Beautiful Album Covers With Images To Desire

Right there, in the middle of this hodgepodge of records, it seems like it was waiting for you to find it. Racing through the aisles of a record shop you discovered just around the corner, you suddenly spot something that seems to be calling your name. A stunning record cover that speaks to you like no one ever did before, just by looking at it. Breathtaking, stunning, album covers can speak to you even before you get to listen to the songs that are on it. More than just something that prevents a disc from being damaged, these covers have become an art form, resembling a skin that protects records and becomes an integral part of them, turning them into beautiful and collectable pieces that are layered with emotion and beauty. How Come? Find out more in Beautiful Album Covers With Images To Desire.

What Is A Record Cover?

Following the invention of the gramophone in 1887, the first discs appeared right after, both invented by Emile Berliner. At that time, the only protection around them was thin brown paper wrappers. An album cover may seem to be a simple item, almost obvious. But, in fact, the covers as we know them nowadays have not always been like this. However, it was as early as 1938 that a man named Alex Steinweiss, the first Art Director at Columbia Records, invented the illustrated album covers as we know them nowadays. 

In addition to being a great marketing tool that has boosted sales, it has also introduced the concept of illustrated covers on records. Record companies came to realise that visuals were an integral part of the creative process, and were selling in the same way music was. 

Emile Berliner with the first phonograph he developed, in Hanover, Germany, 1890s

Album Covers With An Even Deeper Meaning 

To some extent, the cover of the album is like its skin. In addition to protecting the art itself, it conveys something to those who admire it, telling a story about what the music aims to convey or the issues it addresses. Art wrapped around art, covering discs in beautiful layers of designs and colors, forming not only an epidermis, but also revealing the true soul of the album, deep down beneath the surface.

It has an artistic and aesthetic purpose, obviously, but it is also deeper than this, in a way that permits the musician to give music a physical embodiment, a tangible dimension.

Artistic Album Covers

Album covers are not only there to make music more appealing or to boost sales, but also to create a bond between the customer and the artist, build loyalty, and tell a story beforehand, thereby reflecting the artist’s work and the artwork’s soul. The designs became an artistic field in their own right. The ‘art over the art’ became a creative statement in the same way that music conveys ideas, thoughts, and emotions. 

It was primarily during the 1960s that cover-making became a popular practice in its own right. The album ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’, released by The Beatles in 1967, is considered the first one to use its cover as an artistic statement, serving the music. This matter of fact has encouraged renowned artists to participate and create covers exclusively intended for this purpose. 

‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ album cover, by The Beatles, 1967

Album Cover Makers 

For instance, we can examine some covers created by artists specifically for albums. Without the footprints of these amazing artists, the art of album covers making would not exist. They actually created it by walking off the beaten paths, and got a new form of art now highly praised.

Andy Warhol and Velvet Underground

Andy Warhol was an American artist who is still highly regarded as one of the most important artists of the 20th century and is nicknamed the ‘King of Pop Art’. You may know the iconic ‘Campbell’s Soup Cans’, or the ‘Shot Marilyns’ that made him a must-see in the art world. 

During the mid-sixties, he became the manager of the group Velvet Underground and, as well as producing them, he designed the cover of their debut album ‘The Velvet Underground & Nico’. The design, which features a yellow banana that you can peel off to reveal a pink fruit, quickly became a symbol of the collaboration between musicians and artists, whilst leading the way to a new form of creation for original and appealing album covers. 

Andy Warhol’s artwork for the band The Velvet Underground and Nico, 1967

Reid Miles for Blue Note Records

Reid Miles is widely known for his designs for Blue Note Records during the 1950s and 1960s. He was an American graphic designer and photographer; with his visionary designs, he re-shaped the entire aesthetic of Blue Note Records, an American jazz record label. With over 500 covers to his credit, we can undoubtedly say that he designed the face of post-war jazz. He succeeded in turning jazz into a modern, and in tune with the times, musical genre by redefining its visual aspect.   

One of the album covers by Reid Miles for the album ‘The Romproller’ by Lee Morgan, in 1966

Takashi Murakami

You may have already heard of Takashi Murakami, a famous Japanese contemporary artist. Indeed, he is acclaimed for his colourful artworks, often featuring characteristics from Japanese traditional art rubbing shoulders with modern art forms.

In this respect, as an accomplished artist, he has been collaborating with musicians on their album covers, creating brilliant yet outstanding designs that arouse curiosity among those who view them. To name but one of these artworks, you can take a look at the album ‘Graduation’ by Kanye West, which features a surprising yet refreshing burst of colours and graphics, reflecting quite accurately the soul of the record that hides within.

Takashi Murakami’s artwork for Kanye West’s album ‘Graduation’, released in 2007

Artists in everyway

It is quite common in the music industry to collaborate with other artists, but what about artists who design their own album covers? Undoubtedly, who better than the artist himself can express the very depth of his work’s meaning and aesthetic? Well, some of them have, and the outcomes of these artworks are worth a look.

Kurt Cobain

Did you know that Kurt Cobain, the late icon and lead singer of the grunge/punk rock group Nirvana, was, in addition to being one of the greatest musicians of his generation, behind many of his group’s album covers? 

In fact, Cobain was deeply invested in the visuals of his album covers and eventually directed and created most of them. He therefore painted the puppet featured on the cover of ‘Incesticide’ himself and created the collage on the back of the album ‘In Utero’. He also took the photographs of the dolls featured in the artwork for the single ‘Lithium’. 

Nirvana’s album cover ‘Incesticide’, featuring an artwork by Kurt Cobain, 1992

Joni Mitchell

You may know Joni Mitchell, the famous Canadian-American musician and painter, mostly known for her musical and lyrical influence during the 1970s and after, experimenting in both folk and jazz scenes. 

As a professional painter, she created most of her album covers, giving them even greater meaning and depth because she was able to reflect her own work through them; a true mirror of self-expression. She didn’t just see her albums as related to her music; she saw them as true artistic statements on every level. Her album ‘Clouds’, released in 1969, even won a Grammy Award for its self-portrait illustration. 

The artwork by Joni Mitchell for her own album ‘Clouds’, 1969

Grimes

Grimes is a Canadian indie-pop singer who gained recognition during the 2010s. Her work is characterised by futuristic and magnetic themes, such as AI, space, and cyberculture. Her visuals are playing a large part in her musical legacy, as she is deeply involved in her cover artworks, and often creates covers featuring anime-inspired, surreal, and sci-fi imagery that reflects the tone of her work. 

In this respect, Grimes represents a contemporary model where the musician is not just a musician, but the architect of the entire aesthetic of her music and image as an artist.

The artwork by Grimes for her own album ‘Vision’, 2012

Wail – The Visual Language of Prestige Records

Looking for a book that is dedicated to album cover designers? Well, Wail – The Visual Language of Prestige Records is the first book devoted exclusively to the creators of innovative album covers designs for Prestige Records, an independent New York City label founded by Bob Weinstock back in 1949.

Mostly about jazz, as Prestige Records was home to great names of the modern jazz scene in 1950s New York, like Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane, the book shows the great yet brilliant evolution of creative album covers in thit decade, giving details and a new perspective on graphic design history, especially in the musical area.

WAIL, overall tracks the evolution of Prestige’s visual identity through the personal stories of the people who shaped it, and as well shaped an entire decade of creative record designs, creating an inspirational legacy for the creatives that went after them.

Eventually, album covers are now as important as the music they contain. Their designs protect but above all enhance the musician’s work, turning them into works of art in their own right.

.If you enjoyed reading Beautiful Album Covers With Images To Desire, why not try reading: Sweden; Explore A Beautiful Paradoxical Diversity of Musical Genres.

.Cent Magazine, London. Luxury Mindset