Look Closer

Some album covers reward you instantly. Others make you work for it. This list is about the second kind; the covers that hide something just beneath the surface, waiting for the right pair of eyes. Put down your phone, unless you are reading this blog post on your phone, that would be weird. Now, grab that album and have a closer look.

1. The Beatles - Abbey Road (1969)

Everyone knows the cover. Four men walking across a zebra crossing. But look closer and the conspiracy theories start. Fans claimed the cover depicted a funeral procession: John in white as the priest, Ringo in black as the undertaker, George in denim as the gravedigger, and Paul, barefoot and out of step, as the corpse. And that Volkswagen Beetle parked in the background? Its number plate reads LMW 28IF. Twenty eight IF, as in, Paul would have been 28 if he were still alive. Nobody has ever fully explained that plate. Nobody from the band has ever fully denied it either.

Add it to your collection: Abbey Road - The Beatles

2. David Bowie - Blackstar (2016)

Bowie's final album, released two days before his death, was packed with deliberate secrets. If you leave the vinyl gatefold out in sunlight, the black star on the cover transforms into a starry galaxy and fades away once the light is removed. But, wait. There's more. The run times on the back cover were set in a font called Terminal, which appears in a design suite called Lazarus, the name of a key Blackstar track. Bowie had known about his cancer diagnosis for two years. Every detail on this cover was chosen. Nothing was accidental. RIP David.

Add it to your collection: David Bowie - Blackstar

3. The Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat (1968)

At first glance the cover appears to be pure black. But look closely, very closely, and a faint skull tattoo emerges from the darkness. It belonged to actor Joe Spencer, one of Andy Warhol's discoveries, and the black-on-black design is thought to have been a Warhol idea. An entire image hiding in plain sight. You have to work hard to earn this one.

Add it to your collection: The Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat

4. The Beatles - Revolver (1966)

Klaus Voormann, a friend of The Beatles from their Hamburg days, drew the striking cover; a collage built partly from photos that appear on the back of Rubber Soul. And Voormann himself appears on the front cover, just underneath the drawing of John's mouth. The man who made the cover hid himself inside it. Quietly. Right there on one of the most famous sleeves in history.

Add it to your collection: The Beatles - Revolver

5. Green Day - Dookie (1994)

The cover is a sprawling, chaotic cartoon love letter to punk history, illustrated by Richie Bucher as a poop-bombing scene over Berkeley's Telegraph Avenue. Hidden within the mayhem are dozens of Easter eggs: a Fat Elvis just above the E of the album title, Patti Smith from the cover of Easter far right, Angus Young shredding atop a building, and most notably, the sinister figure from Black Sabbath's iconic debut album standing ominously in the crowd. You could stare at this cover for an hour and still find something new. Let me know in the comments below what you have found.

Add it to your collection: Green Day - Dookie

6. Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time (1988)

The cover art incorporated a huge number of references to science fiction stories and movies, plus previous Iron Maiden sleeves. But the best detail sits in the bottom left corner; a banner hung in a shop behind the futuristic Eddie. Reverse it, and you read the message: THIS IS A VERY BORING PAINTING. In capital letters. The artist hiding his own joke inside one of metal's most detailed covers. A gutsy move?

Add it to your collection: Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time

7. Led Zeppelin - In Through The Out Door (1979)

Led Zeppelin's final album before John Bonham's death came with six different sleeves, each featuring a different angle of the same bar-room scene. The album was wrapped in brown paper so you didn't know which one you'd picked. But the real hidden detail? Apply water to the black and white inner sleeve and colours magically appeared. A cover you had to interact with to fully understand. In 1979. Decades before anyone used the word interactive. Obviously, do this at your own risk. Don't come crying to me if you destroy your cover.

Add it to your collection: Led Zeppelin - In Through The Out Door

8. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles (1967)

Yes, The Beatles again. They earned it. Photographer Michael Cooper included a doll on the cover wearing a sweatshirt that read Welcome The Rolling Stones. A quiet nod to their biggest rivals, hidden in plain sight among the crowd of famous faces. While this isn't a real hidden detail, there is more to the story. The Rolling Stones never forgot this little gem. When Cooper shot their psychedelic album Their Satanic Majesties Request later that same year, he hid the faces of all four Beatles in the flowers on the cover. A game of visual tennis, played across two of 1967's greatest sleeves. Awesome.