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Post by vectisfabber on Nov 16, 2011 7:23:04 GMT -5
We're there!
The last round knocked out the two remaining monochrome sleeves, With The Beatles/Meet The Beatles and Revolver.
Which leaves us with the following finalists:
Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Abbey Road
Cast your votes, and I would encourage critical comments explaining preferences and, most importantly, comparing heights, haircuts, moustaches, beards, feet, uniforms....
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Post by John S. Damm on Nov 16, 2011 8:27:06 GMT -5
Here are the remaining covers for Vectisfabber's Fab Final! Can you dig it! Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band Abbey Road
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wooltonian
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"Football isn't a matter of life and death - it's much more important than that." Bill Shankly.
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Post by wooltonian on Nov 16, 2011 9:04:18 GMT -5
No vote.
Woooaaahhh....this one's a toughie! There's no doubt that the 'Abbey Road' cover works better in the CD age -- it's bolder, simpler and less cluttered than 'Pepper', but there again Pepper is breathtakingly original and complements the music so completely. Don't know. I think the wine bottle needs to come out later this evening before a decision can be made...
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Post by ReturnToPepperland on Nov 16, 2011 10:53:15 GMT -5
They're both iconic but the Pepper cover is more engaging and original.
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wooltonian
Very Clean
"Football isn't a matter of life and death - it's much more important than that." Bill Shankly.
Posts: 796
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Post by wooltonian on Nov 16, 2011 11:20:03 GMT -5
No vote.
In terms of their conception the two sleeve photos are polar opposites -- 'Pepper' was elaborately planned and lavishly designed, whereas the 'Abbey Road' cover arose out of apathy and really followed the path of least resistance i.e. just step outside the studio and have your photo taken. Both work superbly in their own separate ways and have become the two most iconic Beatles sleeves -- worthy finalists. Just off to Sainsbury's for a bottle of Pinot Grigio...
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Post by John S. Damm on Nov 16, 2011 11:40:42 GMT -5
Abbey Road
I actually remember seeing the cover to Sgt. Pepper back in 1967 when I was only 4 turning 5 at Halloween that year. It is magical like the music inside. Maybe dated but in a cool way, in a "land where time forgot" way.
AR is a great album cover and I love the sunny day, the upper class neighborhood and the four Beatles are all so different.
Yet Pepper draws you in to something that appears exotic or maybe erotic. Or both. It also has sinister shades to it, underlying dark omens. Maybe that is because of some of the images found on it.
AR is all sunny which is remarkable as the fabs hated each other by them while they were still all mates on SPLHCB and it has some dark undertones. But The Beatles are all in on it, that is what is cool.
I go with the always mysterious SPLHCB cover to win and I vote against the otherwise excellent AR cover.
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Post by Blackguard on Nov 16, 2011 11:45:32 GMT -5
It came right down to the two I figured would be in the final round. The two most iconic images of The Beatles.
I cast my final vote for Sgt Pepper to win.
The cover matches the music. Not only does the cover photo match perfectly so does the rest of the sleeve design. The inner gatefold photo of The Beatles in costume doesn't leave the concept of Sgt. Pepper's band on the cover, it accepts it and expands upon it. Printing the lyrics on the back cover instead of the usual publicist read once nonsense was a way of showing the band's creative spirit on this album. The inner sleeve was not just a plain white bag with record company copy about record care and cleaning. It was a red and pink designed wavy image. The cut out sheet was a coup de grâce! I know of no one who actually cut the figures out. But it was nice of them to say cut these out and make your own buttons, Show your fan-hood in public. It inspired the listener to do something creative as well!
Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is an early example of what we now term the total package.
I admire the Abbey Road cover as a simple and effective photo of The Beatles. It made that crosswalk a London landmark. But Sgt. Pepper's cover involved the listener more thoroughly.
So my vote is not to cast Abbey Road into the flames of eternal peril, but to acknowledge the reaching out to the fans that the Sgt Pepper cover offered.
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Post by scousette on Nov 16, 2011 12:19:06 GMT -5
Abbey Road must go.
Four guys crossing the street. One guy is barefoot. There's a VW in the picture with a license plate that says 28 IF. Boring!
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JCV
Very Clean
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Post by JCV on Nov 16, 2011 12:55:47 GMT -5
Abbey Road gets the boot from me. I thought it would come down to Revolver and Sgt. Pepper, actually. Now that would have been tough for me to pick. Thanks for an interesting (although a bit long) album tourney, vectis! Great fun! JCV
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Post by debjorgo on Nov 16, 2011 14:02:04 GMT -5
Both covers are great. It's easier to make the case for Sgt. Abbey Road is not as obvious. I can't begin to explain why it's so captivating. Booker T and the MGs copied it within months. If you punch up the live cam of the street, you can't go two hours without seeing someone taking pictures of their friends crossing the street.
I'd have to give it to Sgt Pepper though. Thanks to that cover, the album looks just like a masterpiece.
But, as Blackgaurd stressed, this is a vote for Pepper and not against Road.
So what now, solo Beatles? Are we doing them together or separate and them matching the winners up?
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Post by Steve Marinucci on Nov 16, 2011 14:06:16 GMT -5
I vote "Abbey Road." Both covers have become meaningful beyond the albums themselves, but "Abbey Road" says it all for me. Not to mention it inspired my website and this board.
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Post by scousette on Nov 16, 2011 14:29:00 GMT -5
I think the length of this tourney has caused some ADD to set in. Vote to eliminate an album cover, folks! (Doing a very bad impression of vectis here.) BTW, I'm heartbroken that With/Meet the Beatles is gone. That photo is the most iconic ever.
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Post by debjorgo on Nov 16, 2011 15:49:22 GMT -5
I think the length of this tourney has caused some ADD to set in. Vote to eliminate an album cover, folks! (Doing a very bad impression of vectis here.) BTW, I'm heartbroken that With/Meet the Beatles is gone. That photo is the most iconic ever. Yeah, that's why I said I'd been happy leaving it at top 5. Knocking out Rubber Soul and Revolver was sad too. But Meet the Beatles had so many great memories attached to it. It was extra sad to take. I know this has become tiresome to vectis and was just kidding with the solo Beatles comment (although I would play).
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Post by Steve Marinucci on Nov 16, 2011 16:18:52 GMT -5
Seeing as how I voted the wrong way (slap! slap!), I change my vote (assuming I can) to SPLHCB.
And I agree about With the Beatles, scousette.
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Post by coachbk on Nov 16, 2011 20:45:57 GMT -5
ABBEY ROAD is the one I vote off in the final
It's a good cover, but without the whole "Paul is Dead" controversy this wouldn't even be close. Even with the controversy it still is an easy win for SPLHCB, the most distinctive cover in all of pop music!
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Post by vectisfabber on Nov 17, 2011 4:17:12 GMT -5
I'll leave this running until early next week, then I'll tot up.
What a hoot if both sleeves get equal votes, and both get voted off - no winner!
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Post by John S. Damm on Nov 17, 2011 8:59:23 GMT -5
I'll leave this running until early next week, then I'll tot up. What a hoot if both sleeves get equal votes, and both get voted off - no winner! I suspect that with your loose interpretation of your own rules, anything can happen here regardless of the actual votes! Just kidding vect-dawg! This has been a hoot. I like long tourneys. Joey use to do the McCartney Song Tourney and that was luxuriously long because Paul has a million solo songs.
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Post by vectisfabber on Nov 17, 2011 11:40:41 GMT -5
Well, I'm conscious of the fact that this has sometimes - often! - not steamed along quite as quickly as I would have wished, but we're nearly there.
Next up - serial numbers. PCS 7009, PCS 7027, PCS 7067/8, PCS 7088 and PXS 1 - EMI certainly knew how to put together a catchy serial number, didn't it?
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Post by debjorgo on Nov 17, 2011 18:21:01 GMT -5
Well, I'm conscious of the fact that this has sometimes - often! - not steamed along quite as quickly as I would have wished, but we're nearly there. Next up - serial numbers. PCS 7009, PCS 7027, PCS 7067/8, PCS 7088 and PXS 1 - EMI certainly knew how to put together a catchy serial number, didn't it? I don't know. I thought PC5 7067/8 could have been better as a single number.
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Post by vectisfabber on Nov 17, 2011 19:12:08 GMT -5
But it was two records! And each one had to have its own number!
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Post by debjorgo on Nov 17, 2011 19:18:29 GMT -5
But it was two records! And each one had to have its own number! Excuses, Excuses!! I'm still voting it off.
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wooltonian
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"Football isn't a matter of life and death - it's much more important than that." Bill Shankly.
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Post by wooltonian on Nov 18, 2011 6:06:31 GMT -5
To win: Abbey Road
I actually surprise myself with this choice, becuase I had never really seen such a simple sleeve as a potential winner. However...
In a way its simplicity is its genius. 'Pepper' was painstakingly conceived and lavishly produced, but it ends up too cluttered. There are so many images fighting for attention that its impact is diminished. I still love it and it represents so much in relation to the mythology of the band and the music on the album. Iconic images should be simple and striking, however, and Abbey Road is exactly that. Lazily conceived as the easiest possible cover photo to organise for an apathetic band, it's nevertheless a brilliant image -- striking, simple and utterly original. It also has an added poigniance as one of the very last photo-shots of the Beatles. It is my winner.
Incidentally, my top three would have been...
Abbey Road With the Beatles Sgt Pepper
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Post by Joe Karlosi on Nov 18, 2011 14:51:42 GMT -5
Goodbye, ABBEY ROAD...
PEPPER is the greatest and most iconic record album cover of all time, although I say that as someone who happens to (objectively) feel that it's become to feel overly familiar by 2011. But there's no denying its influence and artistry, when first released.
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Post by theman on Nov 19, 2011 14:34:19 GMT -5
I vote against SPLHCB (just in the nick of time).
Abbey Road is my favorite, hands down. To me, it represents the Beatles sort of walking into the sunset.
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Post by Snookeroo on Nov 19, 2011 16:56:08 GMT -5
Hate to vote either of the covers off - but Abbey Road must bow to the mighty PEPPER cover. C'mon man we're talking the Pepper album. Oh, and as far as the great Beatle height issue goes - check out this pic: Uploaded with ImageShack.us
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Post by John S. Damm on Nov 19, 2011 20:50:10 GMT -5
Hate to vote either of the covers off - but Abbey Road must bow to the mighty PEPPER cover. C'mon man we're talking the Pepper album. Oh, and as far as the great Beatle height issue goes - check out this pic: Uploaded with ImageShack.usAre the Beatles urinating against that fake backdrop? If they turned around then we could answer that other pressing issue on size!
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Post by Blackguard on Nov 20, 2011 22:12:08 GMT -5
Looking at that photo of The Beatles and the backdrop I think I have the answer to what they were doing.
It must have been taken backstage during one of their performances on The Ed Sullivan Show. I don't know how it started, however there was a tradition that many of the performers took part in. They would sign something to Ed on the plywood after they finished their segment on the show.
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Post by vectisfabber on Nov 21, 2011 4:30:04 GMT -5
And......
...voting is over.
The great EMI album sleeve art knockout competition has arrived at its fantastically long drawn out closure.
Apart from the Result thread, that is.
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Post by joeyself on Nov 25, 2011 8:20:20 GMT -5
What? No. I was here last month and we were on round 17 or 18. This can't be over yet, I was still thinking about my choice in 19...
JcS
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wooltonian
Very Clean
"Football isn't a matter of life and death - it's much more important than that." Bill Shankly.
Posts: 796
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Post by wooltonian on Nov 25, 2011 9:15:35 GMT -5
What? No. I was here last month and we were on round 17 or 18. This can't be over yet, I was still thinking about my choice in 19... JcS It speeded up latterly...considerably. Using my logarithm tables and an old slide rule, I have calculated that if we had continued with this tourney by January 2013 Vectis would be commencing a new round every three seconds!
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