The enduring appeal of the record cover
A new book showcases the innovative and artistic relationship between music and photography
By
Lauren Hansen
Published

Prince, Lovesexy (Paisley Park, 1988), photograph by Jean-Baptiste Mondino
(Image credit: (Total Records: Photography and the Art of the Album Cover, Aperture, 2016)Photography has an uncanny way of capturing the tone of an artist and album, whether it's Prince in repose, John Col)

John Coltrane, Blue Train (Blue Note, 1957), photograph by Francis Wolff
(Image credit: (Total Records: Photography and the Art of the Album Cover, Aperture, 2016))

Led Zeppelin, Physical Graffiti (Swan Song, 1975), photograph by Elliott Erwitt
(Image credit: (Total Records: Photography and the Art of the Album Cover, Aperture, 2016))

Boz Scaggs, Middle Man (Columbia, 1980), photograph by Guy Bourdin
(Image credit: (Total Records: Photography and the Art of the Album Cover, Aperture, 2016, copyright The Guy Bourdin Estate))

David Bowie, Let's Dance (EMI, 1983), photograph by Greg Gorman
(Image credit: (Total Records: Photography and the Art of the Album Cover, Aperture, 2016))

The Raveonettes, Rarities/B-Sides (Self-released, 2011), photograph by Todd Hido
(Image credit: (Total Records: Photography and the Art of the Album Cover, Aperture, 2016))

Björk, Possibly Maybe (One Little Indian, 1996), photograph by Nobuyoshi Araki
(Image credit: (Total Records: Photography and the Art of the Album Cover, Aperture, 2016))

Total Records: Photography and the Art of the Album Cover
(Image credit: (Aperture, 2016)**Visit Aperture.org for more information about Total Records**)
Sign up to get Today’s Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the day’s biggest news and analysis – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Lauren Hansen produces The Week’s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.