ERT- Deconstruction of a digipak

Although Phil Collins does not have any noticable similarities to Florence and the machine through genre, gender or story, it is still a solo artist who has a unique style, voice and songs.

How is the genre of the track/ artist evident?

As Phil Collins has been around for many years his album "Going Back" includes multiple genres, differing from pop to soul to progressive rock and jazz. The fact he is so versitile is evident in the digipak through the use of colour, costume, mise-en-scene and linguistic signs. The digipak is presented fully in black and white, thus not giving any clues to the genre. It is plain, simple and open for interpretation, I personally think it gives off an easy listening feel as well as showing its age and authenticity. It is similar with costume, he is dressed in a casual suit. This does not conform with the conventions of rock as he would be wearing something dark with heavy make-up or angry facial expression, or the conventions of jazz as it is typical for a jazz cover to have an instrument such as a saxophone being played with a plain background and sunglasses.

What visual techniques are used? How is meaning generated through these? What are the linguistic signs?

The front cover includes iconic signs of him, a drum, a window and a flower pot. The only linguistic signs on the cover is his name and the album name "Going Back". This leaving a cover which is easy to look at, not distracting from the main image (him) or confusing and cluttered. This I think represents his music in the sense that it can be easy to listen to and is often listened to ambiently. He is dressed in a casual suit, this making him look normal. He is not presented as a star or someone abnormal and unapproachable, he looks like any other young boy. This is something found very attractive to an audience as they feel they can relate to them on a personal level. The drum is not the first thing seen when looking at the cover as you can only just see the top of it at the bottom of the display. He is holding the drumsticks, therefore presenting his main talent and an instrument that will be evident in the albums tracks. The background of the big open windows with a small decoration of a flower pot, also show the normality of his lifestyle. His name and album title is in a font which ressembles a signiture or being casually hand written, reinforcing again that he does not fit into the typical celebrity stereotype.
The back cover only has an iconic sign of him. This draws in your attention initially as his face is very defined on a black background. It is clear that this is a recent image of him compared to the front cover. The two contrasting images I personally think represent the contrasting genres his album includes. The changes that he has gone through as a person and musically are visible on the album thorugh iconic images and the music included. There are many linguistic signs as all the song titles are listed here. The font used is not as informal as his name and album title on the front cover. This could also represent how he has grown up, on the front when he is younger a more informality is presented and the back shows a more formal approach. Although originally I commented on the only iconic sign being the image of him on the right of the cover, there is a small image of him and another man, Lamont Dozier, with a message from this man next to it. This again adds personality to the digipak which is found very appealing to an audience or potential buyer.

Is there any intertextuality/ references to popular culture?

I don't think there is any intertextuality on a public level. The images and titles may mean something personal and private to him but I can not see any relation to any other texts or films. However, a lot of his songs on the album are covers of the motwon era so this era is portrayed in his use of image and text.

How is the artist represented?

He is definately presented in an informal manner. From the image of him on the back you can see that it hasnt been photoshopped and perfected, it is personally him with all the character he would have if seen in person. He is represented as a normal person rather than a celebrity, which again is appealing to an audience. He looks as if he has achieved his main aims in the music buisness but is now doing it because of his love for it.

How might this be consumed?

I think the dominant reading of the text is that his life has been about music and it is a main priority in his life. As alot of the songs are covers of the previous motown era, it could be consumed as a tribute to this time. I think it is very clear that the album includes covers and songs from his past from the use of iconic and linguistic signs. The album title is going back which is one of the biggest clues, the second being the picture of him as a young boy. This could relate to the motown covers in the way that he could have loved listening to that music as a younger boy.