{"id":25463,"date":"2020-06-02T00:15:20","date_gmt":"2020-06-02T00:15:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/?p=25463"},"modified":"2024-01-19T09:18:51","modified_gmt":"2024-01-19T09:18:51","slug":"greatest-vinyl-record-sleeves-chosen-famous-designers-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/greatest-vinyl-record-sleeves-chosen-famous-designers-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"The Greatest Vinyl Record Sleeves as Chosen by the Most Famous Designers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We here at Unified are crazy about beautiful <a href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/vinyl-pressing\/\">custom vinyl records<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/vinyl-record-sleeves\/single-record-jackets\">vinyl record sleeves<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve been making creative releases since 2008 and lovely packaging has become an obsession of ours. Of course, we searched the internetz for the greatest vinyl record sleeves of all time.<\/p>\n<p>Who else can be better judges at this than music packaging designers?<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_83 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-light-blue ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a21c7633c298\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a21c7633c298\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/greatest-vinyl-record-sleeves-chosen-famous-designers-part-1\/#the-beatles-%e2%80%93-the-white-album-1968\" >The Beatles \u2013 The White Album (1968)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/greatest-vinyl-record-sleeves-chosen-famous-designers-part-1\/#grateful-dead-%e2%80%93-aoxomoxoa-1969\" >Grateful Dead \u2013 Aoxomoxoa (1969)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/greatest-vinyl-record-sleeves-chosen-famous-designers-part-1\/#kraftwerk-%e2%80%93-autobahn-1974\" >Kraftwerk \u2013 Autobahn (1974)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/greatest-vinyl-record-sleeves-chosen-famous-designers-part-1\/#hawkwind-%e2%80%93-in-search-of-space-1971\" >Hawkwind \u2013 In Search of Space (1971)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/greatest-vinyl-record-sleeves-chosen-famous-designers-part-1\/#iggy-pop-%e2%80%93-lust-for-life-1977\" >Iggy Pop \u2013 Lust for Life (1977)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/greatest-vinyl-record-sleeves-chosen-famous-designers-part-1\/#pixies-%e2%80%93-doolittle-1989\" >Pixies \u2013 Doolittle (1989)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/greatest-vinyl-record-sleeves-chosen-famous-designers-part-1\/#rammellzee-vs-k-rob-%e2%80%93-beat-bop-1983\" >Rammellzee Vs K-Rob \u2013 Beat Bop (1983)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/greatest-vinyl-record-sleeves-chosen-famous-designers-part-1\/#joy-division-%e2%80%93-unknown-pleasures-1979\" >Joy Division \u2013 Unknown Pleasures (1979)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/greatest-vinyl-record-sleeves-chosen-famous-designers-part-1\/#led-zeppelin-%e2%80%93-houses-of-the-holy-1973\" >Led Zeppelin \u2013 Houses of the Holy (1973)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/greatest-vinyl-record-sleeves-chosen-famous-designers-part-1\/#miles-davis-%e2%80%93-tutu-1986\" >Miles Davis \u2013 Tutu (1986)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/greatest-vinyl-record-sleeves-chosen-famous-designers-part-1\/#parliament-%e2%80%93-motor-booty-affair-1978\" >Parliament \u2013 Motor Booty Affair (1978)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/greatest-vinyl-record-sleeves-chosen-famous-designers-part-1\/#marvin-gaye-%e2%80%93-here-my-dear-1978\" >Marvin Gaye \u2013 Here, My Dear (1978)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/greatest-vinyl-record-sleeves-chosen-famous-designers-part-1\/#u2-%e2%80%93-boy-1980\" >U2 \u2013 Boy (1980)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/greatest-vinyl-record-sleeves-chosen-famous-designers-part-1\/#bjork-%e2%80%93-homogenic-1997\" >Bj\u00f6rk \u2013 Homogenic (1997)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/greatest-vinyl-record-sleeves-chosen-famous-designers-part-1\/#scritti-politti-%e2%80%93-work-in-progress-ep-1979\" >Scritti Politti \u2013 Work in Progress EP (1979)<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"the-beatles-%e2%80%93-the-white-album-1968\"><\/span><strong>The Beatles \u2013 The White Album (1968)<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/beatles-cover.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-25464\" src=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/beatles-cover.jpg\" alt=\"Vinyl Record Sleeves Beatles White Album\" width=\"545\" height=\"545\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Chosen by:<em> Jonathan Barnbrook<\/em><\/strong><em>, creator of the sleeves for David Bowie\u2019s Heathen, Reality, The Next Day and Blackstar<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>By contrast to Peter Blake\u2019s vivid artwork for the Beatles\u2019 previous album, Sgt Pepper\u2019s,\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/artanddesign\/2011\/sep\/13\/richard-hamilton-obituary\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Richard Hamilton<\/a>\u2019s sleeve was a plain white sleeve with the band name just embossed, almost invisible. I thought it looked boring until I studied art. It placed an avant-garde idea into the mainstream \u2013 the cover is a blank space on which you can project your fantasies.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"grateful-dead-%e2%80%93-aoxomoxoa-1969\"><\/span><strong>Grateful Dead \u2013 Aoxomoxoa (1969)<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/2432.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-25466 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/2432-520x520.jpg\" alt=\"Vinyl Record Sleeves grateful dead\" width=\"520\" height=\"520\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Chosen by\u00a0<\/em><strong><em>Roger Dean<\/em><\/strong><em>, designer of more than 100 fantastical album covers, most famously for Yes<\/em><\/p>\n<p>By the end of the 60s, we had people walking on the moon and Concorde zooming across the Atlantic in three-and-a-half hours. The future seemed right around the corner. I was obsessed with designing the future, but the graphic designers of the day were hardwiring it into our existing culture with their decades-old design and fonts.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"http:\/\/www.myraltis.co.uk\/rickgriffin\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Rick Griffin<\/a>\u2019s cover had such a powerful effect on me, and is still my favourite sleeve. He had changed the use of lettering completely but it was still legible.<\/p>\n<p>The painting looks as if it comes from a completely other world. It seemed to be saying to me that the rules were bullshit, that we could do anything we wanted. When I look at it, I see freedom.<\/p>\n<p>________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"kraftwerk-%e2%80%93-autobahn-1974\"><\/span><strong>Kraftwerk \u2013 Autobahn (1974)<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/2543.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-25468 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/2543-520x520.jpg\" alt=\"Vinyl Record Sleeves kraftwerk\" width=\"520\" height=\"520\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Chosen by\u00a0<\/em><strong><em>Peter Saville<\/em><\/strong><em>, famed for his work with New Order,\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/music\/joydivision\" data-link-name=\"auto-linked-tag\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Joy Division<\/a>\u00a0and Factory Records<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Autobahn was the first album I ever bought, after I heard the single on the radio. In 1974, as a teenager who had never been abroad, listening to the full 22-minute title track while staring at the autobahn symbol on the sleeve felt like being taken on a journey.<\/p>\n<p>I was on a European highway, in a soundscape crafted by classically trained musicians, seeing cathedrals and power stations, villages and skyscrapers, ancient and modern, in time as well as distance. It was a continental tour \u2013 from gothic to postmodern, from the dark ages to Brigitte Bardot \u2013 with the pulsebeat of a speeding vehicle. All defined in a simple symbol. As a fledgling visual artist, this was my first lesson in semiotics.<\/p>\n<p>I realised that visual codes acted as keys to unlock the huge range of potential awareness in an audience. Four years later, when I was asked to do\u00a0the poster for the first night of the Factory club, I noticed an industrial warning sign on a workshop door at art college: \u201cUse hearing protection.\u201d I\u2019d been thinking \u201cFactory &#8230; new music &#8230; industrial city\u201d and realised: \u201cThat\u2019s it!\u201d My Autobahn moment.<\/p>\n<p>________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"hawkwind-%e2%80%93-in-search-of-space-1971\"><\/span><strong>Hawkwind \u2013 In Search of Space (1971)<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/1479.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-25469 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/1479-520x520.jpg\" alt=\"Vinyl Record Sleeves hawkwind\" width=\"520\" height=\"520\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>At my grammar school, you displayed your allegiances via the album you carried under your arm: Deep Purple in Rock, Genesis\u2019s Nursery Cryme and so on. The longhairs were outsiders, but to be ever more apart, you carried Hawkwind. The designer,\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"http:\/\/www.johncoulthart.com\/feuilleton\/2007\/01\/20\/barney-bubbles-artist-and-designer\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Barney Bubbles<\/a>, was a genius.<\/p>\n<p>This wasn\u2019t just a square of card. It\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/pathwaygroupstoke.files.wordpress.com\/2013\/06\/hawkwindisoslog2.jpg\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">unfolded out to a rough hawk shape<\/a>. On the front, there was this post-psychedelic, pre-electro, sci-fi mandala. On the back, there were no track titles, just a completely blurred picture of them playing live (which seemed to replicate the Hawkwind live experience) and the words: \u201cTechnicians of spaceship Earth, this is your captain speaking, your captain is dead.\u201d Coming with a booklet of countercultural images and texts, it really broke convention for album packaging.<\/p>\n<p>It inspired me graphically, with its geometric shapes and fluorescent colours, and I became immersed in an \u201calternative\u201d lifestyle and took psychedelic drugs. On one trip in Scotland, I was convinced I could see aliens landing, I experienced synaesthesia and distinctly remember listening to this album through my teeth. When the Sex Pistols came along,<\/p>\n<p>I realised this outsider attitude applied equally to another counterculture, punk.<\/p>\n<p>________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"iggy-pop-%e2%80%93-lust-for-life-1977\"><\/span><strong>Iggy Pop \u2013 Lust for Life (1977)<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/2375.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-25470 \" src=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/2375-520x520.jpg\" alt=\"Vinyl Record Sleeves iggy pop\" width=\"576\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/2375-520x520.jpg 520w, https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/2375-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/2375-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/2375-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/2375-658x658.jpg 658w, https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/2375-80x80.jpg 80w, https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/2375-200x200.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/2375.jpg 1240w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Chosen by\u00a0<\/em><strong><em>Vaughan Oliver<\/em><\/strong><em>, who defined the visual aesthetic of the\u00a0<\/em><a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/music\/2013\/oct\/10\/4ad-label-behind-pixies-cocteau-twins\" data-link-name=\"in body link\"><em>4AD label in the 80s<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/music\/gallery\/2015\/oct\/21\/roger-dean-somewhere-near-here-prog-rock-album-covers-in-pictures\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Roger Dean<\/a>&#8216;s sleeves weren\u2019t about how the band looked, but the use of imagination. In my work, I\u2019m keen on the ambiguous and the mysterious. This sleeve is the complete antithesis of my philosophy, but I like its innocence and directness.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s like a high-school photograph and totally fits the words Lust for Life. Iggy looks like a children\u2019s TV presenter or someone about to present the weather forecast, but the record inside is raw and harrowing. It\u2019s the absolute opposite of everything conjured up by the sleeve. I love that.<\/p>\n<p>________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"pixies-%e2%80%93-doolittle-1989\"><\/span><strong>Pixies \u2013 Doolittle (1989)<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/2378.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-25471 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/2378-520x520.jpg\" alt=\"Vinyl Record Sleeves pixies\" width=\"520\" height=\"520\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Chosen by\u00a0<\/em><strong><em>Tash Willcocks<\/em><\/strong><em>, Manchester-based illustrator behind sleeves such as\u00a0<\/em><a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/lifeandstyle\/2001\/may\/04\/shopping.culture\" data-link-name=\"in body link\"><em>Elbow\u2019s Asleep in the Back<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I was brought up in a house in Cornwall where no one listened to music. When I was a teenager, my friends bought this album and showed me it. In 1989, I had never seen anything like it.<\/p>\n<p>The combination of Simon Larbalestier\u2019s photography and\u00a0Vaughan Oliver\u2019s design and typography was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I thought: \u201cWhatever that is, that\u2019s what I want to do.\u201d I had always been a messy person, but suddenly everything made sense.<\/p>\n<p>I realised that in art and design, you can get your hands dirty, make mistakes and embrace them. Before this, to me, a record cover meant a boyband on a sleeve, which made me want to puke, but here was something I could emotionally engage with. It gave me no answers, only a million questions. Why are the letters like this? Why is the print over the top of everything? I can\u2019t even remember playing it, just staring at it and it taking over my brain. It gave me permission to be me, which has influenced everything in my life.<\/p>\n<p>________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"rammellzee-vs-k-rob-%e2%80%93-beat-bop-1983\"><\/span><strong>Rammellzee Vs K-Rob \u2013 Beat Bop (1983)<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/1589.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-25472 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/1589-520x524.jpg\" alt=\"Vinyl Record Sleeves\" width=\"520\" height=\"524\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Chosen by\u00a0<\/em><strong><em>Tony Hung<\/em><\/strong><em>, artist behind Blur\u2019s The Magic Whip<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"http:\/\/basquiat.com\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Jean-Michel Basquiat<\/a>\u00a0brings something unconventional, bold, playful, thought-provoking, raw and engaging while maintaining an unlaboured feel. Despite being 33 years old, this work feels more potent than ever, when much of our daily eyeline is bombarded with overstylised, computer-perfected, market-led noise. Armed with just a paint stick, Basquiat effortlessly cuts through it all. It\u2019s life-affirming. It reminds me I am a human being and to be a human being, to be instinctive, and that with just primitive tools, we can still make joyful and fulfilling work.<\/p>\n<p>________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"joy-division-%e2%80%93-unknown-pleasures-1979\"><\/span><strong>Joy Division \u2013 Unknown Pleasures (1979)<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/1448.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-25473 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/1448-520x520.jpg\" alt=\"Vinyl Record Sleeves joy division\" width=\"520\" height=\"520\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Chosen by\u00a0<\/em><strong><em>Dan Hillier<\/em><\/strong><em>, winner of the 2014 Best\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/artanddesign\/art\" data-link-name=\"auto-linked-tag\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Art<\/a>\u00a0Vinyl award for the cover of Royal Blood\u2019s debut album<\/em><\/p>\n<p>I was five or six when this came out in 1979. When I was younger, I didn\u2019t know what it was or understand it, but something about the graphic always appealed. I later found out that Peter Saville\u2019s sleeve design\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.scientificamerican.com\/sa-visual\/pop-culture-pulsar-origin-story-of-joy-division-s-unknown-pleasures-album-cover-video\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">depicts a frequency wave from the first known pulsar<\/a>, but it could equally be a landscape or depict musical frequencies.<\/p>\n<p>My experience of the music on records has always been influenced to some degree by the cover art, and this is dark and bleak and jagged, which is perfect for that album. After Royal Blood used my\u00a0Pachamama image for their album, their manager and I agreed we would have preferred not to have words on the cover.<\/p>\n<p>________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"led-zeppelin-%e2%80%93-houses-of-the-holy-1973\"><\/span><strong>Led Zeppelin \u2013 Houses of the Holy (1973)<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/1995.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-25475 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/1995-520x520.jpg\" alt=\"vinyl record sleeve Led Zeppelin\" width=\"520\" height=\"520\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Chosen by\u00a0<\/em><strong><em>Carson Ellis<\/em><\/strong><em>, award-winning illustrator and sleeve designer for the Decemberists, Weezer and Laura Veirs<\/em><\/p>\n<p>This has been my favourite album cover for as long as I can remember.\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"http:\/\/www.hipgnosiscovers.com\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Hipgnosis<\/a>did lots of the great 70s sleeves and this is weird, timeless and iconic. I recently did a cover for an album of Zeppelin covers called From the Land of Ice and Snow and\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"http:\/\/www.jealousbutcher.com\/products\/various\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">redrew the Houses of the Holy image in my own style<\/a>. So I\u2019ve spent a lot of time with it. It\u2019s a photo collage image of nymph-like, mermaid-like, naked children \u2013 actually a brother and sister \u2013 climbing Giant\u2019s Causeway, in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n<p>Zeppelin combine blues with fantasy and JRR Tolkien, and all that is on the cover. It seems to signify otherworldliness, something primal and social taboos. There\u2019s something vaguely sexualised about the children, but whatever sexuality it\u2019s alluding to is subtle enough that you can shrug it off.<\/p>\n<p>On\u00a0the cover of the Decemberists\u2019 What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World, I drew a stylised, flat depiction of a naked woman, with tiny pink dots for nipples.<\/p>\n<p>I was told that big stores wouldn\u2019t stock it. They were the most benign, non-sexual nipples that anyone ever had.<\/p>\n<p>________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"miles-davis-%e2%80%93-tutu-1986\"><\/span><strong>Miles Davis \u2013 Tutu (1986)<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/1620.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-25476 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/1620-520x458.jpg\" alt=\"Led Zeppelin miles davis\" width=\"520\" height=\"458\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Chosen by\u00a0<\/em><a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"http:\/\/ceyadams.com\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\"><strong><em>Cey Adams<\/em><\/strong><\/a><em>, designer of Def Jam Recordings sleeves from the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy and Jay Z<\/em><\/p>\n<p>This is one of Miles Davis\u2019s last recordings, in his avant-garde period \u2013 it\u2019s named after Archbishop Desmond Tutu. It\u2019s just a stark photograph by\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/artanddesign\/2009\/oct\/08\/irving-penn-obituary\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Irving Penn<\/a>\u00a0of Miles looking straight on, and the edges are faded black [the cover was designed by\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/artanddesign\/2012\/jan\/29\/eiko-ishioka\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Eiko Ishioka<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>I was taken by the fact that an artist could have a cover without his name on it, and Miles Davis was obviously so popular that he could do that. Miles always had very powerful features, and the texture and detail in his face shows the journey of his career and how much he put into it.<\/p>\n<p>I was drawn to the album by that intense, beautiful stare. I modelled my career on Miles in terms of wanting to push boundaries. For example, Public Enemy\u2019s\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fear_of_a_Black_Planet#\/media\/File:Fear_of_a_Black_Planet.jpg\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Fear of a Black Planet<\/a>was conceptual art, which no one had done in hip-hop before. However, I was so moved by the Tutu cover that when the time came to do LL Cool J\u2019s greatest hits album, All World, I\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/All_World:_Greatest_Hits#\/media\/File:All_World_-_LL_Cool_J.jpg\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">applied the same idea to an Albert Watson photograph of LL<\/a>. There was type on the front, but it was on a shinkwrap that peeled off. It was my homage to Tutu.<\/p>\n<p>________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"parliament-%e2%80%93-motor-booty-affair-1978\"><\/span><strong>Parliament \u2013 Motor Booty Affair (1978)<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/1092-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-25477 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/1092-1-520x515.jpg\" alt=\"Vinyl packaging parliament\" width=\"520\" height=\"515\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Chosen by\u00a0<\/em><strong><em>Joe Buckingham<\/em><\/strong><em>, designer of various De La Soul sleeves including De La Soul Is Dead<\/em><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve always liked album sleeves that double as construction kits. I had a Jefferson Airplane album that you could take apart and build into a fully three-dimensional cigar box. The inner sleeve was an image of marijuana, and that sat in the box, so it looked as if it was filled with grass. In this field, though, this Parliament cover is king and is still my all-time favourite sleeve. It was a gatefold with a pop-up element.<\/p>\n<p>If you laid the album flat, this fantasy castle popped up along with various characters you could cut out and stand up in the castle. There were tons of illustrations, and the cover featured a giant bird coming down on the album\u2019s Sir Nose character.<\/p>\n<p>There was just so much to look at in\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"http:\/\/overvision.com\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Overton Loyd<\/a>\u2019s artwork. It really piqued my imagination. I think subconsciously the starkness and simplicity of the cover image against a white background seeped into how I designed\u00a0De La Soul Is Dead.<\/p>\n<p>________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"marvin-gaye-%e2%80%93-here-my-dear-1978\"><\/span><strong>Marvin Gaye \u2013 Here, My Dear (1978)<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/1024.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-25478 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/1024-520x520.jpg\" alt=\"vinyl record sleeve marvin gaye\" width=\"520\" height=\"520\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I love this because of the story behind it and the way the cover works with the music. In the mid-70s, Marvin Gaye had had two enormous albums in What\u2019s Going On and Let\u2019s Get It On, but was going through an acrimonious divorce from Anna Gordy.<\/p>\n<p>They agreed a deal whereby she wouldn\u2019t get any money, but would get all the proceeds of his next album, which looked guaranteed to be the biggest record ever. Instead, he sabotaged the deal by making a wilfully uncommercial album, full of\u00a0songs about their relationship, although it\u2019s now seen as another classic. Gaye gave Michael Bryan, the artist, very specific instructions, so the cover features the singer looking like a Greek god.<\/p>\n<p>The artwork includes the words \u201clove and marriage\u201d and \u201cjudgment\u201d and it unfolds to a picture of him handing her this itsy-bitsy, teeny-tiny record. That\u2019s dark, but mostly a record just features a photo of the band. This is a total concept, a snapshot of his state of mind and an amazing art piece.<\/p>\n<p>________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"u2-%e2%80%93-boy-1980\"><\/span><strong>U2 \u2013 Boy (1980)<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/1398.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-25479 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/1398-520x513.jpg\" alt=\"Led Zeppelin vinyl sleeve\" width=\"520\" height=\"513\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Chosen by\u00a0<\/em><strong><em>Alison Fielding<\/em><\/strong><em>, Beggars Banquet Group creative director, who has designed for the Prodigy, the Specials and the Horrors<\/em><\/p>\n<p>When I was about 13, I heard\u00a0I Will Follow\u00a0when I was listening to the John Peel show on headphones. I thought it was amazing, and immediately went to this little local shop that sold TVs as well as records, and ordered it.<\/p>\n<p>At that point, I had no idea what it would look like. When I got it, I just thought it was so beautiful, I stared at it for hours. I don\u2019t care much for the graphics, but it\u2019s very evocative of a time in my life that shaped my love of music, and there\u2019s something almost Mona Lisa-like about the photograph on the sleeve. Does it capture innocence, or something darker? They\u00a0used the same boy two albums later for War, by which point he has a split lip.<\/p>\n<p>So there\u2019s a narrative developing. When I was about 13 or 14, I had this big blue Adidas bag for school, and I wrote \u201cU2\u201d on it in really big lettering in ballpoint pen, but messily and badly. That was my first attempt at graphics.<\/p>\n<p>________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"bjork-%e2%80%93-homogenic-1997\"><\/span><strong>Bj\u00f6rk \u2013 Homogenic (1997)<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/1404.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-25480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/1404-520x520.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"520\" height=\"520\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Chosen by\u00a0<\/em><strong><em>Rochelle Nembhard<\/em><\/strong><em>, who worked on the acclaimed cover for Petite Noir\u2019s La Vie Est Belle<\/em><\/p>\n<p>I like covers that relate directly to the musician, more than abstract images. I like some abstract images, but those covers could be anyone. Homogenic is a piece of art, and the fact that she used Alexander McQueen to design it was amazing.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a fusion between African and Asian \u2013 the African necklaces and the Asian dress \u2013 that stands the test of time. I love all Bj\u00f6rk\u2019s covers for that reason \u2013 they all show an aspect of her.<\/p>\n<p>The visual aspect of music, the album cover, is important, because it is a picture of the music, depicting the sound. It should be so much more than just a one-dimensional image \u2013 it has to be the face of the music. That\u2019s what I was trying to do\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/cdn4.pitchfork.com\/albums\/22275\/306b06ea.jpg\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">with Petite Noir, working with the artist Lina Viktor<\/a>. I knew she had the type of imagery that would translate into his music and stand the test of time.<\/p>\n<p>________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"scritti-politti-%e2%80%93-work-in-progress-ep-1979\"><\/span>Scritti Politti \u2013 Work in Progress EP (1979)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/2402.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-25481 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/2402-520x504.jpg\" alt=\"Scritti Politti vinyl records\" width=\"520\" height=\"504\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Chosen by\u00a0<\/em><strong><em>Matthew Cooper<\/em><\/strong><em>,\u00a0<\/em><em>designer for Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, Hot Chip and many more<\/em><\/p>\n<p>I love the DIY aesthetic of the\u00a0first edition of Elvis Presley\u2019s first album, later homaged by\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"http:\/\/www.raylowry.com\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Ray Lowry for the Clash\u2019s London Calling<\/a>\u00a0sleeve. The wonky type looks like it has been cut out and stuck on by hand.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s another musician awkwardly cropped in the photo of Elvis. Nowadays, the record company would ask you to Photoshop him out. The immediacy of the image and graphics make a statement of intent: \u201cHere I am.\u201d Many years and genres after that was released, the same aesthetic inspired me when I came across this EP of Scritti Politti\u2019s second John Peel session in Chick-A-Boom Records in Sutton Market, some years after it came out in 1979 on Rough Trade Records.<\/p>\n<p>The sleeve was just a plastic bag with two bits of photocopied paper in it. One of them listed the entire costs of making the record, including \u00a365 for 5,000 plastic covers. The other photocopy was of a bag of crisps, a badge and some sugar. It demystified the entire process and I realised that I could do something similar at the local library. So I took loads of stuff down and started photocopying it.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/artanddesign\/2016\/sep\/22\/the-greatest-record-sleeves-as-chosen-by-the-designers\">via The Gurdian<\/a><\/p>\n<p>________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><b><i>James Hill<\/i><\/b><i> is a veteran of the music industry. He first worked at Warner Reprise Records then later joined Interscope\/ Geffen Records where he managed producers and songwriters and got his first platinum record for Keyshia Cole&#8217;s The Way It Is. He is now helping indie artists with branding and manufacturing through his company <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/\"><span class=\"s1\"><b><i>Unified Manufacturing<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/a><i>, a CD\/DVD\/vinyl and merch company in LA.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We here at Unified are crazy about beautiful custom vinyl records and vinyl record sleeves. We\u2019ve been making creative releases since 2008 and lovely packaging has become an obsession of ours. Of course, we searched the internetz for the greatest vinyl record sleeves of all time. Who else can be better judges at this than [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":25470,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,25,8,21,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cd-manufacturing","category-graphic-design","category-vinyl-packaging-design","category-vinyl-pressing","category-vinyl-record-manufacturing"],"contentshake_article_id":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25463"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25463\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38741,"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25463\/revisions\/38741"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}