Turning The Beat Around: In Praise Of The LP Back Cover - Vinyl Me, Please

By A Mystery Man Writer

From its unglamorous roots as a place for no-nonsense liner notes and song credits, the LP back cover later flourished into a statement piece all its own. At its best, the back cover is the arty, fan-favorite “B-side” to the front cover’s radio-friendly “A-side”; a great back cover image can complicate, or even improve
For physical medium fetishists, one major appeal of the 12” vinyl format is the big, beautiful cover art—just ask my local IKEA, which has been out of GLADSAX LP frames for the past two months. We all have our favorite album covers, and there’s even a sizable cult following for covers so bad they become objects of camp appreciation. But the biggest place in my heart is reserved for that unsung hero of album art: the back cover.