what labels do you just plain hate seeing?
ako
https://soundcloud.com/a-ko 3,413 Posts
im not talking about content since all these labels have lots of classic stuff on them, im talking about label designs you just hate running into, well-designed or not...
cant stand seeing just about any late-70s design label.
i hate the orange epic label and hate the black one even more.
i hate the white A & M label with the tan letters
i hate the columbia label with the yellow "columbia" around the outside
the WB label with the buildings
any capitol label after the lime green one
that damn scotti brothers label on 45s
thousands of others...
major labels i love to see, however:
yellow epic
lime green capitol (rainbow & black's good, but lime green is more my era)
360 columbia
thats all i got off the top of my head though. of course theres obvious ones like impulse or blue note or prestige or whatever...
EDIT: wait, does that wb label have buildings on it? or am i thinking of the 70's mercury one? maybe they both have buildings.
cant stand seeing just about any late-70s design label.
i hate the orange epic label and hate the black one even more.
i hate the white A & M label with the tan letters
i hate the columbia label with the yellow "columbia" around the outside
the WB label with the buildings
any capitol label after the lime green one
that damn scotti brothers label on 45s
thousands of others...
major labels i love to see, however:
yellow epic
lime green capitol (rainbow & black's good, but lime green is more my era)
360 columbia
thats all i got off the top of my head though. of course theres obvious ones like impulse or blue note or prestige or whatever...
EDIT: wait, does that wb label have buildings on it? or am i thinking of the 70's mercury one? maybe they both have buildings.
Comments
Cosign
Yeah that one sucks
Also, that one that Bobby Sherman was on. Its blue, fuck i forgot the name. I hate it.
i mean,
winstons - amen brother
elephants memory - mongoose
some other 45 i have with like 4 uptempo breaks
but i must remember this thread is not about content.
Yeah, I think that is why I hate that label, cause of Shermans weak ass.
hope this isn't "too obvious" for you ako.
fuck a break.
only reason windham hill was so obvious to me was because i grew up around that shit...haha
hope this isn't "too obvious" for you ako.
I always liked the IRS lable.
RCA 45's.
Jubilee.
CANNAAN
TEMPO
WORD
(annoying Xian bin filling hope-dashers)
the wb label had the palm trees. mercury was the buildings.
the original green-and-black "glades" label was pretty funky looking as well. they later cleaned it up, but those early issues (timmy thomas' "why can't we live together," latimore's "stormy monday," etc.) were plug-ugly.
and that was one psychotic looking bird on the "parrot" label (the london subsidary that recorded tom jones, englebert humperdinck, savoy brown, the zombies, etc.)
too many heavy d and mcgruff joints, not enough "party and bullshit."
ah really? i kinda like that label design. personally the later glades label was SUPER ugly.
but as far as crudeness goes: tons of funk 45 labels that werent just text have some of the sloppiest/crudest looking images on them ever, but that gives them their charm and ive come to really like a lot of them. kinda like how i love the look of private press lp's with stock covers now, when im sure i used to think they were the ugliest thing ever..haha
thought of another label i dont really like looking at (and i might get shot down for this one...): polydor. dont know why but ive never really been a fan...however dont get me wrong, for such a large label they put out a TON of great stuff...
and a label i LOVE seeing:
late 60's cadet. nothing lights up my eyes like one of those in a pile of wackness...add cadet concept to the list.
understand that most of these labels that i love seeing arent really due to the design, just the association with great music.
Both of those designs suck. And all Reprise, looks like K-Tel or something.
love seeing: limelight.
ah yeah, forgot about that...it's in our storage unit for the time being actually, had to put a bunch of stuff away but i'll get back to you when i get it out again.
id kill to have all those in working condition...
Yeah, but you always have to check to see if it's the Black Belt Jones theme.
I always hated the later, cursive yellow-on-purple Gordy label. So cheapslick.
Also:
The navy Epic; Abnak (Atlantic rip); tan RCA (booooo-ring); Steed; the later, seated King; Turbo; Hit (looks like an Oldies reissue label); Old Town (the ugly side of DIY labels); the really colorful Keen label (Sam C. or no, this is ugly)
...and James - I LOVE that People label. Come on, brother. Red, Purple and Blue versions. The Grey-on-White is too clean.
I always hated the later, cursive yellow-on-purple Gordy label. So cheapslick.
Also:
The navy Epic; Abnak (Atlantic rip); tan RCA (booooo-ring); Steed; the later, seated King; Turbo; Hit (looks like an Oldies reissue label); Old Town (the ugly side of DIY labels); the really colorful Keen label (Sam C. or no, this is ugly)
...and James - I LOVE that People label. Come on, brother. Red, Purple and Blue versions. The Grey-on-White is too clean.
yeah, i used to check if the later wb 45 was "cosmic sea"...but i got that lp now so i dont even care...
that later gordy label is diiisgusting. should have changed the label to "grody" (im oh so clever)
nayv epic sucks
abnak has its moments but they did SUCH bad job designing that label...and yeah, blatant rip off atlantic..
tan RCA has good shit sometimes, but i prefer orange
maybe i just like steed for the illusion...but that horse 45 label that's ALWAYS andy kim makes me sick..
i love turbo! looks so cheezy but half the time is some raw shit (injun joe anybody?) the design makes me laugh because it just doesnt make sense to me in the least bit, plus i really do kinda like the design anyway for some strange reason.
hit's gross
old town gets my love, even if it is ugly..
cant stand seeing that keen label.
and yeah! red people label is awesome. plus i just love the letters, stick and ball...and how the "e"s connect completely.just a circle with a line through it.
cant get enough
I think that was the earlier label - with the motto, "it's what's in the grooves that count?" At any rate, it never bothered me, but I thought the later one (still yellow and purple, but with the large G) was more tasteful, not as all-over-the-damn-place.
As far as designs go, I prefer the later blue Turbo (with the chrome lettering) over the pink-and-orange one. But for music, I avoid the slick chrome logo - that's when Turbo (and the rest of the All Platinum family) went disco. As far as straight-up soul and funk, it's all about the earlier, rawer design.
Depends on which design. The one with the yellow moon rising over the city skyline is pure class, whether it's the blue or red versions. Sure wish I could find a decent pic online. Now, THIS hand-drawn monstrosity here is the definition of "tacky":
Wouldn't have been so bad, 'cept that the drawing of the actual people at the bottom of the label looks like somebody's kindergarten finger-painting class.
Now, you wanna see a label design I LOVE? The black superman with X-ray vision that adorned the Invictus label.
thats the one i was thinking of when i replied...who drew that text?! just awful. but its got that charm i love...
That's the one. Bad Tacky, unlike the "man-riding-an-8-point-buck-in-a-cloud-of-smoke-after-some-woman's-legs" on Dud Sound, which is Good Tacky. Oh, and you just got called out up above.
No hijack: My copy of "I Call my Baby Pussycat" has bullshit levels, whereas the recent CD remaster is perfect. What the hell? I've always wondered if the Osmium version was better.
Even though most of this label's classic recordings were released with this label, what the hell is that? Looks like somebody's vomit in the river!
GOOD Westbound:
I always thought the truck was a nice touch.
I like it the other way around. The mind-melting always reminded me of Hazel in a freakout, and the sleeve is perfect. The truck reminded me of trucks. And the fact that the label had really slipped (IMO)
took the words right of my mouth.
that old westbound label has a great look in my opinion! plus its always exciting to find stuff on that label...even though half the time i do its always that damn "americans" or whatever 45. seriously unavoidable.
new one is gross. haha. i like the new W logo but the rest is way too late-70s early 80s looking.
old one seems psychadelic and gritty, new one seems..polished and businessy..hahahaha, im terrible at describing things.
but then again thats what this thread is all about. personal opinions.