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.
Bad Religion The Gray Race (1996) |
Thirty Seconds to Mars This Is War (2009) |
 |
 |
Eric Clapton Just One Night (1980) |
Sheryl Crow Detours (2008) |
 |
 |
The Rolling Stones Black and Blue (1976) |
Dad's Porno Mag DPM (2000) |
 |
 |
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Take Them On Your Own (2003) |
Bon Jovi The Circle (2009) |
 |
 |
Pharoah Sanders Karma (1969) |
Raphael Saadiq Instant Vintage (2002) |
 |
 |
Mazzy Star She Hangs Brightly (1991) |
M. Ward Duet for Guitars #2 (1999) |
 |
 |
Milton Nascimento Travessia (1978) |
Femi Kuti Day by Day (2008) |
 |
 |
 |
Johnny Hallyday La Peur (1982) |
Lou Reed Legendary Hearts (1983) |
Turbonegro Party Animals (2005) |
 |
 |
Radiohead Hail to the thief (2003) |
Third Day Revelation (2008) |
 |
 |
The Beatles For Sale (1965) |
The Punkles The Punkles (2003) |
 |
 |
 |
Sonic Youth Goo (1990) |
The Twilight Sad Killed my Parents and Hit the Road (2008) |
Mugstar / Cosmic Dead Breathing Mirror / Fukahyoocastaluh (Split album) (2014) |
 |
 |
Guru Guru Känguru (1972) |
Pavement Wowee Zowee (1995) |
 |
 |
Elvis Presley How Great Thou Art (1967) |
El Vez How Great Thou Art - The Greatest Hits (1994) |
 |
 |
 |
Neil Young Hawks and Doves (1980) |
Stone Temple Pilots N°4 (1999) |
Zabranjeno Pušenje Muzej Revolucije (2009) |
 |
 |
Eddie Vedder Music for the Motion Picture Into the Wild (2007) |
The Derek Trucks Band Already Free (2009) |
 |
 |
 |
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) |
 |
 |
 |
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) |
|
