sleeve design: A true classic... and its derivatives

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.

A true classic... and its derivatives


The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)	The Rutles Sgt. Rutter's Only Darts Club Band (1967)	Frank Zappa and The Mothers We're only in it for the Money (1968)


Bläck Fööss Et Es 20 Johr Jenau Jetz Her (1990)	Beadochons 4 Beadochons dans le Vent (1993)	Macabre Sinister Slaughter (1993)


Various Tropical Tribute to The Beatles (1996)	The Simpsons The Yellow Album (1998)	Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. St. Captain Freak Out and the Magic Bamboo Request (2002)