Artists Reimagine 12 Iconic Music Album Covers If They Had Dropped Today
Artwork by trippesteff. Images courtesy of Fiverr
In the era of music streaming, much of the attention placed on album art has drifted in favor of being able to access tracks on demand. But what if people could once again gingerly appreciate each detail of a musician’s work like they did in the good old days?
Reminiscing simpler times, online freelance marketplace Fiverr has asked its global community to re-envision 12 of the most iconic album covers in music history to reflect today’s society and culture.
The redesigns capture pressing issues of the era, such as diversity and immigration, as well as portray what the albums mean to each artist.
Check out all 12 album cover makeovers, as well as the inspiration behind each reworking.
The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Artwork by trippesteff. Images courtesy of Fiverr
Today in 1967, The Beatles finished recording their brand new album.
— Eric Alper 🎧 (@ThatEricAlper) April 22, 2019
It would serve proof that popular music could be as rich an artistic pursuit as jazz and classical, and ushered in the album era.
They would call it Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. pic.twitter.com/NQOxizS2rs
“The original cover was a blend of high and low cultural figures that depicted the Zeitgeist mindset of the late 60s. It was also a group of influential figures that were ‘heros’ to The Beatles.
“With a desire to keep the same theme, I chose to feature the most iconic and influential figures of the past decade. These are people that have been controversial figures in music, politics, television, human rights and more. By putting them together in the same image, I wanted to show that they are all equally important.”
Nirvana’s Nevermind
Artwork by gagadesign. Image courtesy of Fiverr
#Nowplaying In Bloom - Nirvana (Nevermind) pic.twitter.com/LiEqeNe74l
— すーぱーもんてん (@orion_0903) November 15, 2019
“The original cover represented a naive artist who is being lured by the music industry—an industry that uses money as a bait… Nowadays, it’s even more relatable than ever… now we have a parent who is not only approving this culture of chasing money, but also proudly films the baby with the intention to share it on social media to gain likes… the new supreme goal.
“Now it’s not only about the money, it’s about social network status and literally five minutes of fame.”
Elvis Presley
Artwork by lizardsalt. Image courtesy of Fiverr
On May 5, 1956, #Elvis’s first LP, "Elvis Presley," reached #1 on the Billboard albums chart, where it remained for 10 weeks out of its total of 48 weeks on the chart.
— Graceland (@VisitGraceland) May 5, 2019
What's your favorite song off of this iconic album? pic.twitter.com/iV5b0ILIVp
“The inspiration for this design was for it to be a Pablo Picasso-style meets… colorful psychedelic vintage comic book aesthetic. Elvis in this cover has such a powerful, passionate expression, and I wanted to display his emotions in color and shape.”
David Bowie’s Aladdin Sane
Artwork by jetzon. Image courtesy of Fiverr
Aladdin Sane (1973)
— sky (@1980floorshow) November 12, 2019
Here, Bowie introduces a new character. The album artwork, by Brian Duffy, is regarded as one of Bowie’s most influential and iconic photos of all time, the lightening bolt becoming one of his symbols.
A new character, Bowie describes Aladdin Sane as - pic.twitter.com/2sZlS3CVZr
“The podium reflects the influence that an artist has on a crowd… The empty podium symbolizes the anticipation spectators have waiting for the person to come out. David Bowie is someone that even in his death yields an absorbent amount of power and authority. He will always have a crowd of people waiting to hear what he has to say.”
Bruce Springsteen’s Born In The U.S.A.
Artwork by boxofwolves. Image courtesy of Fiverr
Born in the U.S.A.- Bruce Springsteen 1984
— Jeanette JOY Fisher ☮️ (@JeanetteJoy) November 14, 2019
.#Albums #Music pic.twitter.com/ESY9Qew8I7
“The first thing I did to create this cover was figure out a different way of representing America besides the stereotypical tropes. The red rose is the national flower. I don’t like to have one gender or race represent a group of people, especially a diverse country like the US.
“So I took a dark gray headless figure and had the rose be the face, with the American flag wrapped around it, representing how America has blossomed into the highly diverse society. Of course this is still debatable considering the current political climate.
“To me, America has blossomed into a spectrum of many identities and one face doesn’t represent America anymore. I also added a beautiful blue sky background as I believe it’s always a good contrast to the primary vibrance of the flag.”
Prince’s Purple Rain
Artwork by dvincentgomes, animation by at_laude. Image courtesy of Fiverr
Now Playing: Purple Rain - Prince - Listen now at https://t.co/CvzilQ85Yu #80s #80smusic pic.twitter.com/iXdI3Tmic6
— Wave 80 Radio - wave80hits.com (@Wave80radio) November 15, 2019
“I see a lot of the style of Prince's songs in my work. An energetic and colorful atmosphere, very bright and neon colors. It’s really something that inspires me. I love the space tones used a lot in his songs, and i’'s something that has always been very present in my work. So I wanted to make this mix of the original concept… It is almost like playing with synesthesia, interpreting the colors of sounds, the shapes of the rhythm and the texture of the notes.”
The Velvet Underground & Nico
Artwork by Georgefairbam. Image courtesy of Fiverr
The Velvet Underground and Nico’
— James Tervit (@JamesTervit) November 8, 2019
The Velvet Underground pic.twitter.com/QSsMkFhMmT
“I have always been a huge fan of Andy Warhol’s work and pop art has had a massive influence in my photography. I wanted to modernize his iconic work whilst keeping it true to its original self. Bringing movement to it and adding complementary colors is something Warhol started doing himself and something I draw inspiration from.”
Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon
Artwork by melinarobledo. Image courtesy of Fiverr
On this day in 1997, the classic Pink Floyd album ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ spent its 1056th week on the US album charts. pic.twitter.com/wfKoLrGLHT
— Monsters Of Rock® (@MonstersOfRock) June 28, 2019
“I think my greatest challenge here was to add some sort of context to that iconic picture of the prism, which I had seen millions of times in my life. So, I started thinking outside the frame and came up with this idea where the prism itself could be playing around with lights and hallucinating with the results.”
Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures
Artwork by tonymidi. Image courtesy of Fiverr
The first recorded pulsating radio signal from deep space. Discovered by a post-grad student in 1967, it was believed to be a signal from an alien civilisation & was named LGM-1 (Little Green Men). It went on to become The cover for Joy Division's 1979 album "Unknown Pleasures" pic.twitter.com/UoEGLgKUTE
— ewan morrison (@MrEwanMorrison) August 27, 2019
“When I look at this album cover, I see how it captures beauty and mystery, but I also see how this can represent a heartbeat and vision, where the heartbeat and eye become one.”
Supertramp’s Breakfast in America
Artwork by Leonardo_araujo. Image courtesy of Fiverr
#albumsyoumusthear Supertramp - Breakfast in America - 1979 pic.twitter.com/iNwKTPBN4O
— Albums You Must Hear (@Albums2Hear) April 22, 2019
“I took inspiration from the original album cover with the waitress, and I read that the original album cover was originally supposed to include Cheerios in the Grand Canyon. In order to honor that concept, I decided to put that in my version of the cover as well.”
N.W.A.’s Straight Outta Compton
Artwork by lannyhoang. Image courtesy of Fiverr
“Yes, I'm macabre but you know you need this
— Chelsea (@heyxie) November 11, 2019
And the knowledge is growing, just like a fetus
Or a tumor, but here's the rumour
Dre is in the neighborhood and he's up to no good...”
NWA, Straight Outta Compton (1988) #NowSpinning pic.twitter.com/5AfwLq8GEE
“The inspiration behind this illustration is the unfortunate state of our society and almost as social progress is going backwards.”
Blondie’s Parallel Lines
Artwork by viz_a_viz. Image courtesy of Fiverr
Welcome to the month of September. BLONDIE's 3rd album, Parallel Lines, was released in Sept 1978. pic.twitter.com/SEFus8bqCN
— Debbie Harry/BLONDIE (@BlondieOfficial) September 1, 2014
“We added the rainbow colors to the Blondie cover, with each member of the band wearing an individual color. The rainbow often represents diversity and we wanted to make a statement that the world is more fluid today.”
[Images courtesy of Fiverr]
