Eddie Harris ‘Is It In’ (1974) Art Direction by Bob Defrin, Basil Pao. Illustration by Peter Palombi. I always tend to date airbrushing as an 80’s style, probably fuelled by all the posters I used to have from Athena as a teen, but really it was just as common and popular in the 70’s, this being a great example from Palombi. (Mat Maitland, Leopard Tree Dream)

Françoise Hardy ‘Comment Te Dire Adieu’ (1968) Cover drawing by Jean Paul Goude. This is a fairly early drawing from Goude, who at the time had just become art director of Esquire after being set on his creative journey inspired by a much earlier Esquire cover created by the legendary George Lois. This is way before his amazing work with Grace Jones, much of which has been posted in this blog. He’s a big inspiration to me. (Mat Maitland, Leopard Tree Dream)

Ike & Tina Turner ‘Deliah’s Power’ (1977) Design by Kosh and Ria Lewerke. Illustration by Bob Hickson. 

Michele ‘Magic Love’ (1977) Cover by Paul White. The style of this sleeve was reinterpreted and referenced alot in the late 90’s by various designers - not this specific sleeve, more the graphic style. I’m intrigued by the Paul White credit. At first I thought there was no way it could be Paul White of Me Company fame but there’s a tiny possibility it could have been a very early sleeve by him, unless I am making him older than he is! Looking at his later work, it’s not a ridiculous idea but I might be totally wrong. Answers on a postcard to… (Mat Maitland, Leopard Tree Dream)

Kid Creole & The Coconuts ‘Maladie D’Amour’ (1980) Design/Photography unknown. 

Pockets ‘So Delicious’ (1979) Cover concept by Art Sims. I posted another Pockets sleeve a few weeks ago, it seemed very popular. This one is totally different, infact I didn’t even realise it was the same band, as usual I just bought it as I loved the cover. You can’t beat a voyeuristic scene through a window, the use of interior and exterior spaces. This one is obviously very contrived though. The typography has a ‘Cotton Club’ 1920’s feel to it. (Mat Maitland, Leopard Tree Dream)

Kebekelektrik ‘Kebekelektrik’ (1978) Art Direction by Stanley Hochstadt. Graphics supervision by Lloyd Gelassen. Photography by Robert Belott. It’s a beautiful photograph on this cover, a sexy disco dream - midnight dancing in late 70’s NYC. Reminds me of the sleeve for ‘Angel Eyes’ by Roxy Music, from the same period, which I posted a long time. (Mat Maitland, Leopard Tree Dream) 

The Charlie Calello Orchestra ‘Sing, Sing, Sing’ (1979) Cover concept, design and illustration by Andy Lackow. I know this is a bit cheesy but I like it all the same. It’s a pity about the typography, maybe Lackow should have got someone else to do that part, it could have been a complete dream of a sleeve. Anyway, the image is great. The record is kind of a big band - disco hybrid which is echoed nicely in the sleeve art. (Mat Maitland, Leopard Tree Dream)

Meco ‘Encounters Of Every Kind’ (1978) Design/Painting Unknown. It’s a shame there’s no credit on this sleeve, I love the painting. The album is definitely in the could be amazing/could be dreadful category though. (Mat Maitland, Leopard Tree Dream)

Supercharge ‘Horizontal Refreshment’ (1976) Design/Photography unknown. 

Elements ‘Forward Motion’ (1984) Cover art ‘Mirrors Have No Taste’ by Mati Klarwein. Design by Nancy Greenberg. Mati Klarwein’s work has featured on many sleeves, most famously on the much loved ‘Bitches Brew’ by Miles Davis, which I do admire but don’t truly fall for. I love this one though, for the detail in the grass and rocks and it’s abstract beauty. (Mat Maitland, Leopard Tree Dream)

Pockets ‘Come Go With Us’ (1977) Illustration by Peter Palombi. Design by Tom Steele. These must be very big trousers to fit a record in the pocket. The composition and construct of this image remind me of a still life photograph where things are held in mid-air in an impossible state of gravity, kind of like the work of Dan Tobin Smith. The colours are beautiful, mint and pink never looked so good. (Mat Maitland, Leopard Tree Dream)

There’s a great book called ‘Overspray’ which features more of Peter Palombi’s work. Click here

The Tubes ‘The Tubes’ (1975) Art Direction by Roland Young. Design by M. Cotten / P. Prince (Airamid Designs). Photography by Harry Mittman. Hands - Re Styles.

Kiss ‘Rock And Roll Over’ (1976) Design and illustration by Michael Doret. As a 10 year old I was really into heavy metal music, in the early 80’s it was so mainstream, almost like R&B is today. I had quite a few Kiss albums but weirdly I never cared for their music much, maybe it was a pre-cursor to this blog - buying records for their covers. I guess I loved their look and this sleeve was a favourite and an early exposure to record cover art. I still love it. (Mat Maitland, Leopard Tree Dream)

Para One ‘Passion’ (2012) Cover painting by Jim Buckels. Design by Museum Studio. This is a bit of a first for me on this blog as I don’t tend to put new sleeves on here but it’s great when a cover can introduce you to a painter you weren’t aware of before. It’s just a fantastic image, it blew me away. I actually thought it was by an illustrator working commercially but it turns out that they have licensed the image from Buckels, it’s a painting called ‘Blue Ruin’ from 1990. Nice that the cover has no type on, which makes the sleeve a ready made piece of art. (Mat Maitland, Leopard Tree Dream)

You can see more of Buckels’s work here