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.

Fish eye


The Byrds Mr. Tambourine Man (1965)	The Rolling Stones Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass) (1966)	(Screaming) Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends Hands of Jack the Ripper (1972)

Ray Manzarek

The Whole Thing Started with Rock & Roll

Now It's Out of Control (1975)

Neil Young + Crazy Horse

Ragged Glory (1990)

Seen from behind


Jimmy Reed Rockin' with Reed (1959)	Jack Johnson On and On (2003)

Couch


The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground (1969)	The Cranberries Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Don't We ? (1993)	The Drums Encyclopedia (2014)


Crosby, Stills & Nash Crosby, Stills & Nash (1969)	The Go-Betweens Liberty Bell and the Black Diamond Express (1986)	Carte de Séjour 2½ (1986)


The Cranberries No Need to Argue (1994)	The Cranberries Something Else (2017)

Hair


PJ Harvey Rid of Me (1993)	Ellen Alien Thrills (2005)

Blue background


The Feelies Crazy Rhythms (1980)	Weezer Weezer (Blue Album) (1994)

Landscape triptych


The Moody Blues Seventh Sojourn (1972)	Bonnie 'Prince' Billy The Letting Go (2006)	Emancipator Safe in the Steep Cliffs (2011)

Kohl-rimmed eyes


Puddle of Mud Volume 4: Songs in the Key of Love and Hate (2009)	Rufus Wainwright All Days are Nights: Songs for Lulu (2010)

EMI at Manchester square


The Beatles Please Please Me (1963)	The Beatles 1962-1966 (Red Album) (1973)	The Beatles 1967-1970 (Blue Album) (1973)

The Beats Please Please Me (1999)	Blur Secret Gig 95 and Lots More (Bootleg) (1995)	The Sex Pistols 1976-1977 (Bootleg) (2001)

See-through letters


Fugazi Repeater (1990)	Izia Izia (2009)

Street view


Bob Dylan The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963)	Oasis (What's the Story) Morning Glory ? (1995)	Justin Nozuka You I Wind Land and Sea (2010)