Cover versions

Design by Peter Whorf Graphics.

Another album cover post, and one I’ve wanted to do for a while. Parody covers are a curious sub-genre of sleeve design, and this post was prompted in part by an email from Easy On The Eye books alerting me to the publication this month of Covered, a collection of cover parodies compiled by Jan Bellekens. Hundreds of different examples are featured, many of them by artists few people will have heard of, the parody cover having always been a good way for unknowns to grab some attention on the back (or should that be the front?) of the very famous.

Some covers inspire more parodies than others. One of my favourites is the perennial inspiration provided by Whipped Cream & Other Delights, Herb Alpert’s hugely popular 1965 album whose cover by Peter Whorf Graphics may now be more well-known than the music it packaged. Dolores Erickson was the model, the “cream” was foam, and the modish typography shows (as did the hand-drawn title on Rubber Soul) that the trend for fluid lettering styles slightly preceded the psychedelic explosion. My mother had a copy of this album so the sleeve was the first album cover to make a memorable impression; my sister and I always thought it slightly “rude” since Ms. Erickson is obviously naked under her cream.

Sour Cream & Other Delights (1966) by The Frivolous Five.

The success of the design can be gauged by how swiftly the parodies followed, and how they show no sign of abating, the most recent one below being from 2008. The selections here are among the better examples, there are many more to be found. Needless to say, Jan Bellekens’ book makes note of this lineage. Covered can be ordered direct from Easy On The Eye.

Spaghetti Sauce & Other Delights (1967) by Pat Cooper.

Clam Dip & Other Delights (1988) by Soul Asylum.

Burana in Brass (2007) by Washington Symphonic Brass.

Sauerkraut, Wurst und Other Delights (2008) by Cecilia und die Sauerkrauts.

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• The album covers archive