Solo album covers

1st Official Post

    Not quite sure where to out this as the solo section is for each member and this covers them all.

    A place to discuss solo album covers, triggered by the debate over Steve’s latest. I’ll have to contribute properly later on as I have to go out now - off the top of my head Steve’s Voyage is a favourite, as is Gabriel’s second and third. Ant has quite a few really good covers. Amongst the clunkers, Acting Very Strange, Still and I’m sure others but I need to think a bit more. I’m more than happy for this thread to be moved if it’s in the wrong place or duplicated elsewhere in some way.

    My favourites, Steve's first 3 (Defector is just Spectral revisited!) and Smallcreep's day. Of those, Please Don't touch is easily the best, I've even known people comment on it (favourably) who didn't know what it was. To Watch the Storms is also pretty good.

    Ian


    Putting the old-fashioned Staffordshire plate in the dishwasher!

    As I've mentioned, I don't care for many of Kim Poor's covers for Steve's albums, including VOYAGE. She did do some good ones, though, and I agree that PLEASE DON'T TOUCH is one of those.


    A lot of my favorite Genesis solo covers are from Ant. Peter Cross's LP covers always give you lots to look at, especially on BACK TO THE PAVILION. The downside is that they lose a lot when reduced to CD size. For that reason I've kept most of the LPs even after getting the CDs. NEW ENGLAND is a case where it never was an LP to begin with, but it looks too small as if it actually was an LP cover shrunk to CD size.

    Yes I generally like the AP ones too. Sides is a particular favourite, apparently unchanged from when the title was meant to be Balls. Mirroring my feeling that his solo career is second to PG's in terms of interestingness, for me PG's covers are by a very long way the best, especially the first four.


    I agree Smallcreep is quite good, while AVS is not just one of the worst Genesis solo ones but one of the worst by anyone ever.

    Abandon all reason

    Face Value is one of the most iconic covers of all time. All the others except Dance Into The Light are memorable (and then he recreated them years later). For Peter my favourites are 1, 3 & So. I like Steve's At The Edge Of Light but it's time he did something about the font he uses on his album covers.

    Hackett - like Voyage, Spectral, Darktown, Wild Orchids and the the first Genesis Revisited. Don’t like Cured, Highly Strung

    Gabriel - first three excellent plus Us and Passion. Don’t like Security

    Collins - all pretty good

    Banks - don’t like any of them but first two ok. Don’t like Still

    Rutherford Smallcreep’s quite good - ACV dire can take or leave the rest

    Phillips - really like most of them, especially Geese and Wise. Not keen on Slowdance or Invisible men

    TB: not a huge fan of any of them, but if I have to choose: Still

    PC: again, not crazy about any of them, but my pick is Both Sides

    PG: Passion, Us, Ovo

    SH: Genesis Revisited II

    AP: Private Parts & Pieces, the Japanese edition of Missing Links Vol. 1

    MR: Smallcreep's Day

    • Official Post

    It's basically hit & miss, but I like some of the rather unspectacular covers


    TB: Still

    PC: Face Value

    PG: Melt, US, i/o

    SH: Darktown, To Watch The Storms

    AP: tough to pick one, but probably Dragonfly Dreams

    MR: Living Years

    RW: The Weight Of Man

    cheers

    Christian


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    Quote from thewatcher


    I think we should pause and a take a moment to reflect on the profound genius of this piece of work. It's Sistine chapel-esque in its ambition.

    It's a shocker. ironically, if he had just used the picture with the long fingers, it would have been better, although he'd have been accused of ripping off a Gabriel-esque idea. We can only imagine what any rejected covers might have looked like....


    I've just checked and he did use that image on the single, it's not much better.


    [Blocked Image: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61xg9TvivFL._UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg]

    Quote from Thelawnmower

    It's a shocker. ironically, if he had just used the picture with the long fingers, it would have been better. We can only imagine what any rejected covers might have looked like.

    I think if he removed all imagery except the hat it would have been better. Just a solitary hat, floating in space.


    As to your second point, YES! What other options were on the table that made him point at this cover and go "yes, that's definitely it, that's the best one"??

    Quote from thewatcher

    I think if he removed all imagery except the hat it would have been better. Just a solitary hat, floating in space.

    And just called the album The Hat.


    The thing is, the imagery isn't him acting particularly strange. If the hat was pulled right down to his nose with holes cut for him to look through, and he was painted blue, stood on one leg, playing an egg whisk, while serenading a belisha beacon, then he'd be 'acting very strange'.

    Abandon all reason

    I always thought Phil's solo album deserved better covers, but I liked his idea to put his older face on the re-issues.


    Other than that, I think PG3 is just great and I like the atmosphere on some later Hackett albums sleeves (Shrouded Horizon, Watch The Storms, Darktown). And some of the stuff Peter Cross did for Ant.

    ... make tomorrow today!