Would Sgt. Pepper's be exactly the same without Peter Blake's cover ? At a time when full-length records do not mean much any longer and album covers even less, I found interesting to make a website on sleeve design. Long before videos, record covers were the visual embodiment of music, a way to put images on sound. I remember having spent hours as a teenager detailing the cover of records while listening to them. Later on, I realised that some of them had things in common in their design, revealing either a mere sign of the times or a more deliberate connection. Some records even obviously copied famous sleeves, as a tribute or as a mockery. Here is a collection of record covers I came across, which share some common visual features.

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Milton Nascimento

Travessia (1978)

Femi Kuti

Day by Day (2008)


Helmets














Johnny Hallyday

La Peur (1982)

Lou Reed

Legendary Hearts (1983)

Turbonegro

Party Animals (2005)


Stacks of words












Radiohead

Hail to the thief (2003)

Third Day

Revelation (2008)


For sale












The Beatles

For Sale (1965)

The Punkles

The Punkles (2003)


Comics youth












Sonic Youth

Goo (1990)

The Twilight Sad

Killed my Parents and Hit the Road (2008)


Ooga Booga












Guru Guru

Känguru (1972)

Pavement

Wowee Zowee (1995)


Crying in the chapel












Elvis Presley

How Great Thou Art (1967)

El Vez

How Great Thou Art - The Greatest Hits (1994)


Big white star












Neil Young

Hawks and Doves (1980)

Stone Temple Pilots

N°4 (1999)


On top of the world












Eddie Vedder

Music for the Motion Picture Into the Wild (2007)

The Derek Trucks Band

Already Free (2009)


Shark












Ride

Today Forever EP (1991)

Faith No More

The Very Best Definitive Ultimate Greatest Hits Collection (2009)


Polaroid wall























Rolling Stones

Exile on Main Street (1972)

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Live Seeds (1993)

EMF

Cha Cha Cha (1995)

Various

Exile on Blues Street (2003)

Everclear

Ten Years Gone - The Best of 1994-2004 (2004)

Voxtrot

Voxtrot (2003)


Free Music












Charlie Haden

Liberation Music Orchestra (1969)

Charlie Haden

Liberation Music Orchestra - Not in our Name (2005)


Pastoral music












George Harrison

All Things Must Pass (1970/Colour version 2001)

Van Morrison

Veedon Fleece (1974)


25 years apart












Barbra Streisand

Guilty (1980)

Barbra Streisand

Guilty Pleasures (2005)


Post #100



I've been running this blog for nearly 2 years now and here it is, post #100. I had no idea how long I could/would be able to feed this website with new additions when I started it. Now I know it's endless. There are already more than 275 album covers displayed here and there's more to come. I'm more motivated than ever to keep on posting, so stay tuned.

Thanks to all the people who stopped by and especially to those who sent me a message, left a comment or shared links. I really appreciate.













The Beatles

1 (2000)

Sigur Rós

( ) (2002)

Thievery Corporation

The Richest Man in Babylon (2002)


Ruined statue












Young Marble Giants

Salad Days (2000)

Coldplay

A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002)


The Dude












Various

The Big Lebowsky (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (1998)

Jackson Browne

Time the Conqueror (2008)


Bodily actions




















The Beatles

Help! (1965)

The Rutles

Ouch! (1965)

The Punkles

Punk! (2002)

Various

The Ukulele Beatles (2003)


Factory explosion












George Benson

Beyond the Blue Horizon (1971)

Propellerheads

Decksandrumsandrockandroll (1998)


Trees in the dusk












Amon Düül II

Phallus Dei (1969)

Amusement Parks on Fire

Out of the Angeles (2006)


Who's bad














Michael Jackson

Bad (1987)

"Weird Al" Yankovic

Even Worse (1988)

John Oswald

Plunderphonics: DAB (1989)


Frozen window












Bon Iver

For Emma, Forever ago (2008)

Melissa Etheridge

A New Thought for Christmas (2008)


Ray of light












David Sylvian

Approaching Silence (1999)

Rapture

Futile (2001)


B/w print












Brian Eno

Before and After Science (1977)

Luke Haines and The Auteurs

Das Capital (2003)


Cream cake












The Rolling Stones

Let it Bleed (1969)

K.G.B.

Fiesta Fiasko (2005)


Cut/repeat












Cristina

Sleep it off (1983)

Grace Jones

Slave to the Rhythm (1984)


Orange sky














John Coltrane

Interstellar Space (1967)

McAlmont and Butler

Yes (1995)

Kate Bush

Aerial (2005)


Wild reeds and other plants




















Dakota Suite

This River Only Brings Poison (2003)

Six Twilights

Six Twilights (2007)

Peter Broderick

Float (2008)

2562

Aerial (2008)


Voodoo dolls












Strangelove

Time for the Rest of your Life (1994)

John Frusciante

DC EP (2004)


Painted Faces












Talkings Heads

Remain in Light (1980)

Various

More G.D.M. Vol.4 (2002)


Soviet aesthetics












Kraftwerk

The Man-Machine (1978)

Various

A Man and a Machine (2008)


Contact sheet














The Beatles

A Hard Day's Night (1964)

The Rutles

A Hard Day's Rut (1964)

The Punkles

Beat the Punkles ! (2003)


Rebirth of the punk












Refused

The Shape of Punk to Come (1998)

U.D.R.

O Shape do Punk do Cão (2007)


B/w image with red stripe












New Order

Get Ready (2001)

Texas

Careful What You Wish For (2003)


Pyramid












Earth Wind and Fire

All 'n' All (1977)

Iron Maiden

Powerslave (1984)


Jazz Classics












Sonny Rollins

Saxophone Colossus (1956)

Vienna Art Orchestra

All that Strauss (2000)


On a wooded path












Simon and Garfunkel

Sounds of Silence (1966)

Color Filter

Blueberry (2007)


On stamps












Bad Religion

Tested (1997)

The Divine Comedy

Victory for the Comic Muse (2006)


Tattoo












The Rolling Stones

Tattoo You (1981)

Various

Cover You: A Tribute to the Rolling Stones (1998)


Muscles and rap














50 Cent

The Massacre (2005)

50 Cent

The Massacre (Special Edition) (2005)

Fatal Bazooka

T'as vu (2007)


Curly hair and sunglasses












Ian Hunter

Overnight Angels (1977)

Richard Ashcroft

Alone with everybody (2000)


From San Francisco Bay












Big Brother and the Holding Company

Cheap Thrills (1968)

Various

Kya: 21 Golden Gate Greats Vol.2 (1969)


Objects of cult














Metallica

Master of Puppets (1986)

Various

Overload: a Tribute to Metallica (1998)

Hewhocorrupts

Master of Profits (2003)


Underwater




















Nirvana

Nevermind (1991)

"Weird Al" Yankovic

Off the Deep End (1992)

Catherine Wheel

Chrome (1993)

Jeanne Cherhal

L'Eau (2006)


Backstage pics












Patti Smith

Radio Ethiopia (1976)

Pete Yorn

Music for the Morning After (2001)


Psychedelic teddies












The Beatles

Magical Mystery Tour (1967)

The Rutles

Tragical History Tour (1967)


No good












Amy Winehouse

Back to Black (2007)

Various

No Good - Soulful Women with Attitude (2008)


In/Out














Perrey-Kingsley

The In Sound from Way Out! (1966)

Beastie Boys

The In Sound from Way Out! (1996)

Perrey-Kingsley

The Out Sound from Way In! (2001)


Wondering in blue












John Coltrane

Blue Train (1958)

J-Live

All of the Above (2002)


Superheroes












Kiss

Destroyer (1976)

Manowar

Fighting the World (1987)