Granted it is still early and so my opinion may change. And that is my full album take. I prefer the singles on Day & Age and I think Runaways from Battle Born is a better single than anything on this album, however, I think this cohesively makes for a better full album listen. The extra song Money on Straight on the deluxe version is also great.

I'd go Sam's Town, Hot Fuss, Wonderful Wonderful, Day & Age, and then Battle Born. The B-Side collection Sawdust has lots of highs and lows for me and would be in the latter mix too. But I admit I'm a big fan of their music so even those I rank lower I love. For Brandon Flowers solo albums I'd place The Desired Effect pretty much tied with Wonderful Wonderful and Flamingo would go last.

I like that they have continued to try new things and this albums feels fresh to me. The title track, The Man, Rut, Some Kind of Love, Out of My Mind, and the Calling all sound like new avenues for them without going too far off the rails. Despite the branching out, the overall theme of the album still seems focused.

With that said, you can clearly hear many of their influences on the tracks. Rut - Phil Collins, Life to Come chorus - U2, Tyson v Douglas verses and synth line sound like 80s Springsteen, Out of My Mind sounds right off of the Pet Shop Boys Behaviour era, and The Calling - 90's to 00's Depeche Mode. Heck, Have all the songs been written has Mark Knopfler from Dire Straits on the guitar. I love all these influences, Brandon Flowers voice continues to be outstanding, and I like Jacknife Lee's production so I'm really enjoying the album.