Design crazy – Page 22

28 September, 201914 October, 2019

Skids – ‘Fields’ UK 7″ and 12″ (Virgin VS401 and VS401-12, 1981)

When first released in the summer of 1981, ‘Fields’ was quite a challenging release for Skids fans to get used to and it never really gained the success the new vision that the remaining band members, Richard Jobson and Russell Webb, had in mind for the band. The departure of Stewart Adamson was obvious, his familiar sonic hallmark missing from the A side, replaced by a somewhat more twangy guitar and a more pastoral scene fashioned from acoustic guitar, flute, traditional drums and layered, choral vocals. In retrospect it is not nearly the radical departure it was made out to be, though much of the subsequent ‘Joy’ album certainly would be.

Skids - 'Fields' 7" - Richard Jobson sleeve design, front — *^ Skids – ‘Fields’ 7″ variation 1 – Richard Jobson sleeve design, front*

Skids - 'Fields' 7" - Richard Jobson sleeve design, rear — *^ Skids – ‘Fields’ 7″ variation 1, rear*

Continue reading “Skids – ‘Fields’ UK 7″ and 12″ (Virgin VS401 and VS401-12, 1981)”

14 September, 20198 February, 2021

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – ‘Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of Arc)’ (Dindisc DIN40-12, 1982) – ‘Coin’ sleeve version

Back in January 2013 I first posted about the Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark ‘Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of Arc)’ 12″ single with the foil finish ‘stained glass’ artwork version, with the note that I would follow-up with the foil-finish ‘coin’ artwork version at a later date. Well, some years later on than I had imaged, here we are!

'Maid of Orleans' front cover design 2 - 'coin' sleeve version - detail — *^ ‘Maid of Orleans’ front cover design 2 – ‘coin’ sleeve version*

Continue reading “Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – ‘Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of Arc)’ (Dindisc DIN40-12, 1982) – ‘Coin’ sleeve version”

28 June, 20195 February, 2022

Joy Division – ‘Substance’ cassette (Factory FACT250C, 1988)

‘Substance’ was the second compilation album of Joy Division non-album tracks released on Factory, dating from July 1988. Along with 1981’s ‘Still’, it gathers up many of the tracks that first appeared on the band’s single and EP releases, none of which were featured on either ‘Unknown Pleasures’ or ‘Closer’. (Well, other than a different version of ‘She’s Lost Control’, I suppose.)

I have chosen to feature the cassette version, since this hails from my pre-CD buying days and therefore was the only access I had to the full version of the release. You see, the vinyl LP version only came with ten tracks, whereas the cassette version came with those same ten tracks on side 1 and an ‘Appendix’ on side 2 that added an additional seven tracks. (The CD version also came with the full seventeen tracks.) Somewhat annoyingly, rather than present everything in chronological order, the ‘Appendix’ device ensures that things get mixed up. Continue reading “Joy Division – ‘Substance’ cassette (Factory FACT250C, 1988)”

14 June, 201929 June, 2019

Ultravox – ‘Moments From Eden’ 10″/CD EP (Absolute, 10EDENRL1, 2011)

‘Moments From Eden’ was a very attractive, limited edition live EP featuring the tracks that Ultravox added to their set for the second ‘comeback’ tour in 2010, ‘Return To Eden 2’. Rather than release multiple versions, the nicely designed package included a red vinyl 10″ single along with a CD version housed inside the gatefold spread of the cover, with further themed artwork featured in an additional booklet.

*^ Ultravox ‘Moments From Eden’ vinyl side A and front cover.*

If you ordered the record online from Townsend Records, the release also came with a limited edition A4 sized print, as displayed in the photo below, a variation on the design from the back cover of the record. Continue reading “Ultravox – ‘Moments From Eden’ 10″/CD EP (Absolute, 10EDENRL1, 2011)”

28 April, 20196 January, 2022

Danielle Dax – ‘Fizzing Human Bomb’ / ‘Yummer Yummer Man’ / ‘Bad Miss ‘M” (Awesome AOR3 / AOR3T, 1985)

Dating from late 1985, this single originally came in two variants which swapped around the running order depending on whether you went for 7″ or the more luxurious 12″ versions. Perhaps it was down to budget, but the 12″ version seemed to get the better deal – as well as the extra track, for the packaging it came with full colour print on the cover and gold ink on the record labels, whereas the 7″ came with black and white print on the edited cover (though metallic ink for the type) and yellow ink for the type on the labels. It even found space to include the lyrics for all three tracks, whereas the 7″ could only make do with the musician credits.

Danielle Dax 'Fizzing Human Bomb'/'Yummer Yummer Man'/'Bad Miss M' double A side 12 inch single - front cover — *^ Danielle Dax ‘Fizzing Human Bomb’/ ‘Yummer Yummer Man’/’Bad Miss ‘M” double A side 12 inch single – front cover*

Danielle Dax 'Fizzing Human Bomb'/'Yummer Yummer Man'/'Bad Miss M' double A side 12 inch single - rear cover — *^ Danielle Dax ‘Fizzing Human Bomb’/ ‘Yummer Yummer Man’/’Bad Miss ‘M” double A side 12 inch single – rear cover*

The 12″ extra track, ‘Fizzing Human Bomb’, occupied side A exclusively. Meanwhile, side AA featured the two tracks that formed the 7″ single, ‘Yummer Yummer Man’ and ‘Bad Miss ‘M”. Does that make this a triple-A side single then?! Continue reading “Danielle Dax – ‘Fizzing Human Bomb’ / ‘Yummer Yummer Man’ / ‘Bad Miss ‘M” (Awesome AOR3 / AOR3T, 1985)”