Sleeve Notes

Music writer Laura Barton explains her love of the sleeve note, which was once, for many, the cherished gateway into a musical world but has now been diminished by the digitalisation of music. She considers how the sleeve note can act as a declaration of intent from the artist, as epitomised by Johnny Cash's sleeve notes for his classic 1968 live album, At Folsom Prison, or by the inclusion of the founding declaration of the Rock Against Racism movement on the sleeve of Tom Robinson's debut album Power in the Darkness. Poet Simon Armitage talks about being commissioned by Paul Weller to write the sleeve notes for his latest album.