I remember Alan Wilder (Recoil) answering about the original The Fragile, wonder what he'd think about 4 LP version? :-)
http://oldsite.recoil.co.uk/forum/qa/gother6.htm
"I have heard 'The Fragile' a few times now and it is growing on me. As an outsider it's clear to me that there was a dilemma about whether to cut it down to a single LP or take the more bold and somewhat risky step of releasing a double. Obviously, a lot of effort went into making it and it would have been very difficult to shelve so much work but personally I would have edited it down to a very strong single album. Having said that, I like the way it breaths and takes it's time to evolve and seep into your consciouness. Generally, I like the moments that don't sound like previous NIN - the quieter, atmospheric sections that feature more adventurous sounds. Despite it's drawbacks, still a vastly superior record to most others released these days."
Edit: I renamed and un-tagged "Was it worth it?" and offered listen a few coworkers, got them curious and things like Shazam don't know it, cool. :-)