Crap, that's an ugly picture.
I mean, the guy is good looking (for any age) but really does look intentionally horrid in that picture.
And, of course he's posing. He's got this whole theme going with this album. This...oh, this is just me hanging out and being a tortured artist, aren't I just too real by showing you this side...look.
I don't like it at all. And I have liked all kinds of pictures he's taken (from dark and stormy to sarcastically smiling). But this is rather pretentious, IMO, and I'm not finding it real at all.
To me, these promo pictures should reflect who you are at a certain time in your life--as a person, and as an artist. By all accounts, he's more productive than ever, and happier than ever (per him). So, I'm not loving the Keith Richards Wannabe photos. No, let me take it back. As scary as Keith's pictures can be, he generally smiles in his.
Disclaimer: This is just my personal opinion. Please don't get your knickers in a knot. I'll be drooling over the real deal this fall along with the rest of you (well, provided he doesn't look like THAT on stage
)