SOURCE>NPGMC









[Edited 1/12/06 6:13am]

That can´t be the cover!!!!


If it IS the cover, I would throw it away immediately. Seriously!

Why would this be the cover? Because it is the current splash page over at the NPGMC? Don't think so.

i think it's just a teaser, though i supposed it wouldn't make a horribly bad back cover with the track listing printed over the image.

from all i've heard, that pic of prince wearing the 3121 jacket and looking over his shoulder is the proper cover image for the next album. unconfirmed, but it's what i've been hearin'...

I find it quite stylish, frankly. There is something appealing about this mix of brown and gold. Very "warm" and sensual, yet still mysterious in this peculiar Prince kind of way.

Papaj said:

it's very "candles and insense"...

What's with the symbol ? I thought he is Prince again.

calin said:

that symbol has popped up on his album art and videos since way back in the 1999 days...just cuz he quit using it as a name doesn't mean it's going anywhere. he played the symbol-shaped guitar all through the musicology tour.

what is that? is it chocolate? or are they candle holders? what am I looking at here?

i'm saying all of this in due love and admiration for those to whom it's directed:

with all the south american and middle eastern iconography we're seeing in all the pre-3121 promo stuff these days, i think it's a PERFECT OPPORTUNITY for a designer to create a GORGEOUS ALBUM COVER.

actually LOOK at middle eastern and south american decorative art. STUDY and RESEARCH it. there are SOOO many beautiful, ornate, stunning ideas to draw from.

SPEND SOME TIME putting some detail into the art, or at the very least spend some time with the simplicity of the work and ask yourself: is this something that will stand out twenty years from now? never mind "does this look as good as SOTT or ATWIAD" - as its own statement, does this stand out?

and as a designer, if the bottom line is "it really just doesn't matter that much, as long as it looks nice", then you need to consider all the other designers out there who would plotz to have an opportunity to design an album like this. every substandard album design is a slap in the face to all of those who would gladly spend their every waking moment on a finished product that would do the music proud. you got your foot in the door because of your talent, and that's great - now do something with it.

"N.E.W.S." was a fun experiment - TRC wasn't done justice - Musicology was just plain ugly. Do the fans proud and wow us with something we'll be happy to see in wrecka stows...just this once?

PS: SPELL CHECK THE LINER NOTES.

i'm sure the entire design has been put to bed (with the exception of a litany of revisions to the lyrics in the liner notes booklet, natch), but in prince world, i think we all know it's never too late to tear everything down at the last minute and start all over again. so...there's that.

ok, now that THAT'S off my chest....

Looks like Steve Parke is back on the payroll.
[Edited 1/12/06 6:43am]

NouveauDance said:

dunno if that'd be a good thing or a bad one...then again, that'd be better than the done-in-microsoft-paint stuff that's been gracing his album covers for the past couple years.

NouveauDance said:

nah, i don't think that's the case.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

i would love to see someone do a collage by hand, or a colored pencil illustration, or a watercolor painting, or SOMEthing that isn't just a bunch of clicks and templates lined up to resemble something we'll recognize as a prince product. just because he's grown out of his '80s asthetic doesn't mean he can't still turn out a product that looks as good as he wants it to sound.

Anxiety said:

yeah--you'd think that since he's taken a more organic approach nowadays, he'd have the album covers done the same way.

Here's my guess:

In the world of audio, we say "In the can" when a project is finished. It came from a tape reel in it's "can", or metal round case.

Since these two things in the artwork look like cans, I'd say Prince is telling us that he has 2 albums worth of material "in the can".

U can doubt this if U want 2, but I gotta feeling about this.

Peace.

G.
[Edited 1/12/06 14:51pm]

Anxiety said:

It was just a joke! A comment on the lacklustre artwork during Parke's years with Prince, this would be fitting to his style.

slimongi said:

Interesting I kinda like it - The design is something different, wish i could see a larger version to see the detail.

NouveauDance said:

yeah, but it was one of those scary jokes that could come true.

It looks to me like Prince still has some NPG store candles left over than he STILL can sell 10 years on.

So the latest marketing effort is to stick them on a cover!

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

I'm sorry Dansa....but I just had to say 2 ur Sig line.

SquirrelMeat said:

well, maybe he'll sell that chipped one for half price in the NPG ClearANTS store.

SquirrelMeat said:

the PP's have acknowledged that they ARENT candles....so the current speculation is chocolate....as ever flowing chocolate was a big thing at all the 3121 parties last year....

uhm, am i the only one who notices the japanese/chinese paper
those two things are standing on.

for some reason, the print on it, the cherry blossom kind of
elevates my hopes about the new project.

i've been wanting prince to go on an oriental/asian vibe for
the longest now.

let's hope it has some weird chinese influences.

IstenSzek said:

I noticed

katt said:

this is a large version. it's a blown up close up of two cylindrical cookies
(chocolate cookies), ornated with gold lettering. very nicely executed though
it is, it's still just pastry.

IstenSzek said:

He'll go all Björk on us!

He will have throath singers too!

HamsterHuey said:

let's hope so. i wouldn't care if he had sumo wrestlers fart
if it resulted in groundbreaking, cool experimental songs.

IstenSzek said:

I noticed the chocolate first of I also thought they looked a little like ginger snaps
4 some reason after my younger son played on computer last night (or it could be something 2 do with nortons updates) I can not see anything on the Index page at the club except writting I also can not see any of the flash not sure why.