Bad Album Covers: David Meece's "7" and Michael W. Smith's "2"
Because bad albums covers are always good.
I am thinking of posting occasional analyses of awful album covers here from time to time—just for my own amusement, of course. Today I shall discuss two of them.
The Contemporary Christian Music industry cranked out some abominable album covers in the ‘80s, with David Meece’s 7 and Michael W. Smith’s 2 being among the absolute worst. Since both feature numbers as album titles, I’m going to write them up in tandem today.
I grew up listening to both of these artists and saw them in concert, too. If either of them ever got too cocky about their music, they only needed to look at these covers to find humility again.
To be clear though: I love both of these album covers. I love them . . . and I think they are terrible. And I probably love them because they are terrible.
David Meece’s 7
I can’t even imagine what the rationale for this cover would be unless it happened to unfold something like the following conversation.
David Meece: I have to pee real bad.
Photographer: No, David—hey, no! Sit back down. You're a CCM artist. Peeing is not a luxury we can afford. Our budget is small.
David Meece: I'll be right back I swear.
Photographer: Sit back down on your surfboard or whatever that is.
David Meece: Really gotta pee. Rolling my sleeves up to keep things clean.
Art Director: Just shoot the photo. We gotta' shoot a bad Michael W. Smith cover in five minutes.
Photographer: CLICK!
My wife says it looks like a fruit rollup is coming out of his pants. My pal Dan Billen says it looks like motion-blurred brake lights. Both astute observations. I’m standing by my “surfboard or whatever that is” description.
But between the bad lighting, the fact that we can’t even see Meece’s whole face, the terrible ‘80s graphics, the color scheme, and his hair . . . this one is unforgettable.
Michael W. Smith’s 2
I think this one is even worse though.
The “I’ve-just-got-to-climb-on-something” pose suggests Smitty, like Meese before him, could not sit still.
The very meta “look-at-my-sweater-and-your-mind-will-be-blown-because-I’m-climbing-on-the-pattern-in-my-sweater” nature of the image takes things to even more horrific heights.
But the best touch of all is his hair. Who needs stylists? This “riding-with-the-windows-down-before-the-shoot” adds some spontaneity to what could otherwise read as a very staged image.
Oh, and the elevated eyebrows! They’re speaking for Smitty, and they’re saying, “I dreamed about climbing on this pattern from my sweater for years, but I never dreamed it would actually happen!”
Note: The socks also match the pattern on his sweater, which is also the pattern he is hanging onto for dear life here.
Until we meet again, folks. Subscribe and share.