Sometimes, all it takes is an eye-catching album cover to get the average record store visitor interested in a particular band. These iconic records from some of the greatest classic rock bands boasted really visually interesting album covers. And critics (and fans) loved them. Let’s take a moment to appreciate some artwork, shall we?
1. ‘Abbey Road’ by The Beatles
This is about as legendary as it gets. The Beatles released quite a few eye-catching album covers through the years. However, Abbey Road’s cover art is by far their most visually interesting. Outside of, say, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. It’s all a matter of opinion and taste, anyway.
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It’s interesting how a simple photo of four men crossing a street outside of their recording studio could become so iconic. The whole shoot with photographer Ian McMillan took only 10 minutes.
2. ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’ by Pink Floyd
This is probably the most well-known of all classic rock album covers ever. It’s simple, it’s noteworthy, it’s eye-catching… and all it really features is a glass prism creating a visible spectrum of color from a beam of light. The Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd boasts the perfect album cover for the fascinating and otherworldly music inside that very record.
3. ‘Who’s Next’ by The Who
This somewhat surreal, cool-toned cover art is the product of photographer Ethan Russell. According to Russell himself, he and The Who were driving to London after a concert in 1971 when they passed by some interesting, somewhat creepy concrete monoliths.
He said that they “looked like the surface of the moon”, and the band pulled over and gathered around to take some shots. The Stanley Kubrick inspiration is very obvious, but the album cover itself is nonetheless unique.
4. ‘Black Sabbath’ by Black Sabbath
Graphic designer Keith “Keef” MacMillan was a fan of Black Sabbath after first hearing their debut album shortly before it was released. Tasked with creating an album cover for it, MacMillan ended up creating one of the most identifiable classic rock album covers ever. The cover for the band’s self-titled record is eerie, colorful, and spooky.
“It was absolutely freezing,” said Louisa Livingstone, a model who was photographed for the cover at 19 years old. “I remember Keith [MacMillan] rushing around with dry ice, throwing that into the pond nearby, and that didn’t seem to be working very well, so he was using a smoke machine.”
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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