Ramones:

The CD cover does not comply with the typical punk rock characteristics of which you would expect to see on an album cover. It presents to us an image of the band, however, the writing on the cover is in pink, something you would expect to see on a female girl group album cover, not a 1970's punk bands. It is effective though as it is eye catching and unusual of the genre and would stand out in a shop. This album cover again deviates from the usual album cover as it is very basic, the background is white, the writing is pink and there is a simple image of the band. However, there is nothing else promoting the album on the front cover. This could be because the band are so iconic, that anyone familiar with the punk/rock genre will immediately know who the Ramones are and therefore their album cover does not need further explanation or promotion.

The lettering and font of the cover are typical of this genre. They aim to stand out and this album certainly supports that idea. Ramones are iconic and so do not need fancy font and lettering to sell their music, fitting with their basic and anarchic image that they displayed throughout their success. The lettering is also completely in capital letters (front and back cover) which again supports the anarchic style of the band.

The image on the cover again is basic. It is in black and white which shows the bands age as modern day bands would most likely use colour. As well as this, the way that the band are dressed was typical of Ramones and also reminds us of the bands genre. Their hairstyles and clothing clearly present to us the period of time that the photo was taken as many people dressed this way to show their identity. The way the band are standing shows their laid back personality and attitude towards music. This therefore would attract people who share these similar characteristics to the album. The front cover shows the front of the band and the back  cover cleverly shows the back of the band. Again, the back cover is in black and white which is effective as therefore the cover flows.

It is clear by looking at the front cover that they are a punk band. This is because of the perception that the cover gives off to the audience, it is clear through their clothing, hairstyles and by the way they stand that they are relaxed about their image. The type of people who would be interested in purchasing this album would most likely not be interested in the sex appeal that a Beyonce album cover for perhaps have for example. They are probably also not too bothered about the way the band looks which is why the band have opted for such a simple album cover.

Album Cover Analysis, 'Sex Pistols':

The Cd cover I am analysing is the Sex Pistol's album called 'Never mind the bollocks heres the...', I chose to do this particular cover as it is of the same genre as the song we have chosen to use for our music video, from the Punk/Rock genre. The cover resembles the genre very well as the swear word within the Cd name resembles the violent and controversial genre that is Punk/Rock. The album cover contains two colours; neon pink and neon yellow, the colours yet again resemble the genre of the music as Punk/Rock is very wild and 'out there' in conparison to genres such as pop for example. The lettering on the album cover is bold, this is very eye-cathing and grabs the attention of their target audience. To add to this, the lettering is very jumbled up and seems to have no order, yet again refecting the genre of music in which the album is from. The song listing on the back of the cover is also jumbled up and definitely has no order, this displays the out of control and mad characteristics of the band. This yet again fots with the Punk/Rock genre as bands from this specfic genre are stereotypically blunt, troublesome and cause controversy. Due to the fact that the album was released in the late 1970's during a time of trouble within Britain, when things such as rioting were taking place and there was controversy within government and the decisions that they were making, the songs featured on the album reflect the times. Songs such as 'Liar', 'Problems' and 'Anarchy in the UK' reflect this time period. Unlike the majority of albums, there are no images of the band on the cover of the album, this shows how the band is focused simply on thier music not focusing on star image or stereotypically focused on sex appeal or glamour similarly to other artists. Commonly on a Cd cover, the band or the artist is the main feature and takes up most of the cover with their picture, this however is not shown on this album, again displaying their controversial nature and the fact that they want to be different from other artists.
The booklet featured within the Cd cover is not very different to that shown on both the front and the back of the cover, the band have obviously deliberately done this in order to keep the same theme running throughout the album cover, with no extreme differences within the whole booklet.

Album cover analysis: The Beatles

The CD cover for The Beatles 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' is one of the most iconic album covers of all time. The cover presents an image of the band, in their signature costume, as well as many other stars (dead or alive). The digipack won a grammy for artwork and was designed by Peter Blake and Jann Haworth. I have chosen this cover as it is not only iconic but interesting and revolutionary. It features a colourful collage of life-sized cardboard models of famous people on the front of the album cover and lyrics printed on the back cover, the first time this had been done on a British pop LP. In the centre of the scene, The Beatles stand behind a drum on which are painted the words of the album's title. Bold and bright colours are used to catch the attention of the audience and make the cover stand out. The cover depicted more than 70 famous people, including actors, musicians and writers such as James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Oscar Wilde and Marlon Brando. The cover may also be seen as ironic, as it is set as a funeral scene and many of the people featured are dead. The use of funeral flowers to spell out the name of the band may also been seen as satircal. Despite many colours being used on the cover, the image of the band immediately stands out, as it is centered and uses the boldest colours. This cover is dissimilar to many other albums at the time. The Beatles stemed a new era and revolutionised music. Their cover is seen as a landmark for the artwork many artists now use on their covers, and therefore this album does not comply to any genre characteristics. The final bill for the cover was £38, 823- a staggering sum not only for the 60s but even now.