NEW ALBUM ARTWORK : kylie minogue - kylie christmas (standard + deluxe edition)

Ms. Minogue is feeling festive :D So she's recorded a whole album worth of Christmas delights (if they're anything like her rendition of 'Santa Baby', we're in for a treat). Check out the standard edition cover below:

The album will also come in a CD/DVD deluxe edition - featuring more tracks as well. Below is the tinsel 'n' holly delight:

!!BONUS FEATURE!!

If you buy from Kylie's official store, your order will come with this fab, branded Kylie wrapping paper! Love seeing that "K" sprinkled all over this :)

! 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 :)

NEW ALBUM + SINGLE ARTWORK : sam smith - in the lonely hour (drowning shadows edition) + writing's on the wall ('spectre' theme)

Just in time for the coveted Christmas season, Mr. Smith is re-releasing his multi-platinum debut album as a special 2-disc edition. Titled 'In The Lonely Hour (Drowning Shadows Edition)' - it will feature some of his well known covers, updated versions of his singles (including the Mary J. Blige version of 'Stay With Me' and John Legend version of 'Lay Me Down') and new songs also. For the cover art he has recreated the original album's art but now with his new slimmed down figure:

 

Check out the single cover for his Bond theme 'Writing's On The Wall' also (shout out to the shadow giving us throwbacks to Naughty Boy's 'La La La' cover art...)

NEW ALBUM ARTWORK: janet jackson - unbreakable

Ms. Jackson if ya nasty is back y'all! I saw that her new album 'Unbreakable' had three different cover artworks so I had to get them all in one place for your viewing pleasure. Before we jump in, take a look at this video of photographer YuTsai shooting the imagery for the album art. Stylist Kim Bowen described the look of the shoot as “a whole conglomeration of different looks” for Jackson, including rock ‘n’ roll, ethnic, sexy, funky, “punky,” tribal and organic:

Cover 1: This is the official standard cover.

  

Cover 2: I've seen this billed as the "Eyes Closed" version on Amazon also, a limited edition version of the standard album with a different cover art featuring no type at all - just Jan closing her eyes and blocking out the haters.

Cover 3: This version I have seen is the "Target Edition" in the US or "HMV Exclusive cover" in the UK - it features two bonus songs and Ms. Jackson looking over your BS.

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 : kylie minogue - kylie (debut album) (reissue collector's edition)

Now, long time readers of the simonsez blog will know I LOVE me a Kylie limited edition release (see here, here and here). So when it was announced that Ms. Minogue's first four albums would be re-released as special celebrations of her PWL years, I was more than overjoyed to hear there would be limited edition boxsets involved. So, to celebrate in my own special way I will be putting up four special posts to share the reissued albums - starting with her debut album "Kylie". ENJOY (YOURSELF)!!

The boxset is the size of a 12" vinyl and comes with the original album art emblazoned on the front. Let's be honest, that late 80s cover hasn't held up amazingly, once you get up close even the photo quality is really something to behold in all its fuzzy glory.. But somehow it adds into the feel of the piece. It's honouring the fashions and early looks of the pop princess, not trying to modernise and cover over the cheesier pictures etc. For that, it really feels like a celebration and a time capsule to be delved into.

For anyone who has the CD (or even the cassette) version of the album, you will see how true this has kept to the original artwork - from cover to logos to spine design.

That hair hat she's rocking is truly iconic! :D

Now lets lift the lid and dive in..

Click "Read More" to see the rest of the post...

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! :)