Ultimatum 2 arrived on my desk the same week The Lexicon of Love II was released. You see the similarities, right? Each looks to capitalize on the greatest hit, beginning with the cover.
Because The Guardian is very keen on The Lexicon of Love II, I'm going to force myself to give it a listen.
Because I'm committed to reading Richard Rohmer, I'll be forcing myself to pick up Ultimatum 2. Before I do, I've got a few things to say about it as an objet.
A few days ago, I wrote you guys an email in which I referred to Ultimatum 2 as a "competent-looking production."
It's not.
Let's look at the cover, which I'll describe charitably as an homage to the original.
I'm certain that the change in the red, white and blue stripes has no meaning. The placement of "MAJOR-GENERAL" is evidence of ineptitude. Laziness comes in the form of the Russian coat of arms - though "RUSSIA" is helpful to those not familiar - and the old eagle and Canadian flag design used on the cover of Ultimatum... the mass market paperback edition.
C'mon, 300dpi minimum, guys.
A few lessons in Photoshop would help.
You know it's true.
It gets me down that ABC have entered the late-career phase where they don't appear on their own album covers. As to Rohmer's decision to invert the red and blue stripes -- red-blue-red on the front of Ultimatum, blue-red-blue on Ultimatum II -- the answer is simple. The "roundel" insignia on French aircraft in WW I featured a blue dot, a white inner circle and a red outer circle. The English "roundel," like I have to tell you, is a RED dot, white inner circle and BLUE outer circle. Rohmer is clearly saying that Quebec is Canada's dominant political force in Ultimatum, while power has shifted to English-speaking Canada by Ultimatum II.
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