What I like:
-I believe that it is a much more mature album than ArtIFact. The lyrics and music are more subtle and imagery is used more effectively.
-I think that it works as a concept album; there is an arc of unity that allows it to be listened to as a story or a series of related snapshots.
-I love the tone colours provided by my superb string players. I like the way that Roxi and Carmelle show their respective personalities in their improvisations. Brian’s drumming is fantastic again, and I only wish I had had more songs that had required drums.
-I like my voice far better on this than on ArtIFact, although I still cringe at some moments.

What I don’t like:
-Due to having recorded in about a dozen different studios, there is occasionally a lapse in cohesiveness of sound. This is particularly obvious on “In This Moment”.
-The “arc of unity” might be a little overdone, and the aspect of variety may have ended up pulling the shorter end of the stick. I can’t judge that very accurately, but it seems that there is not enough difference in tone and idea from one song to the next to really give the listener a break.
-The limitations of my guitar playing are painfully obvious on several occasions.
-Other than that, it’s just a few little things that I got used to during the recording process and now wish I had fixed. The breaks of “Fire on the Pyre” sound too empty. There is a really obvious edit in “Never Forget”. That kind of thing—there are still some warts on it all.

Conclusion: I think it reflects quite accurately what I set out to do, given the means I had at hand and the place I was at in my own development.

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