Progressive Palaver

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 exploring the band’s prior incarnation (Sneak Preview) and the seemingly complete sound of the band in these first two records. Despite some technical drawbacks in these recordings, the group has high praise indeed. Twitter: @progpala Email: progpala@gmail.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/ProgPala YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCw_Xxit3D8wbv-AcJ_7Z__w/featured Theme music provided by: Dave DeWhitt

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 same time. There are some questions regarding songwriting and vocal delivery. While there are some ambiguities, the group also tries to tease out the personnel carousel that began to infect Asia after Alpha. Overall, the group tries to sort out where this interesting sequence of albums belongs in the greater prog pantheon. Enjoy! Twitter: @progpala Email: progpala@gmail.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/ProgPala YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCw_Xxit3D8wbv-AcJ_7Z__w/featured Theme music provided by: Dave DeWhitt

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 releasing this bonus episode until we had posted all the Yes ones. Enjoy! Twitter: @progpala Email: progpala@gmail.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/ProgPala YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCw_Xxit3D8wbv-AcJ_7Z__w/featured Theme music provided by: Dave DeWhitt

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 seeks to eviscerate this film. Paul provides excellent research on topics including the physiological effects of depressurization and the visual manifestations of force projections. Ken provides a rational counterbalance and a simply outstanding recap of Rogue One as a bonus. This episode is awash with spoilers and is not to be taken seriously. This bonus episode is for fun only. We hope you enjoy! Twitter: @progpala Email: progpala@gmail.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/ProgPala YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCw_Xxit3D8wbv-AcJ_7Z__w/featured Theme music provided by: Dave DeWhitt

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 proposed that for this album Steve has developed “Anderson disease”. The impact of Roger Dean’s artwork and the prog rock family tree are also covered. Twitter: @progpala Email: progpala@gmail.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/ProgPala YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCw_Xxit3D8wbv-AcJ_7Z__w/featured Theme music provided by: Dave DeWhitt

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/ProgPala YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCw_Xxit3D8wbv-AcJ_7Z__w/featured Theme music provided by: Dave DeWhitt

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 1980’s music is explored as well. We hope you enjoy this exploration of a brilliant and potentially underappreciated album. Twitter: @progpala Email: progpala@gmail.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/ProgPala YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCw_Xxit3D8wbv-AcJ_7Z__w/featured Theme music provided by: Dave DeWhitt

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 winner. This exercise is solely for entertainment purposes and is not meant to be taken (too) seriously. An unexpected outcome from this is the apparent need for an in-depth discussion of the one- versus two-disc formats for Marbles! Stay tuned… Twitter: @progpala Email: progpala@gmail.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/ProgPala YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCw_Xxit3D8wbv-AcJ_7Z__w/featured Theme music provided by: Dave DeWhitt

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 explain the whole thing… Twitter: @progpala Email: progpala@gmail.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/ProgPala YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCw_Xxit3D8wbv-AcJ_7Z__w/featured Theme music provided by: Dave DeWhitt

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 Palaver is struck by the overall sense of renewal in this album and how it manifests in both the fun (Going for the One and Parallels) and the beautiful (Turn of the Century, Awaken). Tweet us @progpala. Write us at progpala@gmail.com. Follow Progressive Palaver on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.