If you have ever seen Roger Dean’s work, then you are a fan. His first works were for the band, Atomic Rooster, which was formed by the former members of ‘The Crazy World of Arthur Brown’. You may remember the tune, ‘Fire’, which for me is still the coolest song. That line-up included Carl Palmer, later of Emerson, Lake, & Palmer and Ric Parnell, who is actually better known as the drummer from Spinal Tap, (the new band almost included Brian Jones, of the Rolling Stones, just prior to his death).
Ultimately, Roger Dean’s best known works have been for the progressive rock group, Yes, Osibisa, and the supergroup (I hate that word) ASIA. His sci-fi fantasy landscapes and creatures dominated album art through two decades. On another note, his specially designed ‘retreat pod’ chair was used in Stanley Kubrick’s, ‘A Clockwork Orange’.
His work with Yes continues to this day. Musically, ‘Fragile’, was the game-changer which featured the one song that, after the Beatles and the British Invasion, totally changed the face of progressive rock forever, and that tune was, ‘Roundabout’. Powerful, innovative, and hugely progressive, the song was music and art, NOT…. pop radio formula.
Uriah Heep was a character in David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. Roger Dean created the art for their albums. ‘Demons and Wizards’ featuring ‘Easy Livin’ and ‘Magician’s Birthday’ were the best known recordings, although they had tons more. At various times, the band included Nigel Ollson of Elton John fame (ex-Spencer Davis Group) and Lee Kerslake who played drums after a stint with ‘Ozzy Osbourne’ in his ‘Blizzard of Oz’ band. Who can forget ‘Crazy Train’? Nigel Ollson also played with a band called Argosy, which included Reginald Dwight (Elton John) and Rodger Hodgson (later to form Supertramp). Mick Box was the only player that muddled through all the years while this band shuffled many lineups and dozens of replacement parts. Mick later went on to manage and produce the band with no musical contributions at the end.
A lesser known group that Mr. Dean’s art sort of trademarked was, ‘Osibisa’. These guys were Afro-Carribean music with rock overtones. Killer elephant mosquito creatures buzzed through alien swamps. Hell, I bought the recordings because of the art, and in doing so discovered new music. ‘Welcome Home’ is one that is reminiscent of Peter Gabriel and ‘Che Che Kule’ give you a sense of their sound. While they had no hits, in particular, they actually were the first band to capture the label of ‘World Music’, which now spans the spectrum of many cultures and ethnicities.
Last but not least, Roger Dean did the art for ASIA, which included Steve Howe (ex-Yes/ ‘Yours is No Disgrace’), John Wetton (ex-King Crimson/ ‘Court of the Crimson King’), Geoff Downs (ex-Buggles/‘Video Killed The Radio Star’) and Carl Palmer (ex-ELP/ ‘Lucky Man’). ‘The Heat of the Moment’ was a John Wettion song that Uriah Heep passed on and went double platinum for ASIA. ‘Only Time Will Tell’ drove straight up the charts, as well.
Like the bands he contributed art to, Roger Dean’s work lives on. On a slightly more sour note, Roger sued James Cameron, suggesting he’d based some art and characters in the hit film, ‘Avatar’ on Dean’s work. Cameron admitted he loved Dean’s work but borrowed nothing at all. The court agreed and the suit was dissolved.
