Progressive Palaver

Episode 119 – Peter Gabriel Part 8, Up A decade after Us, Peter Gabriel returned with Up. The group finds this album to be confounding in multiple ways. Is the album a brilliant refinement of previous themes or a completely unoriginal rehash? Is this album beautiful and engaging or noisy and grating? Is this album prog? Regardless, from the opening bombast of Darkness through the majesty of Signal...

Special Episode – Interview with Mark Anthony K of Projekt Gemineye, Jan 2022 The Palaver welcomes back Mark Anthony K (Yes Music Podcast, KissFAQ) on the eve of the latest Projekt Gemineye release In the Year 3073 Book III. We get to delve into Mark’s creative process as it pertains to this new album and the impact on the results. In the Year 3073 Book III culminates the story established in the...

SCS22 – Genesis, Philadelphia Dec 2021 In December 2021, Ken and Joe attended both Genesis shows in the Wells Fargo Center for The Last Domino? Tour (with an assist from Barclay!). Paul and Ken Fuller join them for a post-brunch discussion to cover the experience. There is much to discuss between personnel, setlist and audience weed use. Enjoy our musings and reflections on what turned out to be a...

SCS21 – The Musical Box, Nov 2021 with Ken Fuller Ken Fuller joins the Palaver for this Special Concert Series episode to share his experiences seeing The Musical Box at the Keswick theater at the end of November 2021. This delightful conversation served as a prelude to the group talking about the Genesis shows in Philadelphia a few weeks after. It’s always fun to compare and contrast the set list...

Episode 118 – Fish Part 6, Fellini Days A strained masterpiece or a completely unexpected gem. Fellini Days was the album no one at the Palaver was ready for. From the opening experience which finds one focusing on the harsh tones and uneven production through the moments of epiphany, this is an album that captures the listening and eventually captivates. From the magic of the title track to the j...

Episode 117 – Fish Part 5, Raingods with Zippos “It’s nothing about the Zippos or the hat…” Fish and Steven Wilson part 2 with a healthy dose of prog sensibility. The group is entranced by this most excellent record that showcases Fish’s ever-expanding repertoire of musical capabilities. Twitter: @progpala Facebook: www.facebook.com/ProgPala YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCw_Xxit3D8wbv-AcJ_7Z__...

Bonus Episode – Peter Gabriel Lessons Learned with Simon Godfrey of Tribe of Names The group welcomes new Friend of the Palaver, Simon Godfrey. Simon shares some of his many experiences with Peter Gabriel’s music. Whether it was having to choose between Elke Brooks or Peter Gabriel singles or his overall PG album preference, Simon’s thoughts are enjoyable and insightful, as one would expect. We al...

Bonus Episode – Palaver Mailbag, Late Delivery Part 5, September 2021 Paul, Ken and Joe dive into the Palaver mailbag after a lengthy hiatus. There is much to catch up as we review listener input from all platforms. Ken and Paul provide short concert reviews for King Crimson and My Morning Jacket and we all talk about things we’ve been listening to. As always, we enjoy and benefit from the comment...

Episode 116 – Fish Part 4, Sunsets on Empire Fish and Steven Wilson? Yes please!!! The group delves into this most enjoyable album featuring a creative pairing that makes us all giddy. Some in the group claim that the album goes too far but I disagree. This album goes all the places it should in creating a lovely, immersive soundscape and Fish himself has never sounded better. Enjoy our spirited d...

Episode 115 – Fish Part 3, Suits Joe and Tom have an intimate discussion around the third Fish solo album, Suits. This album is a clear transition as Fish settles into the artist he will become. Does the album satisfy expectations? Does this album foretell the achievements to come? Listen to our palaver and see where we land on this intriguing entry into the Fish catalog. Twitter: @progpala Facebo...

Bonus Episode – The Rothko Chapel, May 2021 During the discussion of the song “Fourteen Black Paintings”, the group discovered that the eponymous paintings are housed in a purpose-built chapel in Houston Texas dedicated to social rights and human justice. Joe was able to arrange to visit the Rothko Chapel and share the experience with the other members of the Palaver. Twitter: @progpala Facebook:...

Episode 114 – Peter Gabriel Part 7, Us In this episode, the group switches back to the Peter Gabriel track with his first album since the smash hit So, Us. There are strong feelings on this album, both in the music and in our feelings. Us is an album that sees PG as an artist continuing to define his own playing field and exploring topics not many are willing (or able) to cover. We consider the un...

Episode 113 – Fish Part 2, Internal Exile “The album we were all waiting for?” The second Fish solo album finds the group having (most of) the experiences they wanted from the first. High marks all around for the overall musical presentation of this album. The band seem engaged and the lyrics are, as usual, spot on. The influence of producer Chris Kimsey is debated as well. The group wanders down...

Episode 112 – Fish Part 1, Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors The group switches tracks to our parallel segment on the Fish solo catalog. Two parts confounding to one part brilliance, Vigil is an album that elicits a wide array of responses. The album seems to switch from moments of sheer poetic brilliance to complete banality in the blink of an eye. As solo debuts often are, the album comes across...

Special Episode – Interview with John DeBella on Peter Gabriel (and Many Other Things) In this special episode we here at the Palaver are deeply honored to speak with Philadelphia radio legend John DeBella. The conversation was originally set up to question John on his unique and close relationship with Peter Gabriel. The interview covers how John and Peter’s friendship began, insights John has ha...

Episode 111 – Peter Gabriel Part 6, Peter Gabriel So This is the album that made Peter Gabriel a HUGE international icon in 1986. What makes So remarkable (as with most Gabriel albums) is that it blends elements of popular music, world music, progressive and art rock seamlessly into a delightful whole. Our palaver, of course, is heavily focused on the sublime production, songwriting and musiciansh...

Special Episode – Interview with Joe Bailey, May 2021 In this special episode we get to catch up with Joe Bailey and palaver about his latest release Ghost. We cover the inspiration for this captivating new release and go into the process Joe uses to create his music. Joe is able to provide a very detailed context for his work and there are some tasty teasers for future projects Joe has in store i...

Special Episode – Floyd on Film, Interview with Alan Haworth Author Alan Haworth joins the Palaver to discuss his latest book, Floyd on Film. A study examining the theory that Pink Floyd wrote, recorded and arranged three of the main sequence albums (Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall) to serve as an alternate soundtrack to the animated films Pinocchio and Alice in Wonderland. Alan expands o...

Episode 110 – Peter Gabriel Part 5, Peter Gabriel 4 (Security) Rhythm, rhythm and more rhythm. The Peter Gabriel mystique comes into greater focus with this (essentially) fourth self-titled album. From the landmark first two tracks to the huge commercial hit Shock the Monkey to the undiscovered gem that is Wallflower, this album is a true landmark in creativity by an artist on the very verge of in...

Episode 109 – Peter Gabriel Part 4, Peter Gabriel 3 (Melt) Pt 2 On this episode the group finishes out our conversation on Peter Gabriel 3. The impact of this record can be illustrated by the breadth of topics covered; moving from the onset of phone sex in the US in the 1980s to the policy of apartheid in South Africa. One is left with the thought that two episodes still may not be enough. Twitter...

Episode 108 – Peter Gabriel Part 3, Peter Gabriel 3 (Melt) Pt 1 Yes, you are correct. This is the album on which the soon-to-be ubiquitous gated snare sound was created. We, of course, spend ample time discussing this development lol. There is so much to talk about for this pivotal album including the producer, the players, the songs, the lack of cymbals. The Palaver covers it all in this first pa...

Episode 107 – Peter Gabriel Part 2, Peter Gabriel 2 (Scratch) The group continues with the Peter Gabriel solo catalog with Scratch. This is an album that sees Peter start to focus his approach as a solo artist. More of what will become his genius is apparent although the overall production can sometimes mar the beauty. Twitter: @progpala Facebook: www.facebook.com/ProgPala YouTube: www.youtube.com...

Special Episode – Interview with Dave Kerzner of Arc of Life, March 2021 Friend of the Palaver Dave Kerzner is back for another breakneck discussion about… well… everything. New band Arc of Life? Got it. Economics of the modern music industry? Check. Discussion of Dave’s current analog studio gear fascination? Covered. Teasers for Dave’s potential future projects? Of course! Cat pee? Well, yes we...

Episode 106 – Peter Gabriel Part 1, Peter Gabriel 1 (Car) The group begins our next large segment which will feature the solo catalogs of both Peter Gabriel and Fish. This episode covers Gabriel’s debut solo album which finds the singer exploring new ideas and looking what will define him as a solo artist. There are some gems, some holdovers from his previous life in Genesis and some bold experime...

Special Episode – Interview with Robert Berry, Feb 2021 We were very pleased to speak at length with Robert Berry regarding the latest stellar release from 3.2, Third Impression. From the inspiration for the songs to the method Robert used for creating this epic album, almost no topics are left uncovered. Robert was very kind to open up to us about his thoughts on this record, its relationship to...