Personally, I think some folks struggling with the album may have come to it thinking it's something it's not.
The band have been very upfront in saying that it was conceived as a rock opera. In the Eddie Trunk interview, JP said that the best way to listen to it was sitting chilled out, headphones, listening to it all in one sitting.
To me, this makes total sense, as they've written it to be something to be presented on stage - exactly what they're doing with the tour.
If Broadway/West End musical theatre isn't your thing, and your tastes lie elsewhere, that's totally cool, but in that format, the story and characters have to come first, with musical showoffery taking a back seat.
That's something I think they have pulled off amazingly well with TA, but if you're thinking of the album as just a collection of songs, I think you may be doing it a disservice. This one is a different animal altogether..
Just my opinion, of course..