This is another dark concept album, this time exploring the forces that drive people into isolation. Rooted in Roger Waters' own life and disgust with many of his own fans, the album includes the three-part "Another Brick in the Wall."
Dedicated to Syd Barrett, the creative force behind the band until mental illness forced him to leave, the album contains the unusually accessible title song and a moving tribute to Barrett, "Shine on You Crazy Diamond."
Musically and technically complex, the album is not for the light listener. Thematically pretty dark in its exploration of some of the themes, such as alienation, which will be pushed further in The Wall, the album is not party music. But it hung around the Billboard 200 for fifteen years—longer than any other album in history—and is #43 on Rolling Stone's list of greatest albums.