The album's sleeve was designed and illustrated by English artist Roger Dean, who had designed artwork for the band since 1971. Speaking about the cover in 2004, Dean said:
"I was playing with the ideas of the ultimate castle, the ultimate wall of a fortified city. That was more of a fantastical idea. I was looking for the kinds of things like the
Knights Templar would have made or what you'd see in the current movie Lord of the Rings. The curving, swirling cantilevers right into space." The images depicted in many
of Dean's album covers set an otherworldly tone and are an identifiable part of the band's visual style. For Relayer, the warriors on horseback reflect the lyrical themes of
war present in "The Gates of Delirium". wikipedia
"I was playing with the ideas of the ultimate castle, the ultimate wall of a fortified city. That was more of a fantastical idea. I was looking for the kinds of things like the
Knights Templar would have made or what you'd see in the current movie Lord of the Rings. The curving, swirling cantilevers right into space." The images depicted in many
of Dean's album covers set an otherworldly tone and are an identifiable part of the band's visual style. For Relayer, the warriors on horseback reflect the lyrical themes of
war present in "The Gates of Delirium". wikipedia
My tweak of the original album cover art design is simply the whole of the front side of the gatefold that was
extended on the sides by mirroring part of the original image (left) and by repeatedly adding a portion of it
(right). The album title was covered and the band's name was used to form a cloud of smoke from some
faraway fire, a sight which I think, is not totally incompatible with a parade of horse-riding warriors treading
across an eerie and craggy landscape.
The mirroring at left produced what might look like a starfish misplaced in the arid terrain, or some slimy
creature encircling a pointed crystal dome in which sits an icon of some alien idol, but on the gatefold this
part of the image is actually the tail of a snake encircling a rock.
Cover art design and illustration by Roger Dean, album produced by Eddy Offord. Atlantic 1974.
Rarely have a band and an artist been so closely associated through the years as Yes and Roger Dean. As of 1991, the prolific artist has drawn or painted eleven of the group's
album covers, from Fragile to Union. He's also designed covers for such Yes offshoots as Asia, Steve Howe's solo projects and Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe.
Dean thinks he knows why Relayer is singled out among his efforts for Yes: "If I had to describe my skills," he says, "they started out with me being a designer and draftsman,
and Relayer is the peak of those two skills. "It took him about 300 hours to render the artwork, which was actually quite small - only an inch larger than the wraparound
jacket for the LP.
Curiously, Dean had not heard Relayer when he began work on the cover. In fact, Yes's Jon Anderson came up with the title after seeing Dean's drawing. "I never paint the
music," says Dean. "I'm very skeptical of people who say they do. It's very rare for the members of Yes to sit down and say, 'This is the flavor of the music. Do you think you
can get a bit more into the picture?' It doesn't work that way." www.superseventies.com
"The Gates of Delirium" live from Tommygun1028 on YouTube.
yesworld.com
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