintain the standard of "pop star" that she has cultivated? With this anticipation and level of popularity, I'm sure she has major backing by a record label. It seems odd to me that artwork would be approved, signed off and sent out publicly (across all platforms of her social media, website, official store etc), to then be tweaked and changed. It comes across as sloppy to me and doesn't bode well for the handling of the album roll out. Especially as now there are inconsistencies across her website with some pages still using the old logo and some pages featuring the updated one.

Here is the single artwork for 'On My Mind', featuring the sans serif typeface also, another level of inconsistency now that the main font used for the rest of the album era will be the serif type:

This leaves me wondering: why the change and why now, at this late stage of the album release? Was it to step her away from the 'Halcyon' visual, the still pop but slightly more experimental sounding last album? Was it to embrace the wave of serif fonts being seen used more and more recently - to reflect the potential change in fashion of graphic design?

Hmm... let's see how this one rolls out...and while we wait, check out the limited edition vinyl and boxset versions the album will be released in, featuring art cards and a black & white version of the album cover:

 

Positive note though, I'm loving the pastelly colour palette and images being used - so there's that :)

LIMITED EDITION : madonna - rebel heart (super deluxe edition)

A well put together, if slightly mis-titled edition. The album comes in three releases: standard, deluxe and super deluxe. Now for me, "super deluxe" sounds like it'd be some majestic, designed for the heavens box set - what this actually is is a perfectly decent edition, just not enough for that kind of title! Don't get me wrong, I love the folding out format and glossy finish to the images but I want a little more. Two specific things that niggle at me... First: The second disc has "Disc 2" printed onto it (seen in the image above), so I nice touch would be to have "Disc 1" on the first CD. A little thing, but I noticed it:

The bigger annoyance to me was the exclusion of the album booklet... I can't tell you how much I hate that being overlooked. As a fan who wants all the bells and whistles of a physical album (and will pay more money for the 'top' version - as a super deluxe would have you believe), I want the booklet that would be included in the standard and deluxe editions. This version includes no linear notes and although has some great looking packaging, doesn't actually give you all the information about the album. Quite a large oversight in my opinion.. A nice edition, but not Madge's best designed piece.

LIMITED EDITION : cheryl - only human (boxset)

 As a progression from her last album (2012's 'A Million Lights'), Cheryl seemed to up the quality-factor of music and visual with this album, in conjunction with her return to the X-Factor. This also saw a high-quality boxset version released for the new album 'Only Human'. Let's jump into it below and see what Mrs Fernandez-Versini has to offer!

 

First off, I think this is her best album cover to date. They've all been pretty standard head-on beauty shots but this one seems to up the gloss factor with that animal strip running through her face and the type is simpler and more striking. YES!

 

 

For the boxset, the type gets an added edge of a lovely burgundy coloured foiling, I love it.

 

The foiling is used on the back cover of the box also, for the tracklisting:

 

The boxset has a lovely matte finish for the cover and the hinged lid fits beautifully over the base.

 

Click "Read More" to see the rest of the review and my score for this piece! :)

LIMITED EDITION : laroux - trouble in paradise (deluxe box set)

When Laroux first announced a comeback after multiple years silence, I was very happy. I was even happier when the 'Trouble In Paradise' album was announced and EVEN HAPPIER when the cover art was unveiled (stay tuned for that, if you still haven't feasted your eyes). The cherry on top of this already multi-layered feast was that the album would also be released a deluxe box set...so let's go In For The Kill and dive in...

One major selling point of this edition was the fact it has it's own exclusive cover, very much in the vein of it's Pop Art, collagey original artwork - this one elaborates more on the lazy, sun soaked Americana imagery we had already seen glimpses of.

And what says Americana better than a nice glossy glaze! Certain elements of the matte cover have been stencilled out in a shiny coating which adds to the texture and look of the piece. Stunning :)

This is a limited edition boxset - only 3000 were produced - each one is individually stamped.

I love that the outside box feels quite understated, glossy and white. It makes the insides pop even more so...

Click "Read More" to see the rest of the review and my score for this piece! :) 

LIMITED EDITION: girls aloud - ten (limited edition boxset)

 

Continuing the girl group theme (see my last post on All Saints' 90s-licious deluxe edition), we're now moving to Girls Aloud and their greatest hits collection 'Ten'. Celebrating a decade in the spotlight, this was a celebration of their biggest songs and the impact on pop they has achieved. Keep reading to see my cover-to-cover look into this Whole Lott History...

 

Quite a subtle start to the edition, for a band usually known for the Xenomania off the wall pop moments (a la 'Biology') and iconic, eye popping artwork (a la 'What Will The Neighbours Say?') this seemed a surprise to me - where's the colour? Where's the girls? It's sleek...but doesn't feel very Aloud to me...

 

OK! Here we go, shocking pink lining - now we're talking. Sleek black outside, bright pink inside: the embodiment of a grown up girl group? Love the cover art to the album, which we'll inspect more later.

 

Click "Read More" to see the rest of the review and my score for this piece! :) 

LIMITED EDITION: all saints - all saints (deluxe edition boxset)

Now, I'm going to take us on a trip down memory lane...back to 1997 and girl groups were ruling the charts. There was of course (my favourite) the Spice Girls and their slightly cooler, lil bit more urban sisters All Saints. All Saints debut album 'All Saints' was a collection of slow burning downbeat pop with flavours of R&B and I loved it! This deluxe edition is special to me as I had no idea it existed (no mention of it on most of the internet or wikipedia pages) until a year or so ago, when I was browsing eBay and this appeared in my recommended! So lets pour a cup of Black Coffee and take a trip back to the 90s...
there's gunna be a lot of khaki so hold tight...

The front of the boxset, I think, is pretty strong graphically - that stencil type the band used as their logo was bold and felt a little grungy too. Their first album seemed to have this cammo green palette throughout, which is used for this also.

Close up on the sticker, also you can see there is an almost faux-leather texture to the box.

The lid's off and you are greeted with a big A and S :) (also this kind of constellation motif on the letters used throughout the album art later also). This is an oversized photo booklet, which we'll explore more in a moment, but first, underneath that...

 ...We see the rest of the contents! The original album, a remix album (one of the first remix exclusive albums to be released and chart, fun fact) and - as it's the 90s - a VHS of the band's music videos. *swoon*

Click "Read More" to see the rest of the review and my score for this piece! :)

LIMITED EDITION : kylie minogue - kiss me once (limited edition vinyl box set)

So, I felt it was high time for another round of "My Editions" - where I post about a limited edition piece from my personal collection. This time I'll be diving 'Into The Blue' with Kylie Minogue's 'Kiss Me Once (Limited Edition Vinyl Box Set)'. It's a gorgeously kissable, silk cloth-bound box set filled to the brim with sass. So let's get going!

First stop, what's included:

- 12" double vinyl of the standard version of the album 

- Deluxe edition of the album on CD (With exclusive artwork featuring handwritten lipstick text by Kylie herself)

- Card featuring digital download code for the album

- 5 x 12" art prints on heavy paper stock, featuring an exclusive image only in this box set and a hand numbered life size kiss from Kylie

- 12" vinyl sticker sheet with 'Kiss Me Once' lips graphic

- 12" "faux window" featuring raindrops and the album title, so you can recreate the album artwork!

All is contained in a silk cloth-bound 12" vinyl box. 100 copies were signed by Kylie at random.

Next stop...some beautiful images and commentary of this dee-lightful box set:

A close up on that loverly, shimmering silk cloth-bound box. It simply features the 'Kiss Me Once' lips graphic stitched in the middle of the lid and it's hard to get the full effect without holding it in your hands. I spent a solid twenty minutes just stroking it... (in honour of 'Les Sex' and 'Sexercise' of course!). A simple touch, but it really adds to a sense of elegance about the piece.

It's a very slimline box, I was actually quite surprised when it arrived. At first glance it looks like it could only fit in a couple of vinyl - but keep reading to see what else is included.

Lid off and you're greeted by more lips and lipstick...I'm sensing a theme... It really does remind me of Christina Aguilera's 'Bionic', but it's so gorgeous I'm willing to overlook it

Click "Read More" to see the rest of the review and my score for this piece! :)

NEW ALBUM, LIMITED EDITION & SINGLE ARTWORK : kylie - kiss me once (album & limited edition vinyl boxset) & into the blue

Now, as loyal followers of this blog may know - simonsez is an avid fan of some Kylie artwork. Like really REALLY. So when a new Kylie era begins, you know I have some high standards for her to meet ;) So dive in below to Ms. Minogue's eleventh release...

It is titled 'Kiss Me Once' and the artwork is giving me hints of Christina's 'Bionic', with all it's red-lipstick-sex-in-the-shower realness. I'm liking it a lot!

AND you know I'm always sold on a special, limited edition release of an album :D:D and this one will not disappoint! The limited edition run will include:

- 12" vinyl and CD version of the album

- 5 x 12" art prints - featuring an exclusive image from the album photoshoot and a lifesize Kylie lip print (EEEE!)

- 12" sticker sheet of lip prints

- (What I'm most excited for!) A 'faux window' featuring waterdrops and the album title, so you can recreate the album cover...get that rep lipstick ready!

- Also, 100 will randomly be selected and signed by the 5ft diva herself!

UPDATE!

- Due to major demand the run will now be 3,500 and each one will have a hand numbered print included (probably the image that is exclusive to the boxset)

Praise be!

Not done yet on this Kylie extravanganza - there's the single artwork to go at yet! Below is 'Into The Blue', the first offering from the new era and it is euphoric bliss from start to finish. It has elements of a mermaid (almost like when Ariel first gets her legs and fashions a garment out of an old ships sail... but better!).

Also we get a glimpse of a new logo from this album, still keeping elements of the pillar effect that the 'Aphrodite' album used - love it! Check out a higher quality version below:

Gorgeous.

UPDATE:

Kylie sent out an image on her Instagram account of her holding the single's promo CD and the artwork appears to be altered, focusing more on the handwritten type...I hope they haven't let go of the new 'Kylie' logo :(