I don't know if I ever heard this album growing up, but when I told my dad I was becoming more and more dedicated to the thematic album as a format, this was the first record he suggested I check out.
We were talking the other day about the death of the album (specifically as relates to Pentatonix - I love their music, but all 3 of their EPs have been basically disjointed collections of singles), and he observed that the rise of single-song buying (a la iTunes) will probably mean the end of hugely popular, fully-formed albums like What's Going On or Dark Side of the Moon. I hope he's wrong; I fear he's not.
Anyway, enjoy the album.