not to be contrary, but i really don't understand you guys. first of all, the white songbook is one of ronnie's best records. it's diverse, melodic, adventuresome and has songs about fairies and magic. (for the record, i think robot rock is clearly the best, most concise and cohesive in his catalogue.)
unelectric was an awful record. working by himself only works with joy electric. unelectric and shepherd both suffered from not enough involvement from outsiders. it was clearly not an unelectric album, and the only songs that really worked were the new ones. "true harmony" was especially bad.
the last half of the otherly opus is roughly about adam and eve, by the way.
I agree with you about Robot Rock. The White Songbook was a big change and really signaled the end of the Magical era of Joy E. I think Christian Songs was the beginning of the end of the Magical era and TWSB killed it. I enjoyed TWSB but it isn't my favorite. The Legacy era was really hit and miss for me. Of all the Legacy albums the only ones I can say that I really like are Hello, Mannequin, Friend of Mannequin, and The Otherly Opus.
Unelectric was disappointing. I was hoping for much more. I totally agree that it clearly was not an unelectric album.
