A couple others that immediately come to mind are Elton John's Captain Fantastic and Frank Zappa and the Mothers' Over-nite Sensation. The Ohio Players style where its meant to be viewed longways was also done by P-Funk on the Free Your Mind . . . . thing.
Prog-rockers loved it: Yes, with Relayer and Topographic Oceans. King Crimson for In the Court . . . and . . . Wake of Poseidon.
In newspapers, if I remember correctly, that layout is called a double truck (I don’t know the origin of the term). My fuzzy memory (I haven’t done layout for years) is telling me you can also call that a gatefold. Wraparound is different, at least in my experience. It’s like those ads that are wrapped around the comics sections on Sundays. It’s a layered layout, advertising or otherwise. Design folks out there, feel free to correct me.
Also, that Ohio Players album. My God. I remember the song, but never saw the album. Someone hand me a cool drink.
Boy, that brings back memories of newspaper layout, which I did from '71 until '96. The double truck was the center sheet of a section so the ad stretched unbroken across the whole sheet. Much beloved of car dealerships. A "Dutch truck" was a spread across two pages on different sheets with a gutter in between. This was useful as it was generally cheaper than a double truck and if you wanted to include coupons or a poster, they could be separated more easily. This was how we handled things in the New York Times Newspaper Group for which I worked (not the NYT itself, who knows how they handle things) in that period. I've heard different definitions over the years from other organizations.
If you haven't yet watched the documentary "Squaring the Circle" about the rise and fall of Hipgnosis, it's well worth your time.
I still cringe a bit when I hear a typeface described as a "font" but I'm so old I can remember carrying lead pigs to the hot type engraving machines that most community newspapers had as a side hustle - wedding invites and so on.
Wow, thank you for sharing! Adding “dutch truck” up next to “double truck” as another favorite term.
And yes I did get to see Squaring the Circle! I actually went to a special screening at Film Forum with a Q&A with Aubrey himself afterwards! It was an album art nerd’s dream
Love this piece! Dylan's "Blonde On Blonde" (1966) pre-dates the Hendrix & James Taylor covers you mention, so it may be the first rock LP done in this style (and I think it's the first rock double-LP too), and Jimi's "Axis: Bold As Love" also came out the year before "Electric Ladyland."
One of my favorite wraparound covers is Grand Funk's 1971 "Live Album" - it's a bit of an illusion because the main part of the graphic (the band onstage) is contained on the front of the jacket, and on the back you see a towering amplifier stack and a vintage 'coiled' guitar chord - when you open it up it's apparent the image is continuous. Pretty cool! GFR's "Closer To Home" also has a similar design, with the front cover a stand-alone image and a graphic 'lightning bolt' continuing onto the back.
A few of Led Zep's covers (II, IV & Houses Of The Holy) are great examples too.
Just bought Electric Ladyland on CD to replace my worn-out cassette $10. I'm an ownership guy all formats including digital on my phone. (Amazon) I used a pic I cut out from Mojo Mag of the UK cover, and it worked as my cassette cover for years lengthwise. Ohio Players wonderful music saw them at Wetlands one of the best concerts of my musical life, Sugar Bonner! Never gets old! Great article!!!
The typograpy on those Ohio Players Pain / Pleasure releases is great—in fact, the whole art direction on those two covers stands out from their more syrupy, better known albums.
I just subscribed and will have to look through your archive to see if you have done anything on Neon Park or Roland Diehl, two artists of exceptional ability. Park is of course famous for having done covers for Frank Zappa and Little Feat, Diehl most notably for the striking cover of Neil Young's self-titled 1968 release.
Miles Davis - Bitches Brew, with it’s light/dark theme
Wow, I never noticed the cohesive symmetry here! Thanks for sharing Marcus
A couple others that immediately come to mind are Elton John's Captain Fantastic and Frank Zappa and the Mothers' Over-nite Sensation. The Ohio Players style where its meant to be viewed longways was also done by P-Funk on the Free Your Mind . . . . thing.
Prog-rockers loved it: Yes, with Relayer and Topographic Oceans. King Crimson for In the Court . . . and . . . Wake of Poseidon.
The Doors' Strange Days.
Thank you for sharing all of these! Going to check them out
In newspapers, if I remember correctly, that layout is called a double truck (I don’t know the origin of the term). My fuzzy memory (I haven’t done layout for years) is telling me you can also call that a gatefold. Wraparound is different, at least in my experience. It’s like those ads that are wrapped around the comics sections on Sundays. It’s a layered layout, advertising or otherwise. Design folks out there, feel free to correct me.
Also, that Ohio Players album. My God. I remember the song, but never saw the album. Someone hand me a cool drink.
Love the term “double truck” !
Boy, that brings back memories of newspaper layout, which I did from '71 until '96. The double truck was the center sheet of a section so the ad stretched unbroken across the whole sheet. Much beloved of car dealerships. A "Dutch truck" was a spread across two pages on different sheets with a gutter in between. This was useful as it was generally cheaper than a double truck and if you wanted to include coupons or a poster, they could be separated more easily. This was how we handled things in the New York Times Newspaper Group for which I worked (not the NYT itself, who knows how they handle things) in that period. I've heard different definitions over the years from other organizations.
If you haven't yet watched the documentary "Squaring the Circle" about the rise and fall of Hipgnosis, it's well worth your time.
I still cringe a bit when I hear a typeface described as a "font" but I'm so old I can remember carrying lead pigs to the hot type engraving machines that most community newspapers had as a side hustle - wedding invites and so on.
Wow, thank you for sharing! Adding “dutch truck” up next to “double truck” as another favorite term.
And yes I did get to see Squaring the Circle! I actually went to a special screening at Film Forum with a Q&A with Aubrey himself afterwards! It was an album art nerd’s dream
Love this piece! Dylan's "Blonde On Blonde" (1966) pre-dates the Hendrix & James Taylor covers you mention, so it may be the first rock LP done in this style (and I think it's the first rock double-LP too), and Jimi's "Axis: Bold As Love" also came out the year before "Electric Ladyland."
One of my favorite wraparound covers is Grand Funk's 1971 "Live Album" - it's a bit of an illusion because the main part of the graphic (the band onstage) is contained on the front of the jacket, and on the back you see a towering amplifier stack and a vintage 'coiled' guitar chord - when you open it up it's apparent the image is continuous. Pretty cool! GFR's "Closer To Home" also has a similar design, with the front cover a stand-alone image and a graphic 'lightning bolt' continuing onto the back.
A few of Led Zep's covers (II, IV & Houses Of The Holy) are great examples too.
Thanks for sharing all of these Hugh! So fun to have commentary on one of the first pieces I wrote. Definitely going to check them all out.
Funkadelic’s ‘Free Your Mind (And Your Ass Will Follow)’ wraparound cover is my very favourite - funny, sexy, clever and psychedelic!
I'm obsessed. So good and "cheeky" ha!
‘Cheeky’ covers were rather popular then!
Ohio Players takes me back to house parties at U Buffalo in the 70s. Thanks
Just bought Electric Ladyland on CD to replace my worn-out cassette $10. I'm an ownership guy all formats including digital on my phone. (Amazon) I used a pic I cut out from Mojo Mag of the UK cover, and it worked as my cassette cover for years lengthwise. Ohio Players wonderful music saw them at Wetlands one of the best concerts of my musical life, Sugar Bonner! Never gets old! Great article!!!
King Crimson's "In the Court of the Crimson King," 1969. Both inner and outer cover. Unforgettable images.
Check out the Dave Mason “Alone Together” album cover.
love! great wraparound and packaging altogether
That is an awesome album. Multicolor vinyl too. If you haven’t listened to it lately, do. It really holds up.
Diamond Dogs are civilized
I think my favourite is James Brown's Get on the Good Foot
The typograpy on those Ohio Players Pain / Pleasure releases is great—in fact, the whole art direction on those two covers stands out from their more syrupy, better known albums.
The Ohio Players were quite… provocative with their album art.
Apollo 100 Masterpieces album cover.
https://tronrecords.nz/user/images/8711_520_640.jpg?t=2304181233
Wraparound would be a good movie title. Feel free to write the movie. #FreeIdeas
Pretty sure Teacharound is already taken.
I just subscribed and will have to look through your archive to see if you have done anything on Neon Park or Roland Diehl, two artists of exceptional ability. Park is of course famous for having done covers for Frank Zappa and Little Feat, Diehl most notably for the striking cover of Neil Young's self-titled 1968 release.