Progressive Palaver

Episode 37 – Rush Part 12, Hold Your Fire Ken and Joe attempt to tackle the intricate beauty that is Hold Your Fire without the usual support of the larger Palaver community. Ken begins with a outline of traditional Palaver roles in the group before he and Joe go into the greater prog context of Hold Your Fire. The track consideration allows Joe and Ken to go into the songwriting, lyrical themes a...

Episode 36 – Rush Part 11, Power Windows Pt 2 The discussion of Power Windows continues unabated with Ken, Paul, Joe and Colby. Picking up with Territories, this part of the Palaver covers the power of Neil’s lyrics and the potentials of soundtrack dissonance. What are the Mystic Rhythms and are they really everywhere? At the end of the episode Joe performs his act of contrition to the group for h...

Episode 35 – Rush Part 10, Power Windows Pt 1 In this episode of Progressive Palaver Paul, Ken, Tom, Colby and Joe discuss Power Windows. This episode covers the group’s overall impressions of the album as a whole and covers the individual songs into Marathon. How powerful is The Big Money? How prog is Power Windows? As usual there is a wide range of emotions here and Tom has his Rush “factoid” sp...

SCS7 – Steven Wilson – Glenside PA Continuing the Special Concert Series, Paul and Joe discuss the Steven Wilson concert Paul attended on April 25th at the Keswick Theater in Glenside PA. Paul provides excellent perspective on the artistry of Steven Wilson including songwriting, musicianship and stage production. This was clearly a concert to have seen. Twitter: @progpala Email: progpala@gmail.com...

Episode 34 – Rush Part 9, Grace Under Pressure Paul, Ken and Joe consider Rush’s groundbreaking Grace Under Pressure. Generally speaking, the Palaver’s opinion of this album is very high. The conversation seeks to place this album in proper context for songwriting, lyrical content and production. The conclusion is that this was a good time for the band and we love it. Twitter: @progpala Email: pro...

Special Episode – Hired Gun, Ray Parker Jr. & Fran Strine In this very special episode of Progressive Palaver Tom and Joe chat with Hired Gun director Fran Strine and music legend Ray Parker Jr.! Enjoy going behind the scenes of the award winning Hired Gun documentary and revel in Ray Parker Jr.’s stories about some of the biggest names in music. This episode is unlike any Palaver you’ve ever hear...

Episode 33 – Rush Part 8, Signals Paul, Ken, Tom and Joe tackle Rush’s somewhat controversial Signals. This is an album that generates strong feelings from Rush fans, both good and bad. The Palaver is no different and controversy abounds in this episode (Paul doesn’t really care for Subdivisions?). Analog Kid is the rare song on this album that seems to gain approval across the spectrum. Tom provi...

Episode 32 – Rush Part 7, Moving Pictures Paul, Ken, Colby and Joe tackle Rush’s cornerstone album, Moving Pictures. This album presents some interesting challenges given its near ubiquity in the classic rock radio. The extreme level of familiarity we have with parts of this record can lead to complacency but the Palaver tries to give each track its due. We discuss the songwriting, musicianship an...

Bonus Episode – Les Miserables Paul and Joe have a semi-casual conversation about perhaps the greatest stage musical ever. From the lack of award respect for the seminal Jean Valjean (Colm Wilkinson) to the impact of the current stage redesign, the Palaver treats this unusual subject matter in the usual manner. Twitter: @progpala Email: progpala@gmail.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/ProgPala YouTub...

Episode 31 – Rush Part 6, Permanent Waves Pt 2 Paul, Ken, Tom, Joe and Colby continue the discussion on Permanent Waves. Covering the individual tracks Paul describes the wall of guitars in Jacob’s Ladder and the proper kit placement of a china boy. We cover the expansive scope of Natural Science. Overall the group points out how Permanent Waves is both forward and backward looking in terms of mus...

Episode 30 – Rush Part 5, Permanent Waves Pt 1 Paul, Ken, Tom and Joe are joined by Colby for our two-part discussion of Permanent Waves. This first portion of the palaver covers our thoughts on this new, more radio friendly version of Rush. But is it still progressive? Tom suggests that one has to look at the depth in the songs on this album to find that the answer is yes. He continues to describ...

Bonus Episode – Yes, Lessons Learned So Far Paul, Ken and Joe spend some rare face-to-face time discussing some of the revelations we’ve had by doing the Palaver series on the first part of the Yes catalog. This is a fun, casual conversation among friends about a band we all love. We cover a variety of topics from songwriting to sounds to gear and wrap it all up in a Star Wars metaphor. Twitter: @...

Episode 29 – Rush Part 4, Hemispheres Paul, Ken, Tom and Joe move into the culmination of the most progressive part of the Rush catalog with Hemispheres. The album fares well in the Palaver estimation. Joe has a moment (or several) discussing the title track in the face of some opposition. Circumstances is given high marks while the merits of The Trees is duly considered. And for what it’s worth,...

Bonus Episode – Spot the Drummer Paul, Ken and Joe attempt to play a game involving Rick Wakeman’s Six Wives of Henry VIII. Noting that of the six tracks two featured Bill Bruford, three Alan White and one a third drummer, Joe challenged Paul and Ken to “spot the drummer.” The idea was to play a snippet of each song and have the guys decide which drummer was playing on the track. Things went off t...

Episode 23 – Rush Part 3, 2112 & A Farewell to Kings An almost full cast of Joe, Ken, Paul, Tom and Jay continue on with the palaver on the early Rush catalog. In this episode we cover 2112 and A Farewell to Kings. Joe opens the discussion by confounding the rest by admitting that he just doesn’t “get” the song 2112. Despite the group’s best efforts (Ken is particularly eloquent in his defense of...

Episode 27 – Rush Part 2, Fly By Night & Caress of Steel Ken, Paul and Joe continue on with the palaver on the early Rush catalog. In this episode we cover Fly By Night and Caress of Steel. The overall theme of our first Rush episode continues with some happy discoveries of some unexpectedly wonderful moments. Fly By Night generally fares better than Caress of Steel in our estimation but we defini...

Episode 26 – Rush Part 1, Overture & Rush Ken, Paul and Joe move into the Canadian prog scene and one of the all-time great bands, Rush. This series on Rush starts with the usual overview of our feelings on the band and how we each got into them. Ken’s tale of recording Exit Stage Left off the radio is both nostalgic and inspiring. From there we go on to consider Rush’s self-titled debut album. Th...

The Palaver closes out the King's X catalog with Ogre Tones and XV. The conversation centers around what it is to "be" King's X and where these albums fit into the overall catalog of the band. While some strong feelings are generated, the Palaver is left wanting more like Gretchen, Dogman or Mr. Bulbous. Email: progpala@gmail.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/ProgPala Instagram: ProgPala / Progressiv...

The group continues with the King's X catalog moving onto the follow up to Mr. Bulbous, Manic Moonlight which fails to capture the progressive and experimental nature of the former. Black Like Sunday ends up being somewhat controversial in the Palaver with Tom being firmly against and Joe reveling in what this album reveals about early King's X. Email: progpala@gmail.com Facebook: www.facebook.com...

Bonus Episode – Palaver Mailbag, Late Delivery The group goes into the mailbag and responds to some questions and comments through the various social media sites. A short, fun conversation. We are looking forward to more so please keep them coming! Twitter: @progpala Email: progpala@gmail.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/ProgPala Instagram: ProgPala / Progressive Palaver YouTube: www.youtube.com/cha...

SCS6 – Marillion – Dallas, TX A Special Concert Series edition! Ken and Paul travelled to see Marillion with Joe at the Granada Theater for the band’s first performance in Dallas, TX. The show was sublime (with the notable exception of certain audience members who wanted everyone to sit down) and the band fully justified the required travel. The Palaver covers the set list (Kayleigh into Wave, ope...

Episode 23 – King’s X Part 4, Tape Head & Please Come Home… Mr. Bulbous A lean Palaver continue on with the King’s X catalog with the Tape Head and the very surprising Please Come Home… Mr. Bulbous. Continuing with the ongoing theme, the idea of better alternatives for a single are explored. The big surprise of the episode was the discovery of much to like on Mr. Bulbous. The group, as a whole, ar...

Episode 22 – King’s X Part 3, Dogman & Ear Candy The Palaver all-stars continue on with the King’s X catalog with the post—Sam Taylor offerings Dogman and Ear Candy. The group continues to struggle with the idea of what would make an outstanding single for this exceptional band. Dogman is generally lauded (but not entirely) as a shining example of what makes King’s X special. Ear Candy gets more l...

Episode 21 – King’s X Part 2, Faith Hope Love & King’s X In this episode, the Palaver moves into the 3rd and 4th King’s X albums, Faith Hope Love and King’s X. Faith Hope Love is reviewed favorably despite its “wanky middle mush of songs” and the question of is the album too long. Paul describes the first seven songs as relentless while Ken calls for more King’s X a cappella action. The discussion...

Episode 20 – King’s X Part 1, Out of the Silent Planet & Gretchen Goes to Nebraska An all-star cast of Paul, Jay, Tom, Ken and Joe bring the Palaver to a North American band, King’s X for their 20th regular episode. The group considers the first two albums by this progressive metal band, Out of the Silent Planet and the sublime Gretchen Goes to Nebraska. A greater context is, of course, sought by...