5 cover stories in our archive
Behind the Covers' archive includes 5 album covers documented under the "mystical" design theme, spanning the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s. These covers sit within the rock, soul, r&b, funk, reggae, pop, alternative, jazz tradition and feature work by The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Kate Bush and others. Each entry below includes the cover artwork, the designers and photographers behind it, and a short story about the visual choices that defined the release.
The Rolling Stones' psychedelic masterpiece featured the first 3D lenticular cover in rock history, created by fashion photographer Michael Cooper. The elaborate shoot took place in a rented studio with elaborate costumes, flowers, and optical effects that cost a fortune.
Stevie Wonder's mystical album cover features his face emerging from cosmic darkness, created during his creative peak after negotiating unprecedented artistic control from Motown. The ethereal portrait perfectly captured the spiritual journey of his most introspective masterpiece.
Neville Garrick's mystical cover for Bob Marley's Exodus transforms the biblical story into Rastafarian prophecy, featuring a dramatic silhouette of Marley against swirling cosmic energies that perfectly captured the album's spiritual journey from Babylon to Zion.
Kate Bush herself conceived and art-directed this haunting cover, lying in silk with two Afghan hounds in a deliberate recreation of classical painting compositions. The ethereal image perfectly captured the album's mystical themes.
The cover for Pharoah Sanders' spiritual jazz masterpiece features mysterious ancient Egyptian imagery that perfectly captured the album's mystical exploration of African heritage and consciousness during the height of the Black Power movement.