Vinyl Analysis:

The Beatles - Abbey Road

 Front Cover
- Notice how the front cover doesn’t even
say the band or album name.
- From looking at other vinyls I can
suggest that there may have been a
sticker with that information on it.
- The picture itself has become iconic of
band and instantly recognisable even
without including seemingly “vital”
information.

- Great care has been taken with the composition of the photograph. The colouration is fairly
simple, but there has been great attention taken in the timing of he photograph. From first
viewing it appears more like a piece of art than an album cover.
 Back Cover
- The back cover includes the important information;
track-listing, band name, album name, record
company details, copyright info, graphic artist
and other little credits.
- Continues the theme of the front cover as you
would expect.
- Even though it says the band name etc. rather
than just typing it in, it is incorporated into the
actual artwork.
 Inside: The actual vinyl
- The vinyl case is not gatefold, and the vinyl simply comes out
the side of the sleeve.
- The vinyl comes in a plain paper bag. As vinyls are fragile,
particular care must be taken to make sure they don’t get
damaged.
- The centre of the vinyl has a sticker which includes more
important information such as track names, copyright info,
band members and company info.
- Importantly it also states whether it is “SIDE A” or “SIDE B”.
Vinyls are double sided with different tracks on each side. It
is important that the consumer is aware which side is which.
To help this issue, very often the central section’s imagery is
different on the two sides (as shown below).

Though this particular LP does

not have one, it is very common
for vinyl releases to also include a
booklet of artwork and lyrics.