I tired these jeans on yesterday and LOVED them. Hahaha! It's so funny how we all see things differently! Granted I don't have much of a backside and so the fading kind of helped it look as though I do have a backside (which is always a goal if mine!) - but I think the key difference (as others have mentioned) was the size. Mine literally hung off of my hips - sitting much lower than yours and overall, a much looser fit. So - maybe try a larger size and see what you think?
ETA: I never consider how my rear view looks when making a decision about a piece of clothing - sooo there's that too. It's all about the front side. I have a feeling that if I started paying attention to my rear view that I'd get real depressed and not ever buy anything.
