any Nuno fans?

True about the first part. What do you mean by the orchestra? Which songs are you referring to? I am thinking you might be talking about "Everything Under The Sun".

I think they went a bit overboard with 3 Sides. There were a lot of good songs, but some of them were drowned with everything else but guitars. I think Pornograffitti was better produced, even though it's not as clear. It had better feel, more rock.

Ice

I think Pornograffitti was more of a "safe" album for them. Straight ahead rock, which is good in itself. A lot of amazing songs, "Song For Love" being one of my favourite. They had a chance to flex their creative and artistic muscle in III Sides and made something that melted many styles together. I think they are both good albums on their own terms. My favourite part would be The IInd side with "Tragic Comic" (Which could have been a huge hit if it was marketed well) since it was so radio friendly, and "Stop The World" was just amazing. I really enjoyed the guitar solo on that song. Another good track off that album was "Colour Me Blind". I always liked their vocal harmonies. Gary and Nuno sounded great together.