Promised Land Album Cover

[pmp]

But on albums like this, they did more work

Yes, but this was a British album, not an American one. The American release had this effort...

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[emjel]

And is one of the worst Elvis sleeves printed and is an insult to the contents. Looks like he has been in the saddle for days.

[luckyjackson1]

I always thought both paintings were downright ugly.

[fn2drive]

We are reviewing things that were made 5 decades ago with our today's 2020 eyes... Hummm

Yes, it can be challenging at times to review an era in which some of us are not familiar with. However, when I research it and notice that the methods used were actually uncommon compared to the other labels, it makes me question things. I can’t think of another label spending eight years making Lp covers that looked awful similar to one another. It was cookie cutter records. I’m not reviewing the music, I am just talking about the artwork of the Lp covers. Elvis did not have to go into a photo studio. I understand that it was far from his mind to do that. I’m just saying that they could have used candid shots of him, scenery backdrops, things or objects, or even artwork. It was a lost opportunity in staying somewhat relevant in the commercial mainstream. If the effort was there then it lacked the vision.

It probably wasn't as unusual as we think. There isn't a huge amount of imagination going on in Johnny Cash's 70s and 80s albums, for example. A bunch of them are live shots, and the majority of the rest are a mean and moody Cash looking at the camera. On Ragged Old Flag he is mean and moody in front of the flag. On Any Old Wind That Blows he is mean and moody in front of a tree. With The Last Gunfighter Ballad he's mean and moody with a gun. On Look at Them Beans he is lying a pile of green beans. I guess he should be thankful they weren't baked beans. But you could never say much thought was put into them, anymore than they were for Elvis's covers. Yes, there were at least photo shoots, but they were very generic.

Probably the worst of the bunch were the black and white covers of Pablo - who were a small label, of course, but quite prolific. There are some horrors amongst those.

If the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. There you go again crapping on another of Elvis' contemporaries who btw produced music and hits after his initial success. Cash' covers we far superior to anything that was produced by RCA after On Stage with the possible exception of Elvis Country .

You seem to misunderstand. Pointing out that other artists also had their own problems is not "crapping" on them. It is making a comparison.

And if I am "crapping" on other artists, we must assume that you have been having chronic diarrhea on Elvis and Felton Jarvis..

More subtraction by addition.

[seaward]

But on albums like this, they did more work

Yes they did and it was marvellous.

[seaward]

But a modicum of individuality is what's really amiss with regards to Elvis's album covers from that time.

Agree.

[Alan_K]

What were the best artwork releases of the 70's for original albums? (That include Elvis on the cover and no re-issues like 1972s King Creole etc or compilations of old hits)

I'm really stuck, but here's some in release order:-

RCA SF8172 • "I'm 10,000 Years Old" Elvis Country (first publically seen in print in 1956 the young Elvis is best known for his place on the front of this album - good idea and it worked wel)
RCA SF8202 • Love Letters From Elvis (Gets a mention for good images, but cut and glued by school kids and really naff font)
RCA SF8275 • He Touched Me (Best image to match the content of the album)
RCA SF8296 • Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden (almost iconic for good reasons)
RCA SF8378 • Elvis (Lets face it, Elvis images from Aloha are rarely going to look bad)
RCA APL10475 • Good Times (simple, reasonable font, not going to win awards for design, but it's not bad)
RCA RS1011 • Today (Just squeezes onto the list, same as above but the font loses it a bit for me)
RCA RS1060 • From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee (Dunno, I like it, didn't origianlly when it came out, but it's grown on me and it's simple)

So for me top 3 there would be He Touched Me, Madison Squ Gardens and Elvis Country (close 4th is Elvis (Fool)

The ones that did better are those licensed to others - but they're obviously compilations and not originals.
The Sun Collection (Starcall), Elvis Presleys Greatest Hits (Readers Digest 6 LP set), but well done to RCA UK for Elvis In Demand even if it did come about by accident!

Throw in some I've forgotten and give us your own top 3, I'm expecting On Stage to be liked by some as an example but it wasn't one for me. I'm also in two minds whether Legendary Performer series should be included as unreleased cuts means original release...hmmm... no, but up to you folks, your likes are your likes.

[rockinrebel]

The best:
On Stage
TTWII
Elvis Country
Almost In Love UK
Elvis Golden Records Vol.2 UK Reissue
Elvis For Everyone UK Reissue
MSG
The Sun Collection
Elvis In Demand
Moody Blue

The image used for Elvis aka Fool would have been better suited to the Aloha album.

It would also have been cool if RCA UK had proceeded with the plan to reissue A Date With Elvis. It's highly likely another great NBC TV Special photo would have been used for that one.

[Swedish]

But the use of live photo already in the beginning was so very nice

[seaward]

I always pictured the Raised On a Rock 45 sleeve as the cover for the Aloha Lp, but in colour. I too loved the Welcome to my World Lp cover. Too bad that artwork like this wasn’t used more earlier on in his career. By the way, anyone know the background story on how that artwork made it to the Welcome Lp? Who did the artwork and when was it painted?

[joeroberts]

When was the raised on rock album cover photo taken?

[joeroberts]

I have honestly loved people’s replies here. Thank you all for participating in the discussion.

While we are at it, we should talk about the Good Times album cover, which I always found disorienting and fascinating and the Today cover where his hair is brown.

[fn2drive]

I have honestly loved people’s replies here. Thank you all for participating in the discussion.

While we are at it, we should talk about the Good Times album cover, which I always found disorienting and fascinating and the Today cover where his hair is brown.

Just another wretched cover which was probably all is wretched LP deserved. How much would it have cost to have professional show up at a session and take some pictures.

[Buddy]

It is totally ok to discuss Elvis record covers.
But before you go into details some facts should be mentioned to get to a more clear answer...
1.
Elvis "hated" the promotion photo shootings he had to deliver during the Movie years ordered by the Hollywood companies and had no Interest in it anymore after they have ended. A thing he decided on bis very own.
2. Elvis had not even an interest the the mastering/mixing/dubbing process of his music. Usually thats the thing all is about. An artist stays in the studio supervising the creation of HIS recordings to force and decide how his records will/have to sound. Especially when you are such a big star and so having the power that everything you want them to do has to be done.
3. So when there is no real Interest in the mastering/mixing process its almost normal that there is also no Interest in how the records' artwork will look like.
4.As far as I know RCA made it in their own just asking Parker to offer some pictures to choose from. So they got a few to choose from, h a d to pay for to get permission using them. Than RCA made the artwork, when finished send a preview back to Parkers office to get Elvis ok and signature that they could produce it.
Which detailed arrangement Elvis had with the Colonel I do not know.
That means if Parker send it to Elvis and then waiting for his ok or IF Elvis arranged with him "Check it and if ist ok for you it will be ok for me too" I do not know.
But at the end ELVIS must have loved each of it the way they were made or had not even a minimum of Interest in it.
5. In the 70s many many other big stars had such usual covers too. The times were different and so the majority did not really care or had Interest investing money to create "work of art" album covers, if then mostly they invest money in a debut album cover to attract attention.
6.I think the majority of his records had a good cover and great pictures to choose for, a very few not but that is anytime a personal point of view and as we can read here even the opinions of his fans on that is so different ....