After listening to my first album, "Tales From Topographic Oceans" by YES', at the age of 15, I purchased all of the YES' albums and later collected all the YES' CDs in the subsequent years and even all of the solo productions by individual YES' artists.

I attended three YES' concerts: in 1989 "An Evening of Yes Music" and 1991 "YESSHOWS '91" at the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle in Stuttgart, Germany, and in 2001 "FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER 'YES' WITH A FULL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA" at the Philipshalle, Germany. The 1991 concert was especially memorable for me because after the show, I went to my night shift as a room manager (at that time) at the "Hotel Inter Continental Stuttgart" and had the opportunity to celebrate with the entire band in their hotel suite, so to speak, "backstage"...

What immediately fascinated me, aside from the phenomenal music, were the album covers and, above all, the band's logo. Consequently, I became interested in the artist behind these fantastic images and, at that time, I also purchased Roger Dean's book "VIEWS." This allowed me to intertwine my love for nature with the music of YES' and Dean's creations.

As a DJ and radio operator, I have thousands of songs spanning various genres, in addition to my main genre, "Smooth Jazz." However, the music of YES' and the art of Roger Dean hold a special place for me personally. It's safe to say that I have been an absolutely loyal and devoted fan of both for almost 50 years, from the very beginning until today.

Thanks to Dean, my interest in painting was sparked, leading me to attend several major exhibitions of very famous contemporary painters in Europe.

In the end, only one artist has remained truly significant for me — Roger Dean.

Perhaps I should mention which work is my favorite and has touched me the most: 'Pathways'.

A heartfelt thank you to him for his magnificent works! Best regards, JAZZCRUSADER

aka Ralf Schulz