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Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Animal album covers 6 - horses, rabbits, etc. 

Another in an ongoing series...

This is a rough roundup of some albums from 2006 that featured iconic animal artwork on the covers. I've tried to put together lists and short reviews - not everything has one, so feel free to add comments if you know the artist. (Click on pics for closeups)

The first bunch features horses (or relations) - a popular theme last year.

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  • Blood Meridian - Kick Up the Dust - country blues rock with a touch of satire
  • The Morning Ripples - Small Sips - Richly arranged accomplished debut from Melbourne alt trio
  • Missy Elliott - Respect M.E. - best of
  • Shooter Jennings - Electric Rodeo - Rocking country concept album from son of Waylon
  • The Falcon - Unicornography - well-aimed punk from Chicago übergroup
  • Sleepy Time Gorilla - Grand Opening and closing - post-rock combining experimental grooves and metal



  • Rabbits were another popular one, in a variety of forms. I particularly like that first one in the next lot - it captures both your attention and the mood of the music. There's also a few primates, some birds that I didn't find in time for the earlier post about recent bird album covers, and some other more unusual beasts, both real and imaginary.

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    Top row
  • Albert Hammond Jr. - Yours to Keep - Summery debut solo effort from Strokes guitarist
  • Hem - Rabbit Songs - orchestrated, dreamy folk-rock fronted by Sally Ellyson
  • Gyan & Leunig - Billy the Rabbit - 18 beautiful songs inspired by Leunig's poems and accompanied by a 48 page hard bound book of Leunig's words & drawings
  • The Boy Least Likely To - The Best Party Ever - Whimsical duo with wistful songs and diverse arrangements, and the videos feature puppets and animation!

  • 2nd row
  • Floyd Vincent and the Child Brides - Monkey Puzzle - Funky eclectic pop with tribal rhythms
  • The Citizens - Post Cro-Magnon Drift
  • The Matches - Decomposer - Oakland punk-rock group with anthemic, high-energy sound
  • Tony Monaco - East to West - jazz

  • 3rd row
  • Michael Franti & Spearhead - I Know I'm Not Alone EP - back from the warzones with informed political rock
  • Mammal - self-titled EP - First release from full on nu-metal formation including Ezekiel Ox
  • Jan Jelinek - Tierbeobachtungen (trans.: "animal observations") from German DJ and musician
  • Hellogoodbye - Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! - Guitars, synths, banjos and whatever it takes to make catchy, lighthearted pop-rock


  • My favourite from this bunch is probably the Coda cover, featuring - for no particular reason - some imaginary sort of reptilian seacow.

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    Top row
  • Coda - Calling Mission Mu - rich mix of flowing soundscapes and solid beats
  • The Fauves - Nervous Flashlights - Brilliant young Ausband to watch featuring songwriter Andrew Cox
  • John Fahey - Sea Changes and Coelacanths: A Young Person's Guide to John Fahey - just-released 1996-1998 suite from American Primitive guitar innovator
  • ALO (Animal Liberation Orchestra) - Fly Between Walls - mellow Californian jammy chillout from Jack Johnson mates

    2nd row
  • An Pierlé & White Velvet
  • Basement Jaxx - Crazy Itch Radio - British dance duo latest inventive mish-mash
  • Dogs D'Amour - Let Sleeping Dogs Lie - Tyla solo album of dark gothic metal
  • Shugo Tokumaru - LST - Second from experimental Japanese guitarist/songwriter


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    Collections:
  • Global Village Vol 1 & 2 - World and acoustic artists from soundtrack to SBS series in 2005 & 2006
  • This Bird Has Flown - A 40th Anniversary Tribute to the Beatles Rubber Soul
  • Do It Again: a Tribute to Pet Sounds
  • Various Artists - Colours are Brighter - A collection of children's songs curated by Belle & Sebastian for Save the Children - Cool music by cool bands for kids - cool!
  • Triple J - Home & Hosed
  • Womadelaide - Sounds of the Planet 2006 - amazing roundup of artists featured at Womadelaide '06
  • Hemmesphere - Five - Summer chillout


  • I collect these cover images as I come across them, mostly by reading reviews. It's a bit like stamp collecting. I've been tempted to do posts on some other themes, but animals has been a hard one to keep up with! I don't know if I'll continue - maybe just pick a few favourites now and then.

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    Comments:
    What a wonderful collection Ian! I have picked some that i like----“yours to keep, the boy least likely to, the citizens, ierbeobachtungen,the fauves,fly between walls, global village, sounds of the planet."
     
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