I've been wondering who has been guilty for the change in production and arrangements. The process of shortening the songs started with "Bounce": Compare the demo of "Right Side Of Wrong" (extended keyboard intro, longer ending) with the album version and it becomes obvious that the band went in a new direction in this field too.

Actually, the production on THINFS doesn't bother me that much. It is much bette rthan on WAN, which was totally flat. The guitars are more in the foreground, which adds a nice groove on songs like "God Bless", and the ballads follow the "less is more" direction that worked so well with "Make a Memory". It is not perfect, but the sound is breathing a bit more and instruments sound more organic.