The Art of Rhys Cooper

Rhys Cooper is an Australian

based screen-print artist working mainly in rock and roll gig posters
and film prints.

His past clients include Nine Inch Nails, Queens of the Stone Age,
GREENDAY, Kings of Leon, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam and
Refused. Working in his iconic metal style, Rhys’s work

has been recognized on a national level by both art and music

lovers alike.

While recording artists and bands are busy
recording their albums, a separate effort is
usually being made behind the scenes to plan for
the launch, promotion and circulation of the new
tracks. The creation of CD cover art is an integral
part of this process.
Some CD covers feature heavily edited and
airbrushed vanity photos of the musicians or
recording artists. Thankfully, others are much
more creative and work to create a cover image
that reflects the mood, attitude or feel of the
music it promotes. The most striking
designs are those that capture both a
buyer’s attention and the essense of the
music.
It must be noted that a collection of this
nature is never complete, and the value of
art is very personal and subjective. While
we may love the familiar cover art of some
classic favourites because we love the
bands and the music, a critical look at the cover
art can often be a disappointment. For the purposes
of this cross-section of GREATEST cd cover art
(some are remarkable and obscure) we have chosen
to ignore the musical genius of the albums in favor
of showcasing brilliant cover art.
Baroness – The Red Album (1988)
This gorgeous cover art was
created by Baroness lead singer
John Dyer Baizley.
Baizley does all of the band’s
artwork and has also worked on
art for other bands.
Circa Survive – On Letting Go
(2007)
Circa Survive released a new
album with this cover, which
seems caught between a dream
and a nightmare.
Quistads --- Caged (2008)
A budding artist created this image in hope that it would
be used as cd cover art. It’s frightening and striking at
the same time. The two faces could represent may things
and makes an excellent cover image for the right band.
Marylin Manson – Mechanical
Animals (1998)
Always one for shock value,
Marylin Manson made sure he
would grab eyeballs with this
album cover; the cover was so
effective that it had to be
altered just to be taken off ban-
lists.

Story of the Year – Page Avenue
(2003)
The title and art on this cover
work beautifully together.
Van Halen- 1984
A very naughty baby angel, with a
mischievous look and cig in hand.
Proof that Rock 'n' roll can corrupt
anyone or anything. The Devil's got
the best tunes, but this Angel's got
Jump and Hot For Teacher
underneath its cover.

Pink Floyd – The Darkside of the

KMFDM – Hau Ruck (2005)
Moon (1973)
Harsh, abrupt, and loud, this
Voted and declared on many lists
KMFDM cover art gets in your
internationally as the greatest album
face.
cover art in history, The Darkside of
the Moon stands the test of time as
it’s still wildly popular in its
Out of Enemies – Into the simplicity.
Darkness (2009)
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Good use of artist rendering here (1975)
shows a surrealistic scene in modern
manga-style illustration. We don’t How do you follow Dark Side of the
know what’s in the woods, or why the Moon's iconic artwork? Set a man on
hero needs to enter. We just know fire, that's how. For the overall
he’s Out of Enemies. concept, Designer had centred on the
idea of absence, with the album
The Who – Then and Now (2004/2006) shrink-wrapped in a dark colour to
hide the artwork - a somewhat peverse
This album art showcases the
idea when that artwork was so cool -
fact that The Who have been
with the gesture of a handshake between the two men
around since before most of us
being inspired by Welcome to the Machine and Have a
were born. The vintage styling
Cigar and by the idea that people hide their true feelings
makes every piece of information
(the shrinkwrap) for fear of 'getting burned' (the cover)
“pop” and the whole thing comes
underneath. EMI were initially unhappy with the 'non-
together to look like a concert
cover' but, says Storm, "after we stuck a cow on the
poster.
front of Atom Heart Mother [an earlier album] they
knew that anything to do with Pink Floyd was difficult."
 The Ramones - Ramones
Designer/photographer
remarked that getting
The Ramones to pose for
a photo was 'like pullig
teeth', but the world
would like to thank her
for persisting, as the
results formed one of
the most enduring and
cool rock 'n' roll images
of all time. The
monochrome image of the ultimate punk pioneers would
be replicated by countless young hopefuls over the
coming years, and immortalise Johnny, Tommy, Joey and
Dee Dee forever.
Led Zeppelin - Houses of
the Holy
Designer appears once
more in this list, but few
can deny the validity and
coolness of this effort,
for the mighty Led
Zeppelin. Location?The
natural wonder of the
Giant's Causeway in
Northern Ireland. What's
on those basalt columns?
A series of spooky looking
golden-haired children (actually created using multiple-
exposure shots of just two actors) crawling up
towards a distant light. Alleged inspiration? The novel
Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke, where children
climb off the end of the world. Sinister, wrapped in
mythology and very, very cool - yep, that's the Zep.
Rage Against The Machine -
Rage Against The Machine
Rage Against The Machine's 1992
self-titled debut album was
nothing short of incendiary - a
political and radical call-to-
arms soundtracked by ferocious
metal riffs. The cover was no
less confrontational, featuring
a photo taken by Associated Press correspondent
Malcolm Browne of a Vietnamese Buddhist monk,
ThíchQuảngĐức, burning himself to death in Saigon in
1963, protesting against the Vietnamese
administration's oppression of the Buddhist religion. A
truly powerful image demonstrating one man's ultimate
sacrifice for his beliefs, it was both shocking and
inspiring, two ingredients for an iconic album cover.
Nirvana - Nevermind
The iconic image of an innocent
baby swimming towards a
dollar bill on a fishhook is one
of the most instantly
recognisable in musical
history, worthy of the
enormously influential
breakthrough album that was
Nevermind. Kurt Cobain
reportedly conceived the idea after watching a TV
program on water births, and a photographer was duly
despatched, with the dollar bill being added
afterwards. The meaning behind the image has never been
revealed, and never will be, adding to the intrigue, and
coolness of the sleeve.

Blink-182, 'Enema of the
State' (1999)
For the cover of their
mainstream breakthrough LP,
Blink-182 enlisted adult
actress Janine Lindemulder to
put a highly suggestive -- and
literal -- spin on the album
title. It’s an image that was
burned into the
mind of every TRL
viewer, one that
became instantly
iconic.
The Velvet
Underground and
Nico, -The Velvet
Underground
&Nico' (1967)
This iconic Andy Warhol banana picture with "peel
slowly and see" instructions is a great cover on its
own, but the original version actually included a peel-
off sticker revealing a flesh-
colored banana beneath. A perfect
combination of art, music and humor.
The Mothers of Invention – Weasels
Ripped My Flesh (1988)-The cover
art of this cd colorfully mocks the
title.
The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely
Hearts Club Band (1967)
Some say no collection of cover
art is worth mentioning without this
cover.
Green Day – 21st
Century Breakdown (2009)
Warm and grungy, this cd cover art
also captures a tinge of teenage
angst.
Very Banksy-esque, the cover is a
stencilled image of a couple in a
passionate embrace on a graffiti-ed
wall.
New Order - Power, Corruption and Lies
This seminal work from Saville was part of a series of
incredible cover designs. Power, Corruption and Lies
was the 'keystone', with the decoder for the colour-
based code found in the top-right corner, representing
the title and band name, being found on the back cover
of the album. The same code then appeared on the iconic
floppy-disc cover for Blue Monday and also Confusion.
The cover is a reproduction of the painting "A Basket of
Roses" by French artist Henri Fantin-Latour with Saville
explaining that they "suggested the means by which
power, corruption and lies infiltrate our lives. They're
seductive." A masterpiece of graphic design and
undeniably cool.
The Beatles - Abbey Road
Quite simply, an utterly iconic image,
with the Fab Four themselves at
their coolest: John resplendent in
a white suit, Paul barefoot.
Perfectly in harmony, and utterly
British. The crossing itself was
given Grade II listed status in 2010 -
there aren't many traffic artefacts
that can boast that.
 Green Day – Dookie (1994)

A veritable pop-punk Where's

Waldo, Green Day's Dookie
became an iconic cover
purely based on the
countless hours of
examination the cover
offered. An illustration by
Bay Area artist Richie Bucher,
Coldplay – Viva LaVida
the Dookie cover is a who's who of the San Francisco
(2008)
scene and the cultural
touchstones the band walked over, A vintage French
including Black Sabbath and Angus battleground is the
Young. It's clean, chaotic, and scene for this cd
instantly recognizable. cover. Smear and
splatter bring it to
The Clash - London Calling( 1979)
life.
Give Em Enough
Rope may have
been more
macabre, but nothing disrupted the
culture quite like London Calling. Rush – Power Windows
This is arguably one of the most iconic (1985)
images in rock 'n' roll history. Based
on the layout and design of Elvis This strange cover seems
Presley's to be showing a mirrored
debut record, world, where we sit and
it shows watch a window,
bassist surrounded by
Simonon televisions.
smashing his
Fender P-bass
into the stage
of The
Palladium in
1979, a
moment captured by photographer
Pennie Smith. From tattoos to T-shirts,
the cover of London Calling can be seen everywhere.
Tool – Ænima (1996) picture, the oddities become evident.

One of many brilliant cover art Pixies – Doolittle (1990)

designs for Tool, this one is also a
stunning optical illusion. With a name like Pixies, you might expect sweet, innocent
looking cover art. This is not the case.

As Cities Burn – Hell or High Water (2008)

The Mars Volta – Frances
the Mute (2005)
This cover art photo
is organized
confusion that might
make would-be
listeners curious
about the music.
Black Light Burns –
Cruel Melody (2007)
Both Hell and high water make their appearance in this
album cover by As Cities Burn, and the heavy relief
styling mated with macabre humor do well to quickly
catch your eye.
Deftones – Deftones (2003)
Relaxed and friendly typography tops this self-titled
album’s cover art, while perfectly over-contrasted
colors surround the skull in the center. This cover
stands out anywhere.

Taking a more classical

route on this cover art, Black Light
Burns manages to catch a browser’s
eye.

Rivermaya – Buhay (2008)

The art on this cd cover is a bit

perplexing. The mostly
monochromatic design comes to
life with a pop of red and yellow.
As the eye is drawn into the