Iconic Album covers

One of our requirements alongside producing a music video is creating an album cover. To prepare for this I decided to research iconic album covers (internationally reknowned and my personal tastes) to identify what makes an album cover memorable. By analysing these covers I hope to take on board some tips in the process of creating our own album cover.

The Smiths "Meat is Murder" (1984)
The image repeated on the cover of the band's second studio album was taken from Emile de Antoni0's 1968 Vietnam war documentary. The soldier's helmet originally read "Make War Not Love" before being replaced with "Meat is Murder" and giving it's name to one of the most notable vegan/vegetarian information sites today.

The Velvet Underground "The Velvet Underground & Nico" (1967)
The eponymously titled debut album from the protopunk group collaborating with the vocal stylings of Nico, a moody, beautiful model/actress/singer-songwriter/one of Andy Warhol's many muses from Germany. This Warhol print of a banana on a white background was minimalistic at a time when embellishments in the entertainment industry were in full use. Original copies of the album even included a peel-away sticker with the suggestive tag "Peel slowly and see"...

Britney Spears "Baby One more Time" (1999)
Love her or hate her, you can't deny that this cover art was memorable. Her debut album at 17 portrayed her as sweet and innocent as the camera looked down on her smiling face. The clean-cut image she presents with the candy bracelets, denim skirt, pearly white teeth and golden locks that established her as an American Sweetheart played a big part in marketing her music.

David Bowie "Aladdin Sane" (1973)

Bowie's alter-ego, Ziggy Stardust, with the lightening bolt brandished down his face is immortalised on this album (intended as "A lad insane"). described as "Ziggy goes to America" it epitomises the two faces of the country which which led Bowie to be simultaneously "appaled and fixated by America".

The Rolling Stones "Forty Licks" (2002)
A retrospective two-disc back catalouge that combined the band's London era of the 60's and their self-owned post 1970 material. All bought together with the lips-&-tounge icon for which we recognise them best. This ain't your average run-of-the-mill Greatest Hits album.




















Joy Division "Unknown Pleasures" (1979)

The back of this album cover contains no track listings and is left completely blank so alredy breaks the conventions of what you would expect and makes the pulse lines, taken from an edition of the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Astronomy stand out even more. It appears like an optical illusion and its simplicity has made it timeless and memorable.

Madonna "American Life" (2003)

What better way to make an icon out of your cover than to emulate an existing icon. Madonna did just that with her ninth studio album, American Life. Chosing to don a beret and pose with her head held high was a slaute to Che Guevara which went accordingly with the military theme she based her album on. The splashes of red on the black and white image also elevate the album and make it memorable.


















Pink Floyd "The Dark Side of the Moon" (1973)

Richard Wright requested for a "simple and bold design" for the cover of "The Drak Side of the Moon"




















The Sex Pistols "Never mind the Bollock, Here's..." (1977)






















The Beatles "Abbey Road" (1969)

The immortal image that iconized the road.




















Blur "Parklife" (1994)


















The Jimi Hendrix Experience "Are You Experienced" (1967)

The Clash "London Calling" (1967)

Nirvana "Nevermind" (1991)

The Beatles "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (1967)