Album Covers

Analysis of Album Covers

The covers by Johnny Cash have a consistency: Cash's Logo is just his second name placed as a masthead on the cover (at the top and center) he uses the same large, bold font to keep a consistency with his covers, he uses the font as his brand. His central image is usually a minimalist image of the artist, sometimes with a prop, he always uses a black and white or tinted filter to follow his theme, somber country music, his music is usually sorrowful, talking about the artists past drug addiction and felonies as well as age and the concept of death. So his covers usually follow the same dull and upsetting themes as his music.

The Legend of Johnny Cash

25 October 2005

Songs in Album: Cry! Cry! Cry!, Hey Porter, Folsom Prison Blues, I Walk The Line, Get Rhythm, Big River, Guess Things Happen That Way, Ring of Fire, Jackson, A Boy Named Sue, Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down, Man in Black, One Piece At A Time, Highwayman, The Wanderer, Delia's Gone, Rusty's Cage, I've Been Everywhere, Give My Love To Rose, The Man Comes Around, Hurt

 
This was the final Johnny Cash Album, a "best of" collection, this album was created after his death in 2003. Here the CASH logo has been revamped to look more western than usual, to suit his country theme, The central image consists of the artist, holding a guitar case, walking down a desert road, most likely in Arkansas or Nashville, one of his home towns. He is walking away from the camera which denotes that the artist is walking away from the world of the living with his guitar or career/legacy.

American IV: The Man Comes Around  

 5 November 2002

Songs in this album: The Man Comes Around, Hurt, Give My Love To Rose, Bridge Over Troubled Water, I Hung My Head, First Time I Ever Saw Your Face, Personal Jesus, In My Life, Sam Hall, Danny Boy, Desperado, I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry, Tear Stained Letter, Streets Of Laredo, We'll Meet Again. 

This Album was created not long before Cash's death, due to old age and complications with health, he knew he would soon die creating this album so he created this front cover to show off his old age. The central image is dark and only shows the artists face, he looks old and upset, this was done to denote the theme of death surrounding his album. The music in this album is described as being the most upsetting and was made most famous by the song Hurt, which was the last song Cash created before his death in 2002. The front cover follows the same theme as Hurt, with high emphasis on age.

American Recordings

26 April 1994

 Songs in album: Delia's Gone, Let The Train Blow The Whistle, The Beast In Me, Drive On, Why Me Lord, Thirteen, Oh Bury Me Not, Bird On A Wire, Tennessee Stud, Down There By The Train, Redemption, Like A Soldier, The Man Who Couldn't Cry.

This cover for American Recordings was an older one of Cash's albums, the cover follows the same sobmer themes as most of Cash's covers, with the graney, western filter to follow his country theme. This cover denotes a theme of lonlieness. He stands alone in the desert with no one but the two dogs beside him. The cover still follows the traditional codes and conventionas as the rest of his covers; It has his signature CASH brand and has the Americsan desert themes shown in most of his covers.