John Foster takes music packaging very seriously. He has deconstructed the design of the recording industry through his personal work and his books, Maximum Page Design (HOW), New Masters of Poster Design (Rockport) and the upcoming For Sale: Innovative Solutions in Packaging Design (HOW) as well as a monograph of Sub Pop’s Art Director, Jeff Kleinsmith, slated for publication by the label in 2008.
He will be poking and prodding various albums on a weekly basis so please be sure to keep an eye out!
This week’s victims:
Beck “Modern Guilt”
Is it worth listening to no matter what it looks like? I feel like we take Beck for granted. There was shockingly little buzz for this record despite the hotly-tipped collaboration with Danger Mouse. The expectation is that Beck will once again come away with a handful of killer tunes and a little filler (I will grant you that it has been a long time since he went end to end on a disc) and that will be that. However, the truth is that a substandard Beck track is usually pretty damn good and likely has some tasty pieces at a minimum and when he is on, the highs are gloriously high. Maybe James Murphy passed him by via actually having poignant lyrics to go with his “I am pretty sure I could shake my ass to this if I really wanted to and wasn’t busy reading this book” beats, but Beck is still vital and should not be so easily ignored.
The production here allows the parts and pieces to be easier defined than his past few discs of throbbing interlocked-band recordings. Some tunes make their mark through searing fuzz bass or snappy drum patterns or ethereal keys as they tie together with Beck’s signature sleepy vocals. The sound might be a bit thinner than in the past, but it does allow you to appreciate the simple joys in each song. “Orphans” kicks things off with a hi-hat happy drum track and bits of country guitar picks and piano tinkles and a bridge surge where you can almost hear Chan Marshall’s vocal additions. “Gamma Ray” brushes away the narcotic air with a great keyboard bass riff from Danger Mouse, and reminds me of the pop scuzz I always assumed would dominate Frank Black’s solo career, but never did. Pushing things forward with the Joey Waronker drum workout flowing under Beck’s skyward bound vocals that is the magical “Chemtrails”, this disc kicks ass seven different ways in the first three songs!
The problem is that it never really hits those highs again. The remaining tracks have their qualities for sure, the snaking bass and beats of the title track, Matt Mahaffey gives Danger Mouse a run for his money with a real live bass on the groove for “Youthless” but he returns playing everything on “Walls” for Beck and Marshall (still barely audible) to sing over. “Replica” moves spooky marimba over jungle beats and incorporates a little jazzy timing. Beck builds up a chunky riff for “Soul of a Man” which harkens back to his earliest efforts. “Profanity Prayers” is the main standout in the rear with several killer fuzzed guitar parts and a driving beat. “Volcano” closes things out in sleepy dragging fashion as if the effort in making the album exhausted the participants. I hope not, as an album full of the power emanating from the opening trio is certainly possible from this pair and should place Beck back squarely on top of the pop innovator throne.
Credit: “Art Direction by Beck, Drew Brown, Layout by David Calderley at Graphic Therapy, Photography by Drew Brown”
Any signs of creative interference in the design process by the artist? As always with Beck – the answer is yes.
Does the look fit the sound? Not really. The design evokes a jazz record feel in it’s simplicity and photocropping (not quite Blue Note but moving in that direction) and the black and white ink with only a spot of bronze metallic on “Modern Guilt” leaves things downcast and 60s feeling. This collection may be lyrically bleak but it is far from Beck’s most downcast album and has virtually no time period musical references. Drew Brown’s (engineering the disc and providing photos) images are not particularly accomplished or evocative. David Calderley of Graphic Therapy (of Interpol design mess fame) does what he can with the cropping, but also makes some sloppy decisions.
The cover has so few elements that using an “invisible grid” would really enhance the power. Kerning (the space between letterforms) “Beck” in order to have the edge of the “E” line up with the “M” below (it’s just off) and edging the “K” so that it makes a visual slide into the edge of the “E” below would have been easy to do and finished the piece off in a complete fashion. In this same vein, the image below could have been pushed and pulled a little so that the “R” and “U” anchored the sides of the figure with his hands in his pocket. Simple things that make a world of difference (and separate the level of designer you are if all other talents are equal.) He also made a nice decision to anchor each booklet page with the song lyrics and had them line up across from one another on each spread. The problem is that he lined up the fist song with the last even though they are not facing one another so that you don’t get the intended effect. I am sure it looked good on the screen, but when the booklet is put together you can quickly assess the negated impact. Starting each song from the same placement might have been more effective to accomplish the desired result.
The justified type is also awkward in places in the amount tracked in or out and leaving spaces between each lyric line makes for natural “rivers” (the empty areas that make for runs of white when you squint your eyes), serving up an uncomfortable reading experience so that even a decent idea falls flat no matter how you slice it based on poor execution.
Final score (out of 10): 4.5 design, 6.5 for the music
