It's in the ear of the individual listener,mon. You mentioned Newman. I've heard some of it and I know some folks here including Andrew love the guy's stuff. I thought it nothing all that--just more of the same 'I love Journey' songwriting style. Very set in the mold--exactly what you've been on about here. So it's not just EM projects that mirror Journey,Survivor,Foreigner,Def Leppard,etcetc. There are LOTS of examples around here. I love a great lyric,too. But two prime examples this year alone--the H.E.A.T. cd and (again),that Night Flight Orchestra cd,neither have 'great' lyrics. But they're both great cds,IMO. Sometimes songs/melodies are so cool that the lyrics can be overridden/trumped by great music. Two prime examples right there and the JJ cd would appear to be in this category as well. T