The Art of the Gatefold
There is a ritual to vinyl. You slide the record from its sleeve, you place it on the platter, you lower the needle, and the room fills with sound. But before the music begins, the record has already spoken. Nowhere is that clearer than in the gatefold.
The gatefold is more than packaging. It is theater. A stage that opens in your hands, spreading the album’s world across two panels. It is where artists reveal themselves fully, through photographs, lyrics, art, and liner notes, a space as essential as the grooves themselves.
A Canvas for Storytelling
When the Beatles unveiled Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967, the gatefold helped change records from objects into experiences. The inside held portraits of the band, dressed in psychedelic regalia, staring straight into the listener’s eyes. The message was clear: this album was not just music, it was a world to step into.
Intimacy and Scale
The beauty of the gatefold lies in its paradox. On one hand, it feels monumental, a piece of art that demands two hands, commanding space in front of you. On the other, it invites intimacy. Photographs tucked inside a gatefold often feel like secrets. Reading lyrics printed across wide panels feels different from scrolling them on a screen. It is slower, more deliberate, an act of closeness.
The Collector’s Delight
For collectors, the gatefold is often where condition matters most. Creases, ring wear, and seam splits tell a record’s history, but a pristine gatefold feels like a time machine. Unfolding one without cracks or discoloration is like opening a window back to the day it left the pressing plant.
Some Iconic Gatefolds
Miles Davis — Bitches Brew (1970): a surreal landscape stretching across two panels, as chaotic and otherworldly as the music itself.
Talking Heads — Speaking in Tongues (1983, special edition): designed by Robert Rauschenberg, this rotating plastic gatefold sleeve is a true art piece, merging visual art with the band’s restless rhythms.
Radiohead — OK Computer (1997): a stark, sprawling gatefold that mirrors the alienation and unease inside the grooves, filled with cryptic artwork and coded notes that reward close inspection.
Kendrick Lamar — To Pimp a Butterfly (2015): a modern gatefold that captures urgency and celebration in equal measure.
Tame Impala — Currents (2015): a lush, pastel-washed gatefold that unfolds with dreamy artwork, psychedelic swirls and lyric panels; the visuals mirror the sonic shifts, as each track pulls you in deeper, melting into something bigger than what’s between the grooves.
Prince & The New Power Generation — Live At Glam Slam (2025): this 3-LP live set, released as a Record Store Day exclusive, bursts open in a gatefold that mirrors the spectacle inside. Mixed from the original 24-track master tapes, the packaging gives space for performance photography, liner notes, and the raw electricity of Prince at his peak.
Collecting Tips for Gatefolds
A gatefold is fragile beauty, and keeping it clean makes the music feel even more alive.
Use outer sleeves: a clear protective sleeve shields against ring wear and dust without hiding the art.
Store upright: stacking records flat can crush the spine, while vertical storage keeps the gatefold’s shape intact.
Mind the opening: always slide the vinyl out gently, never pull against the seams, which are the first to split.
Handle with clean hands: oils and fingerprints can stain or warp the paper over time.
Rotate your plays: if you love a gatefold, play a different pressing when you can. The fewer times you handle it, the longer it will last.
Spin Tip
When you next unfold a gatefold, do not rush. Hold it open as the record spins. Let the visuals and the sounds overlap until they feel inseparable. The gatefold is proof that vinyl is not just about listening. It is about holding music in both hands, opening it wide, and letting it fill the room.
