Over the years a number of promotional boxes have been released for "The Who". These have included "Manufacturer", "Disk Union" and "Indeterminate Origin".

Here is a selection...

Here is a comparison between a genuine official copy of Aerosmith Pump made by Universal and a Russian counterfeit copy. In the picture, the real one is on the left and the fake is on the right.

Die cutting of the cover image or inserts is probably the most common technique employed to create gimmick covers. It's probably also in most cases the cheapest.

There are thousands of die cut covers. Here are a few of the more popular and best known releases.

In late 2008 Caroline Records in the USA released a number of albums by the following artists: UFO, Jethro Tull, Quicksilver Messenger, Brian Eno, Roxy Music, The Raspberries, Kate Bush, Blondie, The Band, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Van Der Graaf Generator (full list below).

Unlike the suspect Universal releases these are 100% Japanese. The only difference between these and the Japanese (apart from being as much as 50% cheaper) is a sticker on the bar code of the obi.

As at March 2009 most of these are still available at Amazon.

Recorded in early July 1973 this album took nearly a year to make it to streets.

One of the most elaborate record covers ever produced and probably the most elaborate so far to make it to mini LP release. It is nearly impossible to capture the splendour of this on a web site but we shall try...