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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Al Di Meola The Best of Al Di Meola: The Manhattan Years (1992) | Earl Klugh The Best of Earl Klugh, Vol.2 (1992) |
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The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus (1968/96) | The Rolling Bidochons The Singles Collection (1998) |
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Phil Woods and his European Rythm Machine Phil Woods and his European Rythm Machine (1970) |
Pink Floyd Relics (1971) |
Jazzanova ...Broad Cast (2006) |
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Bryan Ferry In your Mind (1977) | Tiga Sexor (2006) |
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Sigur Rós Takk... (2005) | The Rasmus Hide from the Sun (2005) |
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Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young Déjà vu (1970) | Bläck Fööss 1989 em Millowitsch-Theater Live (1989) |
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Kenny Burrell Midnight Blue (1963) | Elvis Costello Almost Blue (1981) |
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James Iha Let it Come Down (1996) | K.D. Lang Invincible Summer (2000) |
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The Beatles With the Beatles (1963) | The Rutles Meet the Rutles (1963) | The Beatles Meet the Beatles! (1964) |
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The Residents Meet the Residents (1974) | Genesis Land of Confusion (Single) (1986) | The Muppets With the Mupples (1994) |
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Various Meet the Covers! A Tribute to the Beatles (1997) | This Happy Breed It's a Black and White World! (1999) | Beatallica A Garage Dayz Nite (2001) |
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The Barkers Meet the Barkers! (2005) | Various A Buddha Lounge Tribute to the Beatles (2007) |
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XTC White Music (1978) | Blondie Parrallel Lines (1978) |
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Beastie Boys License to Ill (back) (1986) |
Beastie Boys License to Ill (front) (1986) |
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Death Cab for Cutie The New Year (Single) (2004) |
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Eminem Kamikaze (back) (2018) |
Eminem Kamikaze (front) (2018) |
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The Jesus and Mary Chain Darklands (1987) | The Libertines Up the Bracket (2002) |
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Iggy Pop The Idiot (1977) | David Bowie "Heroes" (1977) |
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Britney Spears Britney (2001) | Happy Apple Youth Oriented (2003) |
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The Rolling Stones Some Girls (1978) | The Rolling Bidochons Sales Gueules (1991) | Opium Jukebox Sticky Bhangra (2002) |
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Shivaree I Oughtta Give You a Shot in the Head... (1999) | Meredith Brooks Deconstruction (1999) |