I’m along the same lines. I think the re-do of the songs/singing style to be more of a lounge style is in fact, a good choice that works well.
What doesn’t, is well… everything else. The poetry that beats the “meaning” of a not particularly lyrically deep album into your head, the sense that somehow he’s messing up his own reading (there’s a track, I don’t care to check which one, where he seems to restart the poem something like 5 times, before ending with “Welcome to hell”, yes Roger, listening to your poetry makes me seem like I am in fact, in hell).
I recall reading, ages ago, that the original lyrics of DSOTM were kept simple using simple English to be broadly understood by large swaths of people, and furthermore that this was a conscious decision by Waters at the albums writing and recording. Why 50 years later he thinks his own handiwork has fallen short I don’t know, and I don’t know why he chose to “fix” it by adding Vogon poetry, but I guess that’s his prerogative. I’d only be interested in a disk if it’s:
Not in a box set
And
Has a “sans poetry” option
My point was, it reminds me of a novelty release, rather than a serious one, like Chuck Berry's Dingaling. It really does feel like a novelty thing from Waters. Chuck Berry did amazing stuff, as does Waters. So I agree with everything you're saying.
