Progressive Palaver

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...

Episode 19 – Asia Part 2, Alpha, Astra, a little bit of Aqua & a few other bits In this episode, Ken, Joe and Paul continue to explore the original lineup of Asia with the albums Alpha, Astra and Aqua. Aspects of a couple of other albums are also touched on. The discussion of Alpha centers on the evolution of mainstream prog rock both compared to Asia’s debut album and other music released at the...

Bonus Episode – Yes Revisited This bonus episode was recorded back in October at the same time as the Marillion Revisited episode. Joe had a lovely car trip through upstate New York with his iPhone full of Yes albums as we were recording the Yes episodes at that time. It provided an excellent opportunity to revisit some of the albums in that series and, in some cases, rethink them. We held off on...

Bonus Episode – Star Wars Palaver Tom, Ken, Paul and Joe go WAY off topic and discuss the latest installment in the Star Wars saga, Episode VIII The Last Jedi. While the Progressive Palaver freely admit that we are not Star Wars scholars we did think that it would be fun to delve into Star Wars in our own style and it certainly was. Tom plays the tough guy to keep the rest of us on point as he see...

Episode 18 – Asia Part 1, Asia Paul, Joe and Ken continue on with the adventures of Steve Howe and Geoff Downes as they formed Asia in the wake of Yes’ Drama. The group considers the obvious musical differences (and similarities, particularly Time Again) between Asia and Drama and what drives the creation of a prog rock supergroup. As the evolution of Steve Howe as a musician is discussed, it is p...

SCS 5 – Tori Amos – Irving TX Paul and Joe take a slight detour from the norm with a discussion of a Tori Amos concert Joe attended in November at the Toyota Music Factory in Irving TX. The Palaver includes Tori’s ever-changing setlist, the attributes of the facility and the way a Tori concert just makes the time fly by. Twitter: @progpala Email: progpala@gmail.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/ProgP...

Episode 17 - Yes Part 8, Drama Paul, Ken, Jay and Joe finish out their initial discussion of the Yes catalog with the 1980 powerhouse Drama. The group delves into the evolution of Yes music brought on by the departure of Rick and Jon and the arrival of Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes. Jay clues us in to why Drama speaks to him over some of the Yes albums. The place of Drama in the greater context of...

Bonus Episode 3 – Marillion Palaver Awards Tom, Paul, Ken and Joe revisit Marillion for a little year-end holiday cheer. Buoyed by some listener input on the story behind Three Minute Boy, the Palaver reconvenes and discuss the entire Marillion catalog with the format of some fun awards. Each category received a nomination from each participant and then the group discussed and ultimately awarded a...

Episode 16 – Yes Part 7, Tormato Paul, Joe and Ken, with the help of Jay, move on to 1978’s Yes offering, Tormato. The group struggles with how to place this album coming as it does between Going for the One and Drama. Why Don’t Kill the Whale as the single? Did marijuana use contribute to both the album itself and its popularity? Inquiring minds want to know. Ken posits an interesting theory to e...

Episode 15 – Yes Part 6, Going for the One Paul, Joe and Ken continue discuss Going for the One by a rejuvenated Yes. Themes in the conversation range from the songcraft involved in this album, to Yes being “cowboy crazy” to the virtues of Swiss telephone infrastructure in the 70’s (complete with a consideration of the economics of copper) to the respect Rick Wakeman has for the church organ. The...

Episode 14 – Yes Part 5, Tales From Topographic Oceans & Relayer Paul, Joe and Ken continue their consideration of the early Yes catalog by covering the two progrock juggernauts Tales From Topographic Oceans and Relayer. The group ponders topics like the influence of personnel changes (the departure of Bill Bruford’s big ball of influence and Rick Wakeman, the arrival of Alan White and Patrick Mor...

Episode 13 – Yes Part 4, Close to the Edge Paul, Joe and Ken discuss the seminal Yes album Close to the Edge. Ken opens the episode with a dramatic impression of Chris Squire (apologies to our UK listeners lol) before we move on to consider the role of Eddie Offord in the creation of Yes music. Paul provides a moving account of the inspiration for the song Close to the Edge, a song we finally deci...

Episode 12 – Yes Part 3, Fragile Paul, Joe and Ken discuss Fragile. The conversation gets started with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction (where Alan White gets invited to the dinner club) before moving into the album proper. The discussion obviously centers around the musical interactions among this, the arguably “best” Yes lineup. The magic of Bill Bruford, is Rick Wakeman subtle and how g...