A Review of the Packaging for Volunteer by Old Crow Medicine Show

Description of Front and Back Cover

The front cover is a picture of the band in front of a window. The back cover is a picture of just the window. Clouds are reflected in both windows and have moved between when the front photo and back photo were taken. A DIY paint job is revealed on the wall that says “PRIVATE PARKING” when the band moves. In the top left is a sign that says “JOIN OR DIE”

Subject Choice and Reuse

The window motif is interesting as a proof of concept. Removing an element from the front art for reuse as the back art is an interesting idea! However, I feel like the subjects in the photo could be swapped for something more interesting than a random window and the band. 

Join or Die

I really like the sign that says “JOIN OR DIE”. While it might be only in my head , the sign's message ties nicely into the chorus of Flicker and Shine. 

“All together

We fall together

We ride together

We wild together

Yes, all together

We fall together

Every little light will flicker and shine”

The theme of togetherness is reinforced nicely when looking at the cover art and listening to the song thanks to the sign.

Clothing and Props

Something that sticks out is the inconsistent clothing choice. The band has mixed fashion styles between members, with some wearing oversized business wear and others wearing designer cowboy. 4 members wear hats each in a different color and 2 without hats. While I don’t want to police fashion it feels like they just wore whatever each member considers nice and took a group photo. This feeling is reinforced by the fact that 1 member is holding his case and the rest are not with one case leaning against the wall in the middle of the group photo. 

This casual approach to cover art might be intentional to give a everyman feel to the performers but I personally prefer when the clothing choice and prop placement is more intentional with a message in mind, ideally one that ties to the themes of the album.

The font on the cover is easy to read as it is a dark gray over the white cover art. I like that the songs each have a runtime on the cover. It really helps my mixtape making.

Candid Studio shots

The art on the left inside flap is a picture of the group in RCA Studio A, as per the title in the upper left corner. Chance Mccoy is giving a Vulcun hand greeting. Everyone is smiling very genuinely. Various instruments are scattered around the room and a dog statue stands in the photo as if part of the creation process. The photo is labeled with the names of the people in a handwritten font. The casual approach really works in this photo as it is so candid. The smiles feel real and the handwritten font backs this messaging. I know the name of their producer Dave Cobb thanks to this inner flap. It does a really good job of humanizing the people who are in front of the mic and behind it. 

Inside Right Flap

The right flap is a picture of clouds. I don’t really like it. The photo is fine, it just feels like a missed opportunity to do something that ties into the music. While it does tie into the cover as I believe it is supposed to be the clouds in the windows reflection it just doesn’t have much symbolic meaning when seen while listening to the music.

Disc Art

The art on the disc is red white and blue flags wrapping around a white box. Its style evokes high school history projects due to its uneven lines. The americana influence signaled by the coloring is great as the band makes american string music. I personally do not like the uneven lines. It doesn’t really tie into the themes of the album and significantly misrepresents the nature of the music.

The CD has the name of the band and album in a very boring font in small letters with Columbia, the label, in a larger lettering with the same font. I don’t like this for 2 reasons. Firstly, It could cause confusion as it makes it seem like the band is named Old Crow Medicine Show Volunteer and the album is called Columbia. Secondly, it gives the top billing to the label. The band should be the primary focus of any album and this needs to be communicated in the graphic design. 

Packaging

The CD I have is in digipak packaging. Digipak is generally more expensive than jewel cases. While digipaks can sometimes be considered more professional, I really don’t like that they are made of cardboard. While it is more environmentally friendly than plastic jewel cases the cardboard just gives it a cheap feeling that I can never get over.

Liner Notes

The liner notes have 8 pages. The cover is a picture of the band with their instruments. The book contains lyric sheets over cloud backgrounds with a candid picture of the guys playing and goofing around in the middle of it and a classic photo of the band standing in a group mugging it at the camera on the second to last photo with individual photos of each player on the last page. The back cover is a picture of clouds. While the clouds are a common motif throughout the art it just has no connection to the music. Maybe a twister would fit better? As a whole the liner notes are fairly standard.