 The cover artwork of "Sam's Town" features model and singer Felice LaZae.The album is said to be influenced by the works of U2, Duran Duran, Bruce Springsteen, The Beatles, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Electric Light Orchestra, and Dire Straits, among others.In the October 2006 issue of "Giant" magazine, Flowers was quoted as saying that "Sam's Town" would be "one of the best albums in the past twenty years", and in "Entertainment Weekly" he remarked that it would be "the album that keeps rock & roll afloat."