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.

Peacock








Bluetones

Expecting to Fly (1996)

Ani DiFranco

Which Side Are You On ? (2012)

Jet controversy








Blind Faith

Blind Faith (1969)

Jabberwocky

4jabb (2009)

Horse in two parts








Pluramon

Dreams Top Rock (2003)

My Brightest Diamond

Bring Me the Workhorse (2006)

Introspection








Phil Collins

But Seriously (1989)

David Byrne

Grown Backwards (2004)

Glimmer twins








Original Soundtrack

Performance (1970)

Keith Richards

Talk Is Cheap (1988)