From era-defining pop-art collages to wry satire and Swinging 60s fashions, the best 60s album covers raised album artwork to new levels.
The 60s was a time of tumultuous change that saw political upheavals, sexual liberation and the redrawing of social boundaries. If the music that reflected the era raised the bar for pop and rock, the best 60s album covers set new standards in design, forcing a rethink of what album artworks could do.
From anarchic proto-punk rebellion to Swinging 60s fashions and ambitious concept pieces, here are ten of the best 60s album covers.
Nash, Stills & Crosby? The photo for the Laurel Canyon supergroup’s debut album cover was taken before the trio had decided on a name – hence why they aren’t sat in the expected order. This mix-up adds to the carefree, easy-going atmosphere of the artwork, the confusion simply part of the late 60s haze.
This somewhat chaotic album artwork speaks to MC5’s status as progenitors of punk. The group’s ironic overuse of the US flag perfectly captures the band’s anti-establishment ethos, while the collage imagery provides an introduction to the DIY spirit that punk rock would become known for. The wavy, vaguely psychedelic font is typical of late 60s record sleeves; together with the messy design, it perfectly captures the music’s countercultural rebellion.
Often featuring her own paintings and drawings, Joni Mitchell’s album covers have always stood out against her contemporaries’. With bright colours and the slightly surreal imagery typical of the era, her debut album, Song To A Seagull, features an impressively detailed illustration, celebrating, in true late 60s spirit, connections between humans and the natural world. Not only one of the best 60s album covers, but one of Mitchell’s greatest artworks.
Using tongue-in-cheek humour, the artwork for The Who Sell Out expressed a concern felt by several British Invasion bands who, after being berated, slated and hated by the establishment, had found overwhelming commercial success towards the end of the 60s. When “selling out” was seen as the ultimate crime in countercultural circles, The Who’s adverts-parodying album cover mocked both the idea of commercial success and the people who accused them of giving in to The Man.
A black turtleneck is the ultimate beatnik uniform, as immortalised on the cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s fourth studio album, Bookends – fitting (no pun intended), for a kind of concept album centred around the cycle of life, a favourite topic of introspection among beat poets (in a 1984 interview with Playboy, Simon called the album the duo’s “first serious piece of work”). Simon and Garfunkel’s steady gazes reflect the unabashed honesty and confrontational style of the beat generation in a neat singer-songwriter package.
The beehive hairdo, the eyeliner, the roll-neck jumper and checked-jacket combo – the artwork for this classic 1968 Aretha Franklin album offers a great insight into 60s fashion trends, its effect enhanced by the über-focused, close-up portrait. Note the Atlantic Records logo displayed proudly in the bottom left-hand corner, letting buyers know whose roster the talented Ms Franklin had moved to the previous year.
Shot in New York’s hip West Village, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan’s artwork presents a contrast to the overly staged designs of the 50s, telling younger music fans that the best 60s album covers would reflect the cool and casual sensibilities of the new decade. It also hints at Dylan’s own nonchalance towards the glamour and gossip of the music business.
From the bright and bold illustrative style to the appropriation of Hindu imagery, everything about Hendrix’s Axis: Bold As Love album cover screams “It’s the 60s”, and still stands as a benchmark for late-60s psychedelic design.
Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band easily stakes its claim to being one of the greatest album covers of all time . Its cultural impact was assured from the get-go, and the design has been parodied countless times since its release, with everyone from Frank Zappa to The Simpsons getting in on the fun. Featuring generational vanguards such as William Burroughs, Bob Dylan and Sonny Liston, alongside other historical figures and The Fab Four themselves, this nightmare in image licensing could never be replicated today.
Is there anything more 60s than pop art? Topping our list of the best 60s album covers, this simple yet iconic album cover, designed by the legendary Andy Warhol, has graced more than a few forms of merchandise, from T-shirts to mugs. Its playful suggestiveness captures the sexual revolution of the 60s, intriguing record buyers and curious observers alike with the invitation to “PEEL SLOWLY AND SEE”.
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