What about the covers? no 10

For 2009 - no.10 - Röyksopp - Junior

The last sketch is unused art from Leslie David

Well, the photo on the cover is by Stian Andersen, who has done quite a bit of album cover photography in Scandinavia (A-ha anyone?). The rest of the photographs are from Jan Alsaker, Paul Wesley Griggs and Samantha Rapp. But the star here is Leslie David, the graphic designer behind the whole thing. His work is reminiscent of the 80's but with a contemporary vibe. And he is one of the artists that still puts pencil to paper and that counts a lot for me.

For the 00's - no.10 - Morrissey - You Are The Quarry

First of all I think this is the first time Moz appears dressed in a suit on an album cover. Secondly the title is not in quotation marks for the very first time in one of his albums. He looks like an American mob member, brandishing a Thompson sub machine gun, which is the typical weapon of everyone in the prohibition era, also known as the Tommy Gun. The logo of the record company (Moz's own) is the same gun, black on pink except on the cover. The photo is taken by the famous photographer Greg Gorman. Gorman prefers working in black and white so it is a bit of a departure for him. There is a version with grey instead of pink background used for the Deluxe Edition of the CD.

Apart from the cover though there is not anything worth mentioning from the rest of the album design - there is none. Simple lettering and colours (yellow inside, pink outside). The design credit goes to Morrissey along with Scott King (who did Roisin's "Overpowered"). They probably got tired after doing the cover and called it quits. Shame.

Top 20 Countdown - no.10

For 2009

No.10 Röyksopp - Junior

Röyksopp's "Junior" is not the best electropop album of the year (that honour goes to another one later on the list) but very very close to it. Brilliantly combining elements of their previous work and with the perfectly fitting voices of Robyn, Lykke Li, Karin Dreijer Andersson and Anneli Drecker, they move forward by making their sound fuller, more upbeat and precise than ever before.

For the 00's

no.10 - Morrissey - You Are The Quarry

Moz has been productive since 2004 in this decade, releasing a string of albums that keeps affirming his exalted status in music. This one though is the best of the bunch. And it contains some of his best songs, like I'm So Sorry, Let Me Kiss you, First Of The Gang to Die... absolute genius.

What about the covers? no 13

For 2009 - No.13 - Morrissey - Years Of Refusal

Design practice No Allegiances is responsible for the design and packaging. Mexican folk art and vintage California drove the art direction of Years of Refusal. Working around a photograph taken by Jake Walters of Moz holding a plump, drooling baby, they echoed the subtle Mexican sounds in the music by using typography inspired by José Guadalupe Posada, one of Mexico’s most famous illustrators and printmakers to give everything a kitschy frontier feel. To accentuate the chiaroscuro of the cover image and painting, the LP and special CD / DVD versions were run on fabric-textured stock which makes the record feel like an oil painting hanging in the Louvre that you shouldn’t have just touched. The CD / DVD version comes in a mini LP gatefold and was again made by London Fancy Box who did a fantastic job of putting together a solid, high quality package.

Band photography by Travis Shinn. Bodegon Con Jarra de Vino, 1914 (oil on canvas) by A. Fuentes, photography by Arturo Osorno / INBA / The Bridgeman Art Library

The adorable baby, with its cheeky little expression so at odds with Morrissey’s stern gaze, is the son of Charlie Brown, Morrissey’s assistant tour manager. Anticipating speculation about his latest cover, Moz had already drafted a response on the sleeve notes to The Years of Refusal:

“If you ask why the new album has the title it has (‘Years of Refusal’) and why on the cover he is holding the baby, after holding on previous covers the violin and the gun, because after all people will want to know, or more rumours will spill into the world and its voracious, agitated internet shadow, the sigh will almost crack into real annoyance. If you sail close to the gale force wind and bring up the sticky situations he finds himself in when he talks of his mythical old England, its disappearance and/or cultural and commercial conversion, and heretically flirts with the flag, and faces expulsion from the entertainment scene, then the sigh and the awkwardness will know no bounds.”

For the 00's - No.13 - Radiohead - In Rainbows

The artwork is by Stanley Donwood, who has worked with Yorke in designing all album artwork since 1994. For this one, Donwood experimented with a photographic etching technique, putting prints into acid baths with various results. During the recording of the album, Donwood regularly put up images in the studio and on the studio computer, letting the band interact directly and comment on them. He also posted images daily on the band's website, though none of the images were used in the final album artwork. Describing the album cover, he said "it's very colourful—I've finally embraced colour! It's a rainbow but it is very toxic, it's more like the sort of one you'd see in a puddle." The band decided not to release the cover for the digital release of the album, preferring to hold it back for the physical release. The "discbox" release of the album includes a lyric booklet, containing additional artwork by Donwood.

Top 20 Countdown - no.13

For 2009

No.13 - Morrissey - Years Of Refusal

Morrissey's new album is far more masculine, edgier and upbeat than everything he has ever released. And somehow it works very well. And for the listener as well

For the 00's

No.13 - Radiohead - In Rainbows

Much anticipated, the latest release of Radiohead did not disappoint. It is the album of theirs I am closer to. And the distribution through the web, without a price, opened up flood gates.