Use of Black & White with Colour on Album Covers

After looking at the album artwork in my iTunes and Spotify libraries I noticed an on going trend in alternative/rock/indie bands album covers. Many albums follow the same colour scheme as The Strokes' 'Is This It' album cover; a black and white photograph/illustration/design with red writing. Some differ slightly but most covers are very similar. I like this colour theme as I think it makes a busy picture look simple as there is no colour as well as bringing attention to the bands name as it is in red. Here are some examples I found;

The Killers - Sam's Town;
I really like the composition of this photograph as both the subjects of the woman and the goat are fully in the shot however they are not centred meaning that there is plenty of room for The Killers band logo as well as the album title written in caligraphy type writing. I think the caligraphy type writing has been used to give the album a personal effect, as though someone has actually written on the album cover. This handwritten writing works well against The Killers modern computer made logo as it contrasts, just like the red against the black and white. I like the american theme of the album cover and I think it links well to the real content of the album. The photograph could be seen as an actual still taken in 'Sam's Town'.

Kings of Leon - Only By The Night;
Here Kings of Leon have also used the BW&R (black, white and red) theme. But instead of red font they have opted for including red in the design along with red on a white background. I like this album cover, it reminds me of ink blots. There is also use of reflection as the image has been flipped and reversed colour. If I wanted to create a similar album cover I would be able to with use of computer programs such as Adobe Photoshop.

The Kooks - Inside In / Inside Out;
Similar to The Killers album, here The Kooks have taken a photograph with clever compositioning. Unlike The Killers the photograph does not seem to consider the band and album name as much. The photograph has a grainy effect, so it may be taken on black and white film. I really like the composition in this photograph through the use of the drummer in the photograph. I would quite like to attempt a photograph like this in my digipak as it has more to look at than just a band playing.

Echo & The Bunnymen - Don't Let It Get You Down;
This cover is not quite black and white but it still uses red font, in capitals, similar to The Kooks and Kings of Leon. I like the photograph here also as it is a little unfocused which makes the audience read the title before looking at the photograph. The photograph also looks like it was taken on a film camera.

The Smiths -The Queen Is Dead;
Again, The Smiths have taken a photograph and inserted their band and album name in bold red. The photograph looks like black and white film again. However I believe it may have been edited to give a dated, vintage look.

The Doors - Greatest Hits
In this album cover red has been added into the portrait of Jim Morrision to bring all attention towards him. The album cover aligns the title to the red line well to give the album cover structure. To create an image like this the portrait photograph would be put into black and white on a photo editing program and red would then be added on top. The 'Greatest Hits' follows a pattern by being all in plain capitals and the band includes their recognisable logo.

The Courteeners - St. Jude;
This album cover uses illustration instead of a photograph and have taken the composition into consideration with it. I think I prefer photographs to the illustration as I like realism. This is also only 3 block colours unlike photographs which include some grey.