Currents, Sgt. Peppers and Adele's 21: The Importance of Album Covers
February 28 | Written By Jess Wilkinson
How do you encapsulate the feeling of a collection of songs within one image? How do you summarise a body of work that you have poured your blood, sweat and tears into? These are questions artists must answer when conceptualising a cover for a new album.
There are a few album covers that are incontestably iconic, covers that always arise in conversations about the best album art of all time. Nirvana’s “Nevermind.” Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon.” much every one of The Beatles’ studio album covers, but “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” in particular.
These covers are all so different—some are photographs, some are illustrations, some are abstract, some are more accessible, we could go on—so why are they all so universally celebrated? Or to put it another way, what makes an iconic album cover?
First of all, the album cover has to line up with the feel of the album’s sound. They say don’t judge a book by its cover, but of course, when it comes to books, we do just that. The same can be said for album covers, not in the sense that if the cover is bad, the music is bad, but in the sense that an album cover reveals a lot about its content. Take “The Dark Side of The Moon,” for example. This cover is dark (as the title suggests) and moody, but has a hint of psychedelia in the form of the rainbow refraction. This lets the listener infer that the music has similar qualities. “Sgt Peppers” is a feast for the eyes, packed to the brim with flowers, bright colours and pop culture figures. The listener will know right away from looking at this cover that this is not your regular Beatles album, that it is experimental and kaleidoscopic.
Kevin Parker of Tame Impala is an artist who knows how to translate the vibe of his music into a still image. As an artist known for his trippy, experimental, synth-pop/rock sound, it is only right that the album covers for said music looks just as groovy and
psychedelic. “Currents,” Parker’s 2015 studio album, baffles the senses in the best way possible. When you listen to a song like “Let it Happen,” your ears are utterly toyed with; the binaural effects, the faux skipping record, the almost prog-rock, episodic feel of the whole 8-minute song… you emerge from listening to “Let It Happen” a changed person. Or at least, a little dizzy. And the album art for “Currents” completely reflects this feeling. Robert Beatty’s artwork almost reflects sonic soundwaves that start off stable but begin to swirl and warp, much like how Parker’s production twists sound into something entirely new. Beatty himself enforces the abstraction of the cover, encouraging listeners to focus on the “melodies, rhythms and textures” of the music rather than concrete meanings for lyrics.
While it is effective, the feeling of an album can be captured in other ways than abstract artwork; for example, the cover for supergroup The Last Shadow Puppet’s “Everything That You’ve Come To Expect” is a modified photograph of Tina Turner from 1969. Alex Turner, one half of TLSP aside Miles Kane, said in an interview that he has had a print of said photograph in his home for years, hoping to one day use it for an album cover. He said of the image that it “evoked” something for him: “That photo captured what I’d like the music to evoke in the listener, if you like. That’s all I’m ever trying to do with a record cover. On this occasion, it’s a pretty good match.”
This is exactly our point; the album cover can be anything, as long as it matches the music. For “Everything That You’ve Come To Expect”, you can admire the image without even knowing the woman pictured is Tina Turner. There is a dynamism to the photo; the wild dance of her hair concealing her face, the bending of the knees, the splay of her arms. Plus, the rich gold and deep browns colouring give the cover a luxuriant, old-Hollywood feeling. You can tell by looking at this cover that you can dance to it with Turner’s wild abandon, and that it will have a maximalist, lush sound.
Aside from reflecting the vibe of the music, another asset to a great album cover is that it entices you to pick it up. Aesthetics are a huge part of this. Take “Kiss My Super Bowl Ring” by The Garden; have you ever seen a more random combination of images? A cartoonish sword, a pile of rubbish falling out of a tin shed, and a slimy green font spelling out the band's name. This cover begs the question, what the hell is this going to sound like? And sure enough, this experimental, electro-punk duo produce songs that sound just as grimy, excessive and wild as the album art suggests. Curiosity can take over when it comes to album covers; it may encourage you to listen to something you’ve never heard before.
Or “Titanic Rising” by Weyes Blood. This cover has an ethereal beauty, with its rich jewel tones, soft glow and the way the singer’s hair and curtains drift in the water. You’d be happy to stare at this album cover for hours; the experience is only heightened by the music
itself, and vice versa. When you listen to “Andromeda” and experience its floaty, spiralling production, you can imagine yourself in the artists’ underwater world.
Further, to grab the viewer’s attention, an album cover should not only be pleasing/intriguing to look at, but it should suggest a narrative. A storyline that the songs within promises to tell. This is key for concept albums like the previously mentioned “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” but also for standalone projects. Why is this album being made? What does the artist want to say?
For a deeply personal album, you might go in the direction of Adele, who uses gorgeously pensive photos of herself for all her recording projects. The covers for “19,” “21,” “25” and “30” depict Adele’s journey as she grows older, as she experiences love, heartbreak and rebirth. 21 is particular is very emotive; the tilt of her head, the closed eyes, propping up her face with a hand, all bathed in black and white. Her face being the sole focus of her album covers emphasises the intimacy of her music; it is about her experience, and hers alone.
Many of Janet Jackson’s album covers are excellent examples of how to depict a sensual mood. Her fifth album, “janet.”, features a cover image in which she is topless with only a man’s hands covering her breasts. The cover for “All For You” depicts Jackson in bed, covering herself with the sheets, hair tousled, smiling up at the camera. These covers support the seductive nature of many of Jackson’s songs, and confirm that the narrative of these albums will (mostly) focus on her sexual side.
Or perhaps the narrative of your album is one of fury and aggression; heavy rock bands like Iron Maiden and Motorhead (amongst others, of course) always have album art intended to terrify the light-hearted, and to assure the listener that the songs they are about to listen to are ear-melters. Iron Maiden and Motorhead’s self-titled albums are good examples of this idea.
All in all, there are multiple factors in creating a powerful album cover. The cover has to match the vibe of the music. It has to draw the eye. It has to tell a story. What influences your choices when looking at buying an album? What catches your attention? And what puts you off?