CD Cover Evaluation; The Smiths

The Smiths CD Cover; The World Won't Listen

The album 'The World Won't Listen' was released in 1987 on the label Rough Trade. The Smiths themselves are considered to be extremely important within the beginnings of the indie movement. The sleeve was designed by the band member Morrissey.

The people in the picture are not actually the band members, which is strange considering they are such a big focus of this album sleeve. Morrissey was known for his love of simple, subtle images that became the focus of the album sleeves. The colour of the album cover seems to be of a sepia tone, this certain photographic style is fairly common within pictures and videos of this genre of music, this is most probably because it creates a relaxed tone and fairly different look to whole thing.

The font along the top of the album sleeve means that it is fairly clear and easily visable, which is fairly important with this particular of album cover as the band are not on the cover and it is not completely obvious what album it is without the text. The title of the album 'the world wont listen' is refering to the frustration of the band member Morrissey who was annoyed at the press and mainstream radio companies for not playing and taking notice of the band. The idea of 'the world wont listen' intrigues the audience and makes them want to listen to what the world are supposedly ignoring. The elements of the mise en scene suggest a male dominance within the band and their fans due to no females on the album cover. The fashion culture appearing on the cover suggests that the album is older than it actually is, as the hairstyles and clothing were more popular within the 60's and 70's. None of the men on the album are looking towards the camera, this is similar to other album covers i have looked at, and this type of photo creates the feeling that the picture has not been composed by a photographer contradicting other genres of music where the artists are very much posing towards the camera and contriving to the typical conventions of album covers, this again suggests that indie is a rebellious genre of music. The target audience for this type of album is mostly males, of a white origin and typically working class. This is most probably due to the band members then becoming easily relatable to, due to the similarities. The female audience will also be attracted to this album cover because of the (what could be considered) attractive males on the forefront of the image. The audience are led to believe that the people on the album cover are the band or fans, however we are clear it is not the band, and most probably not avid fans, however this stereotype would be given to those who have a great interest in the bands of this genre. The Smiths is a very simple name, and this catchy short phrase will stick in peoples minds easily, this would of helped publicize the band and their music. One factor that would increase the enigma towards the audience is the fact the main male character has his back towards the audience, this could suggest he has something to hide from the audience. This mystery could suggest the music contained is mysterious, or rebellious therefore the male wants to hide most of himself. This album could suggest that within this genre, appearance is important as well as the music itself. This suggests that the bands image is vital in keeping the bands attitude and reputation alive.