By The Rolling Stones Album Cover Analysis Let it bleed By The Rolling Stones Album Cover Analysis

The Gutenberg principle and album name This album cover conforms to the Gutenberg principle as it features the text on the cover in the top left hand corner and reads right. This makes it easy for the viewer to see what the album is called, and that it is by the rolling stones. The incorporation of the Gutenberg principle makes the album more eye catching and allows the viewer to know more about the album quickly. This album cover tells us both the name of the band and what the album is called, which, unlike WOLF by Tyler the creator, doesn’t have an ambiguous layout that needs the viewer to have to remember a face instead of a name. The album is named after a song in the album called ‘let it bleed’, which is red in the cover. This contrasts with the black band name, therefore separating the text and letting the album have a stronger meaning.

The aesthetics The album has a beige background which is contempory as the album was released in 1969, the use of an old film reel and record player is evidence of this. However the actual cover does not directly reference what the album is about, which was the mood of America during the Vietnam war. The elements that make up the ‘cake’ are all from the period but don’t necessarily link to the context of the album. The old film reel that is in it has written on it ‘STONES-LET IT BLEED’ that further enforce the band name and album name as it is in the composition and in postproduction. The reiteration of the names shows contrast between WOLF that did little to communicate the names of the album or artist, this could have been to do with the different time that each album was released, in 1969 the sales would have been dependent on shops and physical copies however, WOLF would be more dependent on online shops and digital downloads which would have all the information about the album name, artist, release date, etc, as part of the metadata.

conclusion The album cover is somewhat dated in it approach of its audience, and the artwork also shows age with the use of a beige background, over a more modern white. However the use of the Gutenberg principle and using both the album name and artist makes the cover easy to read for a viewer and have enough information for someone to buy it on their own accord. When designing my own album cover I will think about what the rolling stones did with their cover, if I do an older song then I will think about using contemory objects or an old style of photography to make the cover. Both of the album covers I have studied have used ideas in the actual music to make their cover, so this is something I will do with my own.