The art of the album sleeve reached its apogee in the 1970s. The emergence of progressive rock with its almost symphonic sound, fantasy/mystical influences and abandonment of the verse-chorus form and three minute single seemed a perfect fit for the record sleeve as an artistic expression of the record itself. Bands such as Yes and Jethro Tull created LP covers integral to the artistic whole, forming a constituent part of the work as opposed to being an appendage or mere extension of the work. LP covers such as Yes' triple album 'Yessongs' (created by Roger Dean) told a story in itself, the cover and accompanying booklet illustrate a tale of life surfacing from the break-up of a planet as a space craft leads a planetary fragment to its new destination and the eventual emergence of a new civilisation.
This exploration of the mystical and occult was not limited solely to progressive rock. Indeed bands such as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, among others in the Heavy Metal genre, were highly influenced by the esoteric both lyrically and visually.
The 70s also saw the first albums to be released with no mention of either the band or the title of the album. Both 'Atom Heart Mother' and 'Dark Side of the Moon' failed to mention artist or title and thus the album cover as symbol was born. Designed by Storm Thorgerson of Hipgnosis, executives at EMI were both confused and reluctant to use the artwork for either album but as Hipgnosis were employed directly by Pink Floyd, they were able to ignore the misgivings of the record company and in the process created LP sleeves which have become timeless.
Albums such as 'Bridge Over Troubled Water', 'Tapestry', 'What's Going On' and 'Imagine' illustrate a different kind of portraiture, both introspective and questioning as if the photographer is seeking to capture the lost innocence of the age. After all the early 1970s was a time of turmoil, the Vietnam war was raging and Watergate was just around the corner.
In an equally challenging but less overtly political manner the LP sleeves of David Bowie, and the glam rock movement in general, questioned the perceived nature of sexuality and the blurring of traditional male/female rolls. These experiments in androgyny still hold influence today.
As musical sound and style developed so too did the LP sleeve. Artist such as Miles Davis began to wonder as to why rock albums were selling in their millions while jazz albums sales were relatively small. Davis looked to broaden his audience by incorporating elements of rock into his sound and playing festivals such as the Isle of Wight. The resulting mix, which would be called 'fusion', horrified purists but led to increased record sales and one key element in the new mix was a change of style with regard to cover artwork.
The colourful mindbending almost 'Daliesque' artwork on his seminal Jazz fusion album 'Bitches Brew' seems a world away from the elegantly dark 'Birth of the Cool'. Likewise in the world of Soul, a funkier, less rigid sleeve developed echoing a more confident post civil rights attitude.
But, of course, if the early 70s marked for some a high-point of creativity, for others it was overblown and pretentious and the inevitable backlash was soon to follow.
The birth of Punk and New Wave in 1976 ushered in a new era. Extended instrumental passages and twenty minute music suites were seen as bloated and decadent and in many ways Punk harkened back to the 50s and the early days of Rock 'n' Roll and Rockabilly, so much so that the 7 inch 45 once more became the preferred medium of punk bands. Nevertheless classic covers such as the Sex Pistols 'Nevermind ...', the Clash's homage to the early Elvis with 'London Calling' or the clear clean linear 'Parallel Lines' by Blondie left their mark.
In many ways the 1980s was a continuation of the different strands which had emerged in the 1970s. Certainly punk had had a big influence on many up and coming bands, but at the same time groups such as Yes and Pink Floyd remained massively popular and in terms of their artwork continued in the same vein as they had done during the 1970s. Singers such as Bruce Springsteen continued to look for that perfect image to match the content of their albums, a process that had begun with 'Born to Run', continued through 'Darkness on the Edge of Town' and 'The River' and reached its peak with 'Born in the USA'.
MTV and the move towards the video as the visual representation of the artist's vision meant that for some artists the record sleeve became less important as a selling tool. Artist's such as Michael Jackson or Madonna, while obviously needing to present a record cover image that was representative both of their persona and of their work, relied more on their videos and the album cover became more a means of reinforcing their image rather than creating it. That is not to say that their album sleeves were not important, rather that their importance became secondary to the video.
The greatest legacy of punk was, perhaps, the creation of the independent music scene and the multitude of labels that accompanied it. Labels such as Factory or Rough Trade in the UK or Sub Pop in the US brought a post-industrial artistic vision to their sleeve design. Joy Division, New Order, The Smiths and later on bands such as Nirvana or Oasis brought an almost anachronistic vision of the possibilities of the record sleeve and in the age of the cd, it was a joy to hold a copy of their albums in vinyl format.
Other bands, such as U2, who grew out of the New Wave scene, have also persisted in promoting the vinyl LP as both artefact and modern symbol of beauty.
Perhaps it is of no consequence to lament the passing of any epoch or movement. Progress or what might be perceived to be progress is after all relentless. New technologies continually devour the present and the future while simultaneously forgetting the past. But if art means anything surely it is by standing in its moment, breathing in, witnessing its beauty, cherishing it and carrying it with us, that it garners its worth and meaning. And this is how a vinyl LP should be treated. It should be held, smelt, carefully undressed, handled delicately so that the vinyl remains untouched, the needle should be placed softly down into the grooves. And then the magic, let the magic flow as music fills the air.
