I have been guilty of that I confess….A couple of decades ago though. Now, as I said I lost any appetite for it. I might still enjoy the debate with someone who is really familiar with the record: meaning he knows the track listing, knows what the story is about, knows the lyrics or at least the gist of it, perhaps the chords, can hum the tunes and perhaps can appreciate the musicianship displayed on it. It hardly happens I found. The point still remains though: 0 interest in defending it, even when it's being trashed and it happens and 0 interest in extolling its virtues which remain many imo.
To me, the attraction comes mainly from the ghostly atmosphere created by the keyboards and guitars working so well together. The mellotron against those guitar chords on Fly on a windshield. The organ riff, against the driving rhythm on In the Cage, the beautiful piano on The Lamia, the chaos of the Waiting Room.
The story I'm less interested in, but individual lyrics are some of Gabriels best IMO. I also like the contemporary, although other worldly feel of the album. The fact that is such a departure from SEBTP and ATOTT, makes it sand out in the catalogue as a brave and well executed experiment. There ae mixed feelings about it within the band. Oddly - perhaps - Collins really liked it, but Banks was quite critical.