A monster! Genius!
While many great prog bands had fallen from favour in the face of punk, or had attempted to change their sound to fit with the evolving musical climate; Pink Floyd pretty much just kept doing Pink Floyd. Exploring their feeling of alienation from their audience in the spotlight of fame by building a literal wall (a beautiful wall, the bigliest) between them and the audience.
This is one of those rare double albums that actually legitimately works and doesn't just feel like a bunch of songs that could just as easily have been stuck on a couple of single releases.
The album uses repeated musical themes without sounding like it's just running short of ideas. Most of the songs work fine in isolation as well as part of the overall narrative. I can listen to one of my favourite Floyd songs "Goodbye Blue Sky" and not feel like I'm missing out on the story by not having heard the previous 6 tracks.
The album has plenty of variety, with theatrical art rock, pseudo-funk, atmospheric ballads, and yet manages to wrap all of this into a cohesive lyrical and musical narrative whole across two discs/records.
As a teen I used to listen to this album on a regular basis. Doing nothing else but lying back and listening to the whole 26 tracks uninterrupted.
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