You can have my precious bones on my return

The Decemberists, hanging out in a forest somewhere.  From here.

Has anyone else listened to the Decemberists' opera/concept album "The Hazards of Love"?  It came out about a year ago, I think, and only recently have I gotten around to downloading it.  Did you like it?  I personally have mixed feelings about it.  Because I like it as a whole - the story and the repeated themes throughout the album.  I like listening to a work like that - a work that comes back to remind you about what's going on.  But I also had some problems with it - mainly that I don't think that many of the tracks can stand alone as songs that I would listen to.  Because, let's face it - not many people listen to an album all the way through while they're listening to music.  I know that I put my music on shuffle all the time, and the pieces from "The Hazards of Love" don't really stand up next to the rest of the music in my itunes library unless they're all heard in succession.  It tells a story, and to hear "The Abduction of Margaret" after something like "Psycho Killer" or anything by David Bowie is a little odd.  Have you guys listened to this album?  Do you like it?