ALICE IN CHAINS
This time, I am happy to discuss and unravel a complex but amazing design, of the album that in my opinion, has the best graphic design of our beloved band.
I send my congratulation to the Doug Erb who was the designer of this gem (www.dougerb.com) Mary Maurer was in charge of the art direction and art direction by. They did a spectacular job.
The album was released in 1995, and went on sale in several formats, the jewel case had different colors (White, Purple and green), perfect for diehard fans and collectors.
The album cover shows the image of a three legged dog (called sunshine), Mike Inez referred to the dog in an interview in October 1995, which was published in the American magazine "Metal Edge" in its issue of March 1996, and stated the next: “We thought it was appropriate, third album. The back cover has a three-legged man playing a lute. It's from "Ripley's: Believe it or not".
Ripley's Believe It or Not!, is an American franchise that shows strange or curious events that have happened in the world.
According to Jerry Cantrell in “Who the fuck is Alice?” from guitarist Magazine: "Sean did pretty much the art direction on that. He's responsible for that look. That was a great cover: a three-legged dog on the front, a three-legged man on the back, it was our third record and then there's all the rumors about us having a missing member and being a three-piece. People have read a lot of things into the pictures; some we intended, some we did not. To me the picture says perseverance because that dog's going through hell and he's still there.”
This image shows a vintage look, and together with the typography that was used, give us the sensation of an american western movie, and evokes past times.
Inside we find several illustrations along with the lyrics to each song.
These illustrations are all from JJ Grandville (1803-1847) a French painter, known for depictions of animals in human form.
These works in thin print are very linear, all in black and white, produce an atmosphere of a terror comic , anxiety, fear.
As for the general layout of the booklet, it is a complete mix of styles; each song has a different one, with different typography. With this, a special treatment is given to each song, depending on the melody of each one.
Some photographic background textures were also included, and only the center has color. Strong fuchsias and greens, add a touch of drama to the booklet, highlighting Again, Shame in You and God Am the the rest of the songs designs.
On the side of the jewel case, it says Alice in Chains with a never before used typography, with prominent decorative serif. This typography is classified as vintage, evoking the old Midwest.
Finally, the only detail I will criticize about the design of this album is that no photos of our beloved musicians were included, which leaves me with a kind of bitter. I wish I had seen them posing in Ripley's Believe It or Not! Style.
Article by: Chainer.
Translated by: Schulz.
