Customer Reviews

Factory Records: The Complete Graphic Album

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I just received this book for Christmas and I can't put it down. Even if you have a passing knowledge of the label and its artists you will enjoy this work. The mythology of the company and its catalog system is represented by stunning images and impeccable design. One strange thing stands out however, in my copy some of the captions are in French. This is a little annoying because I can't read French. Oh well, c'est la vie.

This is a magnificent time machine. There are a lot of labels people loved - Stiff, sst, etc. My favorite was Factory. With only a few exceptions, the music coming out on this label defined English music in the Eighties. "Love Will Tear Us Apart" was unquestionably the song of the year in 1980 for instance. But what made the music even more evocative was the artwork along with it. The famous Joy Division covers, and the mighty "Power, Corruption, and Lies" are just a few examples. Thanks to New Order I learned who Fantin-Latour was, they skipped over him in my art history classes. I collected all the albums and 12 inch 45s. I especially liked A Certain Ratio, after I saw them at Danceteria in 1982 (I think that was the year). Where is the vinyl of yesteryear? The music is all on cd, but those tiny covers just dont do justice to the art. Here is all the glory in one beautiful package. If only I had made it to the Hacienda back in the day...

FACTORY RECORDS: THE COMPLETE GRAPHIC ALBUM could have been featured in our Music Shelf area but is profiled here for its artistic visual inspection of one British music label's eye-catching covers and productions. Notes for each production outline the varying graphic design choices which made the albums notable and different, making this a fine choice not just for contemporary music libraries but for art library holdings strong in graphic arts representations.

This book is an awesome look back at some of the best artwork and packaging of its time. The footnotes for each "Fac" are interesting and the reproductions of the artwork are showcased nicely. I only wish there were some photos of the packaging, for instance the famous Blue Monday single with the die-cut, it would have been nice to see how it looked. Still, I think this is a great book!

I've always been a huge fan of Factory Records and the designs of Peter Saville so this book was a dream come true. Pictures of all the artwork from Fac 1 onwards, all the New Order, Joy Division, Happy Mondays, Durutti Column - everything you could want.
A wonderful gorgeous book, the pictures are bright and clear, plus history and stories on major aspects of the artwork - highly recommended fro any Factory / New Order / Peter Saville fan.

Factory Records began in the year 1978 with the unique idea that married both sound and vision. Bands such as Joy Division then later New Order, A Certain Ratio, Durutti Column, Section 25, and the Happy Mondays to name a few would receive a new brand of image treatment which could be called "non-image". There is a reason why New Order never made an album with a big photo of the band in goofy poses holding their instruments. The Factory Design idea was to give their artists a mystique which would allow artful images to decorate their cover thus moving the spotlight off the artists themselves and moving it onto the music.

FAC 001-521. The Factory Catalog Numbering System. Everything that was Factory Records had a FAC Number. This book for example is FAC 421. New Order's "Power Corruption and Lies" is FAC 75. The Factory nightclub The Hacienda is FAC 51. A lawsuit against Factory Records was FAC 61. Stationary, every project and object was assigned a Factory Number. Even label owner Tony Wilson received the treatment when he passed away in 2007. His coffin and funeral were assigned FAC 521. This System of Numbers is a manifesto of organization and clear thinking that would influence not just the sleeves but art itself.

My Favorite Sleeves: This book is beautiful unto itself! Slick, polished, uncluttered, and bright. Paragraphs give insight into cover art without being too verbose or occupying too much page room. Classic sleeve designs include the famous Durutti Column "The Return of..." which had a raw sandpaper sleeve so as to destroy other record album covers that sat with it in the bins! The simple non text die-cut floppy disc sleeve of the best selling 12" in history; New Order's "Blue Monday" which itself is a sacrifice to design since its sales didn't make up for the sleeve production! Section 25's "Always Now" which was packaged in a luxurious yellow envelope with purple marbling interior.

Factory created irony with its images too. Just take New Order's "Power, Corruption and Lies" with Henri Fantin-Latour's beautifully rich painting "A Basket of Roses" which contained a small block of colors which was in fact a color code for FAC Numbers designed by Peter Saville. The FAC sleeves look like classic art (Joy Division's "Closer"), they look like commercial products (New Order's "Run 2"), they look like homespun ("Happy Monday's "Yes Please"), they look like land surveying (Section 25's "From the Hip"), they look modern, they look elegant, in fact....
they look like nothing else on the shelves.

The designers such as Peter Saville, 8VO, Ben Kelly, Trevor Johnson, etc. gave Factory artists a unique form of communication with their audience. They used mixed media such as art paper, sandpaper, cardboard, and plastic. Many of the albums and singles within the book have no text whatsoever. A brave move for the music industry. Replacing band photos (and bravado) with simple clean elegant art and typography, these designers helped craft a new frontier of art that which the music inspires.

The Book 421 (Factory Records The Complete Graphic Album) isn't just for fans of the music. Take it as a textbook of graphic design. Take it as a thesis on minimalism. Take it as an example of modern art and form. If anything and like everything Factory designers made, it would look great on the coffee table!

My opinion certainly wouldn't differ from others here expressing their ultimate gratitude and fascination with this carefully directed book. Someone here said 'The Complete Graphic Album' of Factory artifacts is a dream come true - in that respect, it truly is! I remember years ago wishing for suitable collections of either Factory, Peter Saville or otherwise influential music and graphic counterparts.

I must state, it is a bit unfair pointing out only Saville's work here - Factory was a mess of impressive audio-visual communication network which included many other respective figures of the indie-establishment; while Saville remains the most evident, Mark Farrow (oh, especially Mark Farrow!), Johnson/Panas, 8vo, Central Station Design or tiny exposures by individuals like David Allan Tu, shouldn't be underestimated for their efforts.

Also the very music groups, label supremos and the like helped in shaping up the image of Factory. Yes, it's a deserved in-depth study on Factory as the label, and most of all - as a cultural phenomenon. Sadly (or likely) a phenomenon that lasted for a little more than a decade - with all of its ups and downs. The only sad thing about this book is once you start looking through, you begin to feel frustrated for not owning its entire catalogue.

Factory was bordering impossible production at high costs - the label went bankrupt for various reasons - one of them being this divine legacy of pristine graphics finally brought in a single book. Highly recommended beyond description!

There really was something compelling about Factory when they started. I still have many of the original UK records on vinyl (Joy Division, Section 25, New Order). CDs don't do the designs justice - too small ! They were concieved as RECORD sleeves and worked as art objects that way. I remember my delight at figuring out the color coding on Power, Corrruption and Lies after staring at it for a while.
Has any other label managed to build a design mystique like it (Blue Note perhaps ?). Their output got less interesting and less elaborate later on.
This book is a great nostalgia trip for any original factory fans, and hopefuly conveys the same sense to younger readers. Nice coffee-table book.

Complete catalog of the Factory cover art, posters, etc. Factory perfected the symbiosis between the music and art.