Whilst mentioning the music all of the time I've totally shunned another important element of the vinyl LP package - the artwork.
As with any product the design of the packaging is very important. How many times has something caught your eye in a shop that you would otherwise not have looked at? The same theory applies to our beloved vinyl LP. Obviously the artist/band will want their music to be noticed & the sleeve is one way to do this.
Sometimes an artist may want the artwork to make a statement. The design of the sleeve is as important as the music.
This case could be argued, for example, in the case of The Beatles 1968 self titled LP (The White Album). The White Album was a simple plain white cover with 'The Beatles' in embossed lettering, designed by Richard Hamilton.
Maybe The Beatles wanted a minimalist approach to both the music & the sleeve - especially after all of the colourful psychedelic music & design that had lined the walls of record shops for the previous 2 years.
It may have been a cost issue, for a number of reasons. This album was the first release on the bands own label 'Apple'. It was also a double album - something not very common before 1968. However, cost issues seem unlikely to me as the sleeve was gatefold which it didn't have to be & it also included a poster with lyric sheet & 4 high quality colour prints of each band member.
I found an interesting site regarding LP artwork http://lpcoverlover.com which has thousands of covers categorized. There is some amazing artwork on there. They also have a collection of 78rpm covers & 45rpm covers.
Here's a few sleeves that I like. There's nothing unusual here really, so I'd like to hear what your favourites are. Post your comments below, or email liveforvinyl@gmail.com
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| The National - Trouble Will Find |
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| The Velvet Underground & Nico |
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| Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon |
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| Hot Chocolate - 20 Hottest Hits |
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| The Beatles - Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band |
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| The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed |
One of my favourites is New Order's Power Corruption And Lies. A juxtaposition of realism art and cryptographic modern design. The coloured blocks are the album name (or possibly catalogue number??) in a coloured key.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cerysmaticfactory.info/images/fact75a.jpg
For what it's worth, I have 3 records in frames: This one, With The Beatles, and a 12" of Suburbia by Pet Shop Boys.
http://sfcitizen.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/retro_mix_40_2007-pet-shop-boys-suburbia-copy.jpg
rich
I suspect that the coloured blocks will be the catalogue number as Factory records always did seem to highlight the cat no much more than any other label.
ReplyDeleteIf you stare at that Suburbia 12 inch cover hard enough, do the horizontal lines begin to move?
I can appreciate why you would have those 3 covers framed.
Thanks for your comments Rich.
The New Order was Peter Saville, who obviously can't be mentioned without the cover to Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division.
ReplyDeleteAnother one for the wall? Not heard that for years.
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