Beatles Album Covers

Beatles Album Covers

The Beatles are one of the most inflectional bands of all time and many modern bands follow in their footsteps however their album covers have been almost as influential.

1. Please Please Me

In the debut Beatles album, Please Please Me, the cover shows the Beatles looking down from a stair well smiling towards the camera. This makes them appear friendly and inviting to the audience. This can be seen in modern pop album covers. Such as One Direction.

2. With The Beatles

In comparison to the first album cover this picture shows all members of the band in black and with whilst not smiling. Only John Lennon has his full face visible while Ringo Starr is placed at the bottom to fit the band into the image. This foreshadows a darker tone in the Beatles album covers.

3. A Hard Days Night

For the Beatles first movie soundtrack lp they used pictures of the band each pulling different expressions to create a photo reel effect that is copied in the film. This style has been used and parodied in many bands since.

4. Beatles For Sale

This album cover directly contrasts their debut cover. In this photo the Beatles are in a line however they are shown looking very sad. When the lp title is considered, Beatles For Sale, then the nature of this album becomes clear as it is the last of the pop oriented sound of the Beatles and the penultimate before they stop touring. 

5. Help!

Despite being their second soundtrack album Helps message is clear in the title as it shows the Beatles calling for help out of the commercial cycle they are stuck in.

6.Rubber Soul

In the last of the Beatles touring albums Rubber Soul shows the Beatles psychedelic influences they were taking on board during the start of the 60s revolution. Furthermore the album use a distorted image to counter their previous approach. This is the first Beatles album cover to not feature their name on the cover.

7.Revolver

Revolver is the most creative album cover in the Beatles repertoire and shows a stark difference from the touring years to the album years. The image changed the face of the Beatles and album covers forever.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

In possibly the most iconic album cover of all time Sgt Pepper shows a new form of album cover design in the shift towards progressive music and concept albums. This album cover is very imaginative as it create a theme and design that expands from the songs and onto the album cover. The Sgt Pepper design is very effective as it draws in an audience simply wanting to understand the album cover. The many faces appearing makes the image interesting to listeners to try and name as many as they can. Notable faces include Bob Dylan, H.G. Wells and Oscar Wilde. Lennon requested Jesus and Hitler to appear on the cover but they were rejected. The album cover cost £3000 whereas a standard album cover would cost £50. This shows how the Beatles made the album cover into a world of it's own. Furthermore this is the first album to come with the lyrics on the cover.

Magical Mystery Tour

In the Magical Mystery Tour the Beatles show a completely different prospective of 60s psychedelic culture as they are dressed in animal costumes over a bright background. The album was only intended to coincide with their Christmas movie of the same name. When compered to the early Beatles albums this shows a massive progression of album covers.

The Beatles

The Beatles 1968 self titled album shows the Beatles unique approach to album covers. They followed up the colorful imagery of Magical Mystery Tour with simply a blank background. This experimental approach reflects the music that is the Beatles most experimental.

Abbey Road

In one of the most popular and recognisable album covers of all time the Beatles make their first unconsumed appearance on a cover since Rubber Soul. This emphasizes the changes of music within the Beatles as they have changed drastically. The album cover also shows how successful the Beatles were as it did not feature the Beatles name of album title on the cover. The album cover has been one of the most parodied of all time.

Let It Be

On the Beatles final album, Let It Be, the band appear in photos taken from their historical abbey road rooftop concert. The photos are placed in boxes and is their first conventional album cover since Help! This artwork has been very influential in the history of album covers and has had influence over a variety of bands.

Other influential album covers

Many other album covers before, during and after the Beatles have been influential.

Dark Side Of The Moon - Pink Floyd

The most recognizable album cover by art design team Hipgnosis shows how a powerful image can establish a band. The design does not feature the then relatively unknown name of Pink Floyd but also does not feature the album name. This is a risky move for an unknown band.

Elvis Presley - Elvis Presley

Elvis's debut albums cover has been used as a basis of many albums to follow and helped establish the biggest name in the music industry. Furthermore the Clash parodied the album cover on their critically acclaimed London Calling.

The Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones self titled debut was the first album to have no band name and a cover to cover image not disrupted by the label and product information.

Fragile - Yes

Fragile by Yes is the first major album with a cover by Roger Dean. Roger Dean's style became symbolic of the 1970s progressive rock movement.

How will I put this into my own album cover?

When making my own album cover I will need to focus on what makes an album cover interesting. Most notable the use of effects on any person in the image to create an interesting image and to make the band look iconic. To create a successful album the cover most be instantly recognizable therefore giving it instant staying power.

All of these album covers are instantly recognizable and to make a successful digi-pak I will try to make a recognizable album cover.