Before this goes off into too many different directions...
Any time a side man or someone who's better known as a part of a group decided to do a solo album or side project, they often encounter any one of a few problems that result in a less than spectacular album:
The person in question is so determined to do something different than what they are known for, they lose focus on the songs in favor of "look what I can do" (i.e. a pop guy makes a shread album, or a sidemen puts one song in every style of music he/she can muster up rather than a cohesive collection of songs).
They record it in bits and pieces in-between numerous tours and sessions, and prevents them from creating any cohesive vibe.
or conversely
They only have a two week window in-between session/tours, and rush through the recording process to get the whole album done in that time without spending the time and care to make a better album.
Because of budget/time restrictions, they can't assemble a "band" so they call in favors from everyone they know and convince assorted name players to all contribute one song of performance for cheap/free, and while the album may have great individual performances, the album as a whole is rather haphazard because every track has different people on it, recorded at different times in different studios.
Or, they do get one person for each instrument, but due to time/budget constraints, the parts are recorded by each person in different studios, in different parts of the world, and no one is ever in the same room at the same time, and sometimes, they never even meet. So while the songs may be great, and the performances on an individual basis are great, the album as a whole sounds sterile, and just overall lacks any kind of vibe when compared to an album by an actual "band".
Obviously, these don't apply to Tony, Elvin and such, because they put together actual bands who were in the same room.
And sometimes, despite any/all of the above circumstances, someone does create a great record.
To the other points, if someone doesn't like prog or fusion, they don't like it. No amount of musical greatness is going to change someone's opinion on it. And why should they?
As I said in another thread (that Polly turned into a 2nd thread) if we were concerned about making music for the masses, this would be "drum programming world" because we'd all be just discussing what beats we programed for the latest Debbie Gibson/Britney Spears type person.
That said, I love a lot of complex music. I'm a huge fan of Rush, Dream Theater Fates Warning and other prog. But still, a lot of junior bands in these veins write bad music, because there is a difference between writing a "good song that happens to be complex" and writing a song that is "complex for the sake of being complex". And for too many prog/fusion bands, they have a hard time telling the difference.