I've always viewed it as two separate albums.
I always find statements like this odd. Had the physical medium upon which the album was released contained ALL SIX songs on a single disc, would this still be a thought?
I mean, did people in the 60'd/70'd view double-vinyl albums as "two albums"? Did people argue "LP1 of
Tommy (or
The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, or
Tales From Topographic Oceans, etc. etc.) was better/worse than LP2?" Some of those albums, like
Tommy, now fit on to ONE CD, so does it even matter anymore?
And in the digital age, where music can be released freed of the time-constraints of the physical medium, albums can be as long or short as they want and be viewed as a whole, and single album.
I always find it silly that people view SDOIT in this way because of how it was released on 2 CDs. It's a single album, but it just HAPPENED to be on two discs. If we had 100-minute CDs, it would've been a single album. On DVD-A discs, it would all fit on one disc. It just depends on the medium.
Either way, it just amuses me is all. I mean, at least arguments regarding whether or not the title track should be considered one song hold more credence than the whole "2 'albums' because it's on two discs" thing.
-Marc.