Unfortunately, the pop-culture reference that popped into my head the first time I saw the cover was the logo from The Ring. Not sure why, other than the obvious shape and the monochrome palette. Really, did they have to be so literal in translating the title of the album to the cover? I realize that Bon Jovi has done some extremely obvious album covers before (Slippery When Wet, anyone?) and some extremely poor ones, but fortunately this one doesn’t fall into the latter category.
From a design perspective, it seems fairly solid, if obvious, in my estimation. With the size of CD covers, and now the minuscule screens of MP3 players, it’s a good idea to have extremely clean, strong images as cover art. While the image itself is in keeping Bon Jovi’s ongoing overuse of black and white photography, it is at least a good photo. The tonal range is well balanced, and the exposure appears to have been carefully controlled. The end result is exactly the kind of cover art that I like when I’m listening to music on my Zune; strong images like this one make it easy to identify the current album in a glance.
All told, it’s a decent effort that accomplishes exactly what it set out to do: provide a clear, identifiable image to promote and sell the album.
Related posts:
- Cover Art, Liner Notes, iTunes and Zunes
- Digital Cover Art?
- Full Album Concerts during The Circle Tour?
- The Circle Review Begins
- The Circle
Tags: Bon Jovi, cover art, The Circle