Updated October 13th
London-based graphic designer Jimmy Turrell – the artist behind Beck’s videos for Colors’ “Wow” and “Dear Life” – worked with Steve Stacey to design numerous album covers for the various editions of Beck’s new album Colors, out October 13, 2017. There’s four main variants of the Colors cover:
1) the standard cover, used for the single LP red vinyl, standard CD and cassette editions
2) a blue and red alteration for the Barnes & Nobles exclusive white vinyl edition
3) a yellow and purple design for the yellow vinyl edition sold exclusively at independent record stores
4) a red and yellow variant for the CD editions sold exclusively at Target
Additionally Jimmy Turrell and Steve Stacey created a customizable album cover for the double red vinyl deluxe edition. It consists of multiple die cut transparencies that fans can combine in layered designs of their own choosing.
Turrell explained his creative process on his website:
The musical feel of the album is ostensibly classic pop which after the more downbeat, acoustic “Morning Phase” is quite a shift in gear. Obviously the fact that the album is called “Colors” definitely influenced the general aesthetic of the whole campaign. After chatting with Beck we decided to bring together globular paint-like forms, simple geometric shapes and stripped back typography to create visuals that really summed up the melodic, upbeat nature of the album.
We also looked at things that we remember being visually engaged and interested in as kids. Simple shapes, bright primary colours. Everything from Ludo, Connect 4, Stickle Bricks, Plasticine and Slime came into the mix.
“There weren’t any strict design frameworks or grids to adhere to. It was very much a case of exploring what we felt worked best,” Jimmy elaborated to It’s Nice That. “I worked very closely with Beck on every aspect of the artwork from its initial conception until completion. Beck really knows his stuff when it comes to graphic design as a whole so he was never short on bringing ideas to the table,” Turrell told Dezeen. “It was cool getting a third opinion from the actual artist,” he added to It’s Nice That.
There’s numerous ways to buy Colors besides those outlined above – among them CD copies autographed by MC Hammer and several bundles at shop.beck.com that include an exclusive Colors shirt, a kaleidoscope, a numbered/limited edition of 250 worldwide enamel pin, a separate pin set or a laser engraved glass prism.
Full details on all editions are below.
The tracklists for all editions (along with song-by-song previews and complete lyrics) are here.
Deluxe Double Red Vinyl
This limited edition deluxe 2 LP set is pressed on red 180 gram vinyl and plays at 45 rpm for maximum audio fidelity. It comes with a 24 page lyrics art book (previewed in the GIF to the right and the official preview video below) and transparency prints to make the album cover fully customizable (similar to Beck’s 2008 album The Information).
Drawing inspiration from childhood memories, Jimmy Turrell and Steve Stacey designed the customizable cover with bright colors and shapes reminiscent of paint splatters on several layers of die cut transparencies. Each layer fits in the cover’s central hexagon allowing fans to assemble multiple formations with them – each a unique album cover, as can be seen in the pictures and GIF below:
“The album is a collection of experimental pop tracks,” Turrell explained to Dezeen. “In a visual sense we wanted to run with that. So we went for punchy, geometric shapes and primary colours jammed together in a fun, almost childlike manner, but hopefully with a certain edge.”
Standard Red Vinyl
The standard vinyl edition is a single, red vinyl LP that plays at 33 rpm and comes with a 4 panel booklet. Jimmy Turrell and Steve Stacey designed the standard vinyl sleeve, shown above.
Limited Edition Yellow Vinyl
$24.98 at Amoeba
$21.97 at Bullmoose
£10.99 at Rough Trade UK
$21.99 at Rough Trade US
$19.95 at Turntable Lab
$19.99 at Luna
$19.99 at Creep
$21.99 at Jackpot
The yellow vinyl limited edition is sold exclusively through independent record stores and comes with a Beck slipmat at some locations. On Colors’ release day Beck shared a message to the indie shops keeping vinyl alive on Instagram, shown above, and provided a resource for fans to find their local record stores on his website.
Barnes and Nobles White Vinyl
This limited edition white vinyl edition is sold exclusively at Barnes and Nobles.
Cassette
Fans don’t have to go to Cap’n Cork to get the new Beck cassette; it’s available from his website and wherever new tapes are sold (which in 2017 means Amazon, srcvinyl, fatbeats, etc).
Cassettes from Beck.com have been delayed and are expected to be delivered mid-November (but fans that ordered the tape through the site will still receive their complimentary download of the album on October 13th).
Digital Download
Standard CD
Target CD
The CD edition sold at Target features an exclusive album cover variation, as shown above.
CD Autographed By MC Hammer
You can’t touch this! Newbury Comics is selling CD copies of Colors with the booklet autographed by Beck’s labelmate and fellow ’90s icon MC Hammer.
“The vibes are right on Beck’s new album,” Hammer says in several tweets (shown below). “It’s a great party album.”
Deluxe Bundles
Deluxe double vinyl bundle $99.99 at Beck.com
Deluxe double vinyl bundle $69.99 at Beck.com
Deluxe CD bundle $59.99 at Beck.com
Beck.com offers several bundles. The deluxe bundle can be ordered with the standard vinyl (single LP with 4 panel booklet, see above for more information), the deluxe vinyl edition (with 2 LP and 24 page booklet, see info above), or standard CD edition (see info above). All three variants include an exclusive Colors t-shirt printed on a 100% cotton, a Colors kaleidoscope, a limited edition numbered enamel pin and a laser engraved glass prism measuring 5″ x 2″. Both the pin and the prism are limited to 250 worldwide.
Pin Set with Colors T-Shirt and Kaleidoscope Bundles
Colors Double Vinyl Pin Set $84.90 at Beck.com
Colors Single Vinyl Pin Set $54.99 at Beck.com
Colors CD Pin Set $44.99 at Beck.com
The pin set bundle through Beck.com can be ordered with the deluxe vinyl (with 2 LP and 24 page booklet, see info above), standard vinyl (single LP with 4 panel booklet, see above) or standard CD edition (see info above). All three variants include an exclusive Colors t-shirt printed on a 100% cotton, a Colors kaleidoscope and three enamel pins featuring Colors artwork.
Shirt And Kaleidoscope Bundles
Colors Double Vinyl Kaleidoscope Bundle $69.99 at Beck.com
Colors Single Vinyl Kaleidoscope Bundle $39.99 at Beck.com
Colors CD Kaleidoscope Bundle $29.99 at Beck.com
Colors Digital Kaleidoscope Bundle $29.99 at Beck.com
The shirt and kaleidescope bundle through Beck.com can be ordered with the deluxe vinyl (with 2 LP and 24 page booklet, see info above), standard vinyl (single LP with 4 panel booklet, see above), standard CD or digital editions (see info above). All four variants include an exclusive Colors t-shirt printed on a 100% cotton and a Colors kaleidoscope.
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