Let It Bleed album by the Rolling Stones, 1969.

Why the album rocks: The Let It Bleed album has been thought to be a response to the Beatles’ Let It Be as the majority of the Let It Be recording sessions took place before those of the Let It Bleed album. However, theories vary as to whether the title was making fun of the Beatles inability to complete their own album or if it was an expression of solidarity with a recording process that has been equally as taxing on the Rolling Stones. When the album was released in December of 1969, it reached #1 in the United Kingdom, knocking Abbey Road out of the top slot. The album has been called the great summoning up of the dark underbelly of the 1960s. Let It Bleed is the second of Rolling Stones’ run of four studio LPs that are widely regarded as the band’s greatest artistic achievements, equaled only by the best of their 45s of that decade. (The other three albums are Beggards Banquest (1968), Sticky Fingers (1971), and Exile on Main Street (1972)).

Why the cover design rocks: The cover of the album features a surreal sculpture by Robert Brownjohn. The image consists of the Let It Bleed record being played by the tone-arm of an antique phonograph and a record-changer spindle supporting several items stacked on a plate in place of a stack of records: a tape canister labeled Stones - Let It Bleed, a clock face, a pizza, a tire and a cake with elaborate icing topped by figures representing the band members. The cake portion of the stack was designed by cookery writer Delia Smith. The reverse side of the album cover features the same record stack melange in a state of disarray.

The artwork was inspired by the working title of the album, Automatic Changer. The inside of the album sleeve features the message “This record should be played loud.”

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Abbey Road album by the Beatles, 1969.

Why the album rocks: Recorded in the summer of 1969, Abbey Road was the last album recorded by the Beatles. After disorganization and fighting that dominated the LET IT BE sessions in early 1969, the Beatles, barely able to operate as a unit, agreed to work with George Martin for a more succinct production of Abbey Road. It is considered one of the group’s most tightly constructed albums. Paul McCartney inspired the suite of songs that begin “You Never Give Me Your Money.” Often thought of as two long medleys, the songs that make up the second half of Abbey Road flow together seamlessly. George Harrison had his first A-side on a Beatles’ single with the song “Something” and while John Lennon added heavier rock tracks with “Come Together” and “I Want You” and Ringo Starr contributed “Octopus’s Garden.”

Why the cover design rocks: The Abbey Road album cover is considered one of the most iconic covers in music history because no album cover has inspired more imitations and none have spawned such a mass of conspiracy theories. The most famous of these theories is that Paul was dead. According to legend, Paul had been killed in a car accident and had been replaced by an impostor. The Beatles, it was said, felt guilty about the deception and placed hidden clues on the album cover for their fans. Apparently, the images on the front and back of the album are packed with deathly symbolism. 12 symbols to be exact:

COVER FRONT

1. The Funeral John Lennon leads in a white suit as the preacher, Ringo Starr is the mourner in black, George in an old shirt and jeans is the grave digger, Paul walks barefoot in an old suit as the corpse.

2. The Cigarette Paul McCartney holds a cigarette in his right hand. At the time, cigarettes were referred to as “coffin nails.”

3. The Registration Plate The white VW Beetle in the background has a 28IF representing the age Paul would have been IF he had not died.

4. The Spectators In the background, a small group of people dressed in white stand on one side of the street while a lone man stands on the other side, who is thought to represent Paul.

5. The Police Van A black police van is parked on the right side of the road which represents the police who kept quiet about Paul’s death.

6. The Line of Cars A line can be traced from the VW Beetle to the three cars in front of it. If a line is drawn connecting their right wheels, the line runs straight through Paul’s head, said to represent the head injuries he sustained in the accident.

7. The Blood Stain On the Australian version of the album, the cover featured what was thought to be a bloodstain on the street right behind Ringo and John.

COVER BACK

8. The Cracked S On the back cover, there is a crack through the S on the Abbey Road sign. The crack is said to represent problems with in the group.

9. The Dots On the back cover, to the left of the name ‘BEATLES’, there are a series of eight dots that when joined form a 3 which is said to represent the number of remaining Beatles members.

10. Image of Death It is believed that if the back cover is turned 45 degrees counterclockwise, an image of the Grim Reaper appears, from his skull to his black gown.

11. The Girl Although no one knows the identity of the girl dressed in blue on the back cover, car crash theorists claim that while it was heavily raining, Paul gave a lift to a fan named Rita who may be pictured on the back fleeing the accident or running to get help.

12. Paul’s Final Resting Place If the writing on the wall is split into sections, it conveys a cryptic message “Be at Les Abbey.” Also, there are various numerological theories as to other hidden messages the sign conveys such as the number 66, the year that Paul is supposed to have died and the number 33, related to the location where he was laid to rest at St. Cecilia’s Abbey.

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Sticky Fingers Album by The Rolling Stones, 1971.

Why the album rocks: Sounding subdued compared to earlier Rolling Stones albums, Sticky Fingers release betrayed the difficulties that band members were enduring at the time. This emotional depth made its way onto the album, especially on tracks like “Sister Morphine,” “Moonlight Mile” or “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking.” This album was Mick Taylor’s first full-length appearance on a Rolling Stones album. Partially recorded in the legendary Muscle Shoals studio in Alabama, the Stones were flirting with the blues while adding a twist of southern soul. A horn arrangement by saxophonist Bobby Keys and trumpet player Jim Price was added to further enriched the sound, particularly during “Brown Sugar” and “Bitch.” The album marked the end of the endless summer of the 1960s.

Why the cover design rocks: WARHOL. WARHOL. WARHOL. At a party in 1969 in New York, artist Andy Warhol casually mentioned to Mick Jagger that it would be amusing to have a real zipper on an album cover. A year later, Jagger suggested the idea for the release of Sticky Fingers.

Warhol took the cover shot and although many have assumed the model was Mick Jagger, it is rumored to be Joe Dallesandro, a hanger-on in Warhol’s studio.

Album designer and packager, Craig Braun realized there needed to be an extra layer of cardboard to protect the record from the metal zipper. That layer features another Warhol shot of a different man in his underwear.

Despite this extra layer, during shipment, the zipper would press into the album stacked on top of it, invariably damaging the track “Sister Morphine.” Atlantic Records threatened to sue Braun for all the damages. So after getting “very depressed and very high,” Braun came up with the solution of pulling down the zipper before the album was shipped so that it would only dent the label. However, he never was able to figure out a way to keep Sticky Fingers from scratching other album covers.

In the beginning, several department store chains refused to put the album on display claiming that model’s jeans were too tight. Braun said, “If you stand back from that cover, you can actually see the guy’s dick. I used to kid Andy: ‘I know you had that guy playing with his dick before you shot the picture!’” The album cover pushed the Stones into a more sexual mode under their new label Rolling Stones Records.

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Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band Album by The Beatles, 1968

Why the album rocks: The album was recorded over a nearly 130-day period and is considered the defining album in the emergence of psychedelic rock in the late 1960s. Through the use of innovative production techniques, the album incorporates elements of music hall, jazz, rock and roll, western classical and traditional Indian genres. The music is based on the concept that the Beatles are performing as Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Why the cover design rocks: The cover was designed by Peter Blake and was put together by Blake and Jann Haworth who painstakingly searched through hundreds of photos during several months before the photo shoot. The photo was taken by Michael Cooper at Chelsea Manor Photographic Studios on March 30, 1967. Many of the people featured on the album cover were personal heroes of the Beatles or individuals they admired. And there were several people intended to grace the cover but didn’t make the cut (for various reasons) including Jesus, Elvis, Hitler, Leo Gorcey and Ghandi.

The Sgt. Pepper’s cover design has been widely imitated by musicians including Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, Jun Fukamachi, and the Rutles.

Here is the legend of the album cover.

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The Who Sell Out, 1967

Why the album rocks: This album was Townshend’s first attempt at a concept-style album. The theme of the album, including radio jingles, is premised as being a broadcast from the pirate radio station Radio London.

Why the cover design rocks: The design was inspired by the commercials featured on the album, not the music. Album front features Pete Townshend applying some Odorono deodorant and Roger Daltrey in a tub of Heinz baked beans. (Rumor has it that Daltrey got a mild case of pneumonia because the beans were refrigerated.) Album back features Keith Moon applying Medac skin cream and John Entwistle sporting a beach-ready body by Charles Atlas.

Album graphic design by David King and Roger Law
Album photography by David Montgomery

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