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) |
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Johnny Hallyday La Peur (1982) |
Lou Reed Legendary Hearts (1983) |
Turbonegro Party Animals (2005) |
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Radiohead Hail to the thief (2003) |
Third Day Revelation (2008) |
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The Beatles For Sale (1965) |
The Punkles The Punkles (2003) |
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Sonic Youth Goo (1990) |
The Twilight Sad Killed my Parents and Hit the Road (2008) |
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Guru Guru Känguru (1972) |
Pavement Wowee Zowee (1995) |
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Elvis Presley How Great Thou Art (1967) |
El Vez How Great Thou Art - The Greatest Hits (1994) |
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Neil Young Hawks and Doves (1980) |
Stone Temple Pilots N°4 (1999) |
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Eddie Vedder Music for the Motion Picture Into the Wild (2007) |
The Derek Trucks Band Already Free (2009) |
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Ride Today Forever EP (1991) |
Faith No More The Very Best Definitive Ultimate Greatest Hits Collection (2009) |
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Rolling Stones Exile on Main Street (1972) |
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Live Seeds (1993) |
EMF Cha Cha Cha (1995) |
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Various Exile on Blues Street (2003) |
Everclear Ten Years Gone - The Best of 1994-2004 (2004) |
Voxtrot Voxtrot (2003) |
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Charlie Haden Liberation Music Orchestra (1969) |
Charlie Haden Liberation Music Orchestra - Not in our Name (2005) |
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George Harrison All Things Must Pass (1970/Colour version 2001) |
Van Morrison Veedon Fleece (1974) |
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Barbra Streisand Guilty (1980) |
Barbra Streisand Guilty Pleasures (2005) |
| 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. |
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The Beatles 1 (2000) |
Sigur Rós ( ) (2002) |
Thievery Corporation The Richest Man in Babylon (2002) |
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Young Marble Giants Salad Days (2000) |
Coldplay A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002) |
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Various The Big Lebowsky (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (1998) |
Jackson Browne Time the Conqueror (2008) |
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The Beatles Help! (1965) |
The Rutles Ouch! (1965) |
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The Punkles Punk! (2002) |
Various The Ukulele Beatles (2003) |
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George Benson Beyond the Blue Horizon (1971) |
Propellerheads Decksandrumsandrockandroll (1998) |
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Amon Düül II Phallus Dei (1969) |
Amusement Parks on Fire Out of the Angeles (2006) |
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Michael Jackson Bad (1987) |
"Weird Al" Yankovic Even Worse (1988) |
John Oswald Plunderphonics: DAB (1989) |
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Bon Iver For Emma, Forever ago (2008) |
Melissa Etheridge A New Thought for Christmas (2008) |
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David Sylvian Approaching Silence (1999) |
Rapture Futile (2001) |
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Brian Eno Before and After Science (1977) |
Luke Haines and The Auteurs Das Capital (2003) |
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The Rolling Stones Let it Bleed (1969) |
K.G.B. Fiesta Fiasko (2005) |
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Cristina Sleep it off (1983) |
Grace Jones Slave to the Rhythm (1984) |
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John Coltrane Interstellar Space (1967) |
McAlmont and Butler Yes (1995) |
Kate Bush Aerial (2005) |
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Dakota Suite This River Only Brings Poison (2003) |
Six Twilights Six Twilights (2007) |
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Peter Broderick Float (2008) |
2562 Aerial (2008) |
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Strangelove Time for the Rest of your Life (1994) |
John Frusciante DC EP (2004) |
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Talkings Heads Remain in Light (1980) |
Various More G.D.M. Vol.4 (2002) |
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Kraftwerk The Man-Machine (1978) |
Various A Man and a Machine (2008) |
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The Beatles A Hard Day's Night (1964) |
The Rutles A Hard Day's Rut (1964) |
The Punkles Beat the Punkles ! (2003) |
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Refused The Shape of Punk to Come (1998) |
U.D.R. O Shape do Punk do Cão (2007) |
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New Order Get Ready (2001) |
Texas Careful What You Wish For (2003) |
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Earth Wind and Fire All 'n' All (1977) |
Iron Maiden Powerslave (1984) |
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Sonny Rollins Saxophone Colossus (1956) |
Vienna Art Orchestra All that Strauss (2000) |
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Simon and Garfunkel Sounds of Silence (1966) |
Color Filter Blueberry (2007) |
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Bad Religion Tested (1997) |
The Divine Comedy Victory for the Comic Muse (2006) |
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The Rolling Stones Tattoo You (1981) |
Various Cover You: A Tribute to the Rolling Stones (1998) |
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50 Cent The Massacre (2005) |
50 Cent The Massacre (Special Edition) (2005) |
Fatal Bazooka T'as vu (2007) |
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Ian Hunter Overnight Angels (1977) |
Richard Ashcroft Alone with everybody (2000) |
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Big Brother and the Holding Company Cheap Thrills (1968) |
Various Kya: 21 Golden Gate Greats Vol.2 (1969) |
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Metallica Master of Puppets (1986) |
Various Overload: a Tribute to Metallica (1998) |
Hewhocorrupts Master of Profits (2003) |
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Nirvana Nevermind (1991) |
"Weird Al" Yankovic Off the Deep End (1992) |
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Catherine Wheel Chrome (1993) |
Jeanne Cherhal L'Eau (2006) |
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Patti Smith Radio Ethiopia (1976) |
Pete Yorn Music for the Morning After (2001) |
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The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour (1967) |
The Rutles Tragical History Tour (1967) |
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Amy Winehouse Back to Black (2007) |
Various No Good - Soulful Women with Attitude (2008) |
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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) |
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John Coltrane Blue Train (1958) |
J-Live All of the Above (2002) |
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Kiss Destroyer (1976) |
Manowar Fighting the World (1987) |