Album Covers Wot Looks A Bit Simular

This was an occasional series of pictures I put up on Facebook a few years back, when I actually used to use Facebook. It's a theme that has been covered many times in books about album covers, but these are examples that I've observed, either in my own collection or otherwise.

#1:  Belong by The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, and Journal For Plague Lovers by Manic Street Preachers

Those who know me on The Twitter may recognise this as my wallpaper.  Essentially simular concepts of badly painted, rather sad faced boys.

#2: Forever Changes by Love, and The Best Of 1974/1979 by David Bowie

One of the finest albums ever made, and a Bowie comp.  Are five old heads better than one?

#3: Teenage Dream by Katy Perry, and Lemonade & Brownies by Sugar Ray

Barenaked ladies on fluffy stuff.  Even the writing is the same.  The blonde on the Sugar Ray album is Nicole Eggert off of The Baywatch.

#4: Fisherman's Blues by the Waterboys, and Morris On by Morris On

A pound to a penny that a certain Mr Scott owned a copy of this particular monsters of 1970s folk masterpiece.

#5: Spare Time Machine by Pepe Deluxe, and Relics by Pink Floyd

Insofar as they both depict Heath Robinsonesque contraptions, I'd say there's a certain simularity to these.

#6: Version by Mark Ronson, and The Wild, The Innocent and the E-Street Shuffle by Bruce Springsteen

There's more than a hint of knowingness about Re-Hash Ronson's almost exact replication of the Boss's off-to-the-left stare.

#7: Love Over Gold by Dire Straits, and Burns Like A Star by Stone Fury

I could have picked one of many moody lightning based covers.  Stone Fury were precursors to the Led Zep plagiarism of Kingdom Come.

#8: Paul's Boutique by the Beastie Boys, and Ziggy Stardust by David Bowie

Another outing for Bowie, but this time he is the one being aped, particularly in the composition of the streetscape shot.

#9: In Search Of The Lost Chord by the Moody Blues, and Blue Matter by Savoy Brown

Two artists on Decca in the late 60s, both rocking the 'beast rising from the depths' look.

#10: Sophie by The Wave Pictures, and Letting Off the Happiness by Bright Eyes

David Tattersall and Conor Oberst: separated at birth?  I think we should be told.

#11: The Music by The Music, and In Silico by Pendulum

Another style that can be found on a variety of album covers is the swirly circle motif, especially among rock/dance crossover acts.

#12: Solar Fire by Manfred Mann's Earth Band, and Islands by King Crimson

Space was the place for prog-rock bands in the early 70s.  Still is really.

#13: II by Follakzoid, and The Planets by Gustav Holst

Sacred Bones covers often remind me of old classical album covers.  Especially the Chilean space rockers' sophomore album.

#14: Apostrophe by Frank Zappa, and Sheikh Yerbouti by, er, Frank Zappa

Okay, it's a bit of a sneaky one is this, but who said Zappa never repeated himself?  And he only has the one face after all.

#15: Hospice by The Antlers, and a customer information poster by South West Trains

Another cheaty one I guess, but it at least suggests that someone at SWT is a fan of Peter Silberman's death-obsessed concept classic.

That's all I've got for now.  Maybe in another five years I'll have found another 15 and do a second issue of this.  Or another blog about anything.