Rob Dean interview

A career retrospective interview on Innerviews with Rob Dean, talking about Japan, Gary Numan, Illustrated Man, his more recent musical projects, and his career as an illustrator of the birds of Costa Rica.

Here.

Really interesting. I always felt that he got the shaft in getting edged out of JAPAN in the way he did with them bringing Masamai Tsuchiya in. Tsuchiya's excellent, but it was still a poor move. It felt like he didn't get a chance to move with the band. He was doing some very Fripp-influenced work on "Gentlemen Take Polaroids," which is still my favorite of theirs. Reminds me that I never head the Illustrated Man" record. I have the Vivabeat album but have yet to spin it!

Former TP subscriber [81, 82, 83, 84]

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For further rumination on the Fresh New Sound of Yesterday®



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/20/2022 01:42PM by Post-Punk Monk.

I'd think you in particular would have an interest in the IM EP, but, as someone who owns it, I gotta be honest: you won't have much musical poverty in your life if you never hear it. I did find it interesting that Dean says they recorded a full-length album. Makes me wonder if the best stuff got left on the cutting room floor.

I think the lukewarm across the board reviews probably stilled my hand on several occasions. Now, I buy any such records on sight. Anything that I recognize but never heard for one reason or another gets a purchase after 35-40 years.

Former TP subscriber [81, 82, 83, 84]

[postpunkmonk.com]
For further rumination on the Fresh New Sound of Yesterday®



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/20/2022 01:44PM by Post-Punk Monk.

I haven't seen one in the wild since the late 80s, when it would occasionally pop up in the Half-Price Books record bins, but you can get it pretty cheap on Discogs.

"The Width Of A Room" - which he wrote - is my favorite Japan track in their whole catalog. Which is saying something.

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I am a bee out in the fields of winter.

Thanks for posting this!