The professionals involved in the artwork for "Stranger Comes To Town" will be far too self-confident and secure to be bothered by Alyn's smug comments. But fans should definitely FEEL FREE to vent their opinions on Alyn's remarks !!

okay... I'm back...
Yes, I am a designer and I have designed covers for a few minor artists and it will be my pleasure to upload here my alternative cover for this album. Leave it with me, I shall work on it, never one to shirk a challenge... (answer to earlier - Wordart is the basic facility in Word or Microsoft Publisher for creating text on a curve like you see the designer has included on the cover, you are seeing the most basic element of Wordart possible, and very clumsy amateur font and layout for the album title...just horrible). The photo is lousy, never ever have a subject 'standing' on the base line / bleed off, it is just such a basic flaw. I will try and get inspired by the music for the artwork but currently I'm finding it as disappointing as the cover, especially as I liked so much of Quality of Mercy.
I guess you'll be wanting references as I have said I have designed covers. Well, I'm no high flyer, and it is more a 'fun' thing to run alongside my print business and the progressive bands Summer Indoors and Moscow Riley who you have never heard of, have my artwork in a garish, jokey, punky style to suit their music.
The fact that I am no high flying designer but am confident that even I could better the cover to me says how bad it is. all the best, Alyn.
I am a Steve Harley fan - I love his music - the creative, dark, edgy, thought-provoking, aggressive yet melodic Harley. This is a comment on lousy artwork and as yet an album that just leaves me totally cold.

i love the cover, i live very close to the location in Liverpool, and just wish i had known that Steve would be in the location.

And i love the poster for the tour, retro is cool!!!!!!!!!!!

folks take no notice of this 'alyn' muppet.
this person put a review of strangers on amazon.com and slated it as dire and useless and would be putting it on e-bay straight away. get off this site alyn we do not need prats like you and your infantile criticism,this is for fans.be brave and re-post your critique of the new album on here,as i said on that site....you should have gone to 'lugsavers' mate.goodbye forever.

...loves a good musical argument... I stand by my comments on Amazon... I do believe Steve Harley has taken many steps backwards with this album, it just has no cutting edge at all. I appreciate that forums are for die-hard fans of artists who are not generally appreciative of constructive criticism, but it's not just me, Classic Rock (who give a fair crack of the whip to everything from melodic rock to heavy metal) described the album as 'ponderous sounding mainstream AOR' 'dreary' and 'pitifully self-absorbed'... I read the review and didn't believe it, I wanted this album, I've been waiting for it, and I'm sure I read somewhere he was going back to a Human Menagerie-type feel, but maybe I dreamt that. He sounds to me like track after track he desperately searching for a hook that will work, only it never happens.
It's not infantile criticism, it is my judgement based on listening to high quality melodic and progressive music for over 30 years. I take my music seriously.
Don't worry, I will leave you all to your Steve Harley love-fest here, as for the cover - I was looking forward to showing my artistic credentials but I feel the hostility here, so will bow out gracefully.
Good luck, I hope the next one is better. As a massive Kate Bush fan I've been used to waiting over a decade for a new album which turned out to be pretty poor so this is not exactly the end of the world as I know it, there is plenty of great music out there.

With all these discussions I really look forward receiving Stanger !

As I was reading Alyn, I was wondering if sometimes some people are not expecting more or less their youth, their "good old time" when an artist they have known and loved as they were - say - 20, releases a new album nowdays.

These people are then generally very rough for the new work of the artist as nothing, nothing is able to give back ... The best years of their lives ...

May be that is just what is happening to Alyn ?