I just finished reading this (although I think I may be missing the last page) thanks to an incredibly generous soul.
I just can't hate this album, despite really not liking a few of the songs. It sounds like a party to me and from RS' description, that's kind of what it felt like. I can see wanting to push your limits as an artist and band and try things that are totally different.
It's funny because while I saw that tour and the atmosphere was one of my favorites of their shows (a fairly small venue), I have no memory of the set he describes. I'm thinking maybe the venue couldn't accommodate the set? It was George Mason University in VA.
In terms of him "falling out of love" with some of the songs it makes total sense when he talks about the fact many of them couldn't translate into a stage performance given all the orchestral elements, etc. Recording material is one thing, but being able to hare the material live through performance is really the core of things for many, if not most, artists, I think. Without live performance as an artists, material just kind of dies because you aren't interacting with it anymore.
True. Although there are WMS songs that are perfectly doable live which I wish they still played, such as Treasure (it would fit well in the current tour) and Bare (I don't agree with Robert: it's as long as it should be!).
Also, one of their most underrated songs ever, It Used To Be Me, in the top 10 for sure for me in their last 30ish years (post-Wish era).
