sleeve design

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.

Helmets


Johnny Hallyday La Peur (1982)	Lou Reed Legendary Hearts (1983)	Turbonegro Party Animals (2005)

Stacks of words


Radiohead Hail to the thief (2003)	Third Day Revelation (2008)

For sale


The Beatles For Sale (1965)	The Punkles The Punkles (2003)

Comics youth


Sonic Youth Goo (1990)	The Twilight Sad Killed my Parents and Hit the Road (2008)	Mugstar / Cosmic Dead Breathing Mirror / Fukahyoocastaluh (Split album) (2014)

Ooga Booga


Guru Guru Känguru (1972)	Pavement Wowee Zowee (1995)

Crying in the chapel


Elvis Presley How Great Thou Art (1967)	El Vez How Great Thou Art - The Greatest Hits (1994)

Big white star


Neil Young Hawks and Doves (1980)	Stone Temple Pilots N°4 (1999)	Zabranjeno Pušenje Muzej Revolucije (2009)

On top of the world


Eddie Vedder Music for the Motion Picture Into the Wild (2007)	The Derek Trucks Band Already Free (2009)

Shark


Sven Libaek, Ron & Val Taylor Inner Space (1973)	Ride Today Forever EP (1991)	Elio e le Storie Tese Eat the Phikis (1996)

Faith No More The Very Best Definitive Ultimate Greatest Hits Collection (2009)	Black Mountain Wilderness Heart (2010)	Savas & Sido Royal Bunker (2017)

Polaroid wall


Rolling Stones Exile on Main Street (1972)	Rolling Stones Singles Collection - The London Years (1989)	Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Live Seeds (1993)

EMF Cha Cha Cha (1995)	Various Exile on Blues Street (2003)	Everclear Ten Years Gone - The Best of 1994-2004 (2004)

	Voxtrot Voxtrot (2007)

Free Music


Charlie Haden Liberation Music Orchestra (1969)	Charlie Haden Liberation Music Orchestra - Not in our Name (2005)

Pastoral music


George Harrison All Things Must Pass (1970/Colour version 2001)	Van Morrison Veedon Fleece (1974)

25 years apart


Barbra Streisand Guilty (1980)	Barbra Streisand Guilty Pleasures (2005)

Post #100

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.