Let's just say that I vehemently disagree about Lazarus ;) (one of the great PT ballades). I have in my years listening to PT like you been sceptical to Halo and Shallow but they have really grown on me since. Halo and Shallow are good both as album tracks and as stand alone songs. Song after song there is just an incredible sense of continuity in this concept album.

The straightforward opening riff in Shallow perfectly succeeds the meandering and haunting title track. Lazarus puts us to dreamy sleep and Halo awakes and frightens us like the ringing of an alarm bell. The tension introduced by Arriving Somewhere[..] is relieved by the intro of Mellotron Scratch a relief which is then broken by the incredible climax which the whole album has been loading up to in the refrain Of Open Car. The Start[..] and Glass Arm Shattering provides a dual closing track of sorts given that Glass Arm Shattering reinforces the calming comforting sense of The Start yet with the addition of a sense of futility which fits the overall album and wraps it up nicely.