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.

Guitar in motion












My Bloody Valentine

Loveless (1991)

Squarepusher

Solo Electric Bass 1 (2009)


Steps












Linton Kwesi Johnson

Bass Culture (1980)

Jeff Samuel

Step (2006)


Mrs. and Mr. Flesh












Ron Geesin & Roger Waters

Music from The Body (1970)

Robert Miles

Organik (2001)