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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| Queen II (1974) |
The Verve A Northern Soul (1995) |
Paradajz Vampiri Black is Back (2005) |
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Turin Brakes The Optimist (2001) |
Brad Mehldau Trio Day Is Done (2005) |
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Elvis Presley G.I. Blues (1960) |
El Vez G.I. Ay, Ay! Blues (1996) |
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The Prodigy Music for the Jilted Generation (1994) |
Alastor Spaazm (2009) |
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Michael Jackson Thriller (1982) |
"Weird Al" Yankovic Eat it (1984) |
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King Crimson Islands (1971) |
Benn Jordan Pale Blue Dot (2008) |
Tangerine Dream Run to Vegas (2010) |
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The Beatles Let it Be (1970) |
The Rutles Let it Rot (1970) |
Mötley Crüe Shout at the Devil (1983) |
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Laibach Let it Be (1988) |
Swervedriver Ejector Seat Reservation (1995) |
Gorillaz Demon Days (2005) |
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| The Black Eyed Peas The Beginning (2010) |
Richard Cheese Let it Brie (2012) |
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The Magnetic Fields Distorsion (2007) |
The Magnetic Fields Realism (2010) |
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Savoy Brown A Step Further (1969) |
Peter Tosh Legalize it (1976) |
Triston Palma Joker Smoker (1982) |
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My Bloody Valentine Loveless (1991) |
Squarepusher Solo Electric Bass 1 (2009) |
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Linton Kwesi Johnson Bass Culture (1980) |
Jeff Samuel Step (2006) |
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Ron Geesin & Roger Waters Music from The Body (1970) |
Robert Miles Organik (2001) |
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TV on the Radio Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes (2004) |
Supergrass Road to Rouen (2005) |
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The Rolling Stones Aftermath (1966) |
The Chesterfield Kings Let's Go Get Stoned (1994) |
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The Magnetic Fields 69 Love Songs (1999) |
Shackleton Three EPs (2009) |
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Pharoah Sanders Journey to the One (1980) |
Herbie Hancock Future Shock (1983) |
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Various Saturday Night Fever (1977) |
Various Sesame Street Fever (1978) |
Ricki Gal Chassidisco Fever (1978) |
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Boston Pops Orchestra with Arthru Fiedler Saturday Night Fiedler (1979) |
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Bidochons Saturday Night Bidochons (2008) |
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Ledisi Lost & Found (2007) |
Nina Simone To Be Free: The Nina Simone Story (2008) |
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Nancy Sinatra Country, My Way (1967) |
Emmanuelle Seigner Dingue (2009) |
