Imogen Heap - Speak For Yourself (2005)
Genres: Downtempo, Electronic, Pop Rock
Have you ever owned an album that embodies great material musically, but the album cover tells a tale of everything but that? Well, this is what the 'Bad Cover, Good Music' post represents. This post is to show a prime example of why it's not always wise to judge an album by it's cover. My goal for this post is to enlighten those that miss out on swell material due to unpleasant covers that misrepresent the beauty held within various albums.
Speak For Yourself is Imogen Heap's second solo album, and it's easily my favorite album by her thus far. On this album, Imogen shows much musicianship and creativity as a solo artist. Remarkably, the album was written, produced, arranged, and funded by Heap herself. Angelic harmonies, digestible lyrics, and sublime production reside within this release. Speak For Yourself is not only a strong album, but it also sets her apart from her previous group Frou Frou.
I've been in a Imogen Heap aura for the past few weeks, and the album Speak For Yourself has been satisfying to the ears each listen. However, despite the strong material featured on the album, it's missing one major component, a radiant album cover. It's never good to judge anything by it's cover alone, but as people, don't we all fall victim of using the "the first impression is the last impression" rule more than we'd like to admit?
The cover for this album says everything opposite of the musical experience it has to offer. The thoughtless album art screams, "I'm dull. I lack creativity. I'm not worth the purchase. I was created to collect dust wherever I'm placed. If you're shopping for music, you can expect to see me on a clearance rack." However, after bypassing the horrid artwork, a masterpiece quickly appears. It's as if the the clouds roll back, and the heavens rejoice directly after tearing through the unpleasant artwork.
Speak For Yourself is the most played album in my collection at the moment, and I would hate to see it fall by the wayside due to it's outer appearance. This album is not only recommended to individuals that enjoy music by Imogen Heap or Frou Frou, but also to anyone that would second guess giving the album a chance based on it's cover. Amazon has copies of the album available for sale (click here), so be sure to grab yourself a copy and become hooked the same way I have. Also, a sample of two tracks is available below.
Imogen Heap - The Walk
Imogen Heap - Just For Now
4 comments:
Great Post! So funny, because I am the same way when it comes to album art! I think musicians/recording artists should put a lot of thought into their album covers and what vibe they give off. Perhaps do a bit of market research— a focus group or survey— because too often great music is overshadowed by artwork that isn't aesthetically pleasing, or doesn't suit the mood of the music. LOVE Imogen, but this cover looks like someone who just learned photoshop designed it.
Thanks V! Haha, we're definitely album cover snobs. Album covers add on to the full experience of an album though, so if it's lacking, the experience is lacking (in my opinion). Lol, comparing the cover to a person's skill that just learned photoshop is definitely far from the music, and that's down right sad.
this album is classic.. a lot of samples have come from this i've noticed over the years.
Same here E. I recently heard a sample from this album on a Pop/Rap song.
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