My first selection for the club was very well received, but it was something of a hollow victory, as it were, for me, as the album was not my own choice and had been suggested to me by bob, so I was unable to react to all the positive comments with a knowing smile and a smug grin. Whether this will happen with this, my second choice, is anyone's guess (probably everyone will hate it) but at least this time this is an album I was listening to before even joining here. Originally I had no idea who or what The Divine Comedy was, outside of Dante of course, but a workmate got me interested when she told me “It has the song from
Father Ted on it.” Now, I had enjoyed that show and liked the music, so I thought hell, it'll probably be that one song and the rest crap, but I'll give it a go. About seven spins later I was in love with the album.
Certainly among my favourite DC albums,
Casanova plumbs the depths of human emotion from top to bottom, from the bright and breezy silliness of “Something for the weekend” and “A woman of the world” to the sweet innocence of “Songs of love” right down to the bitter humour of “The Frog Princess”, and on into the incandescent fury of “Through a long and sleepless night”, finally ending with the resigned and melancholic acceptance of death in “The dogs and the horses”. It's not a perfect album by any means, and there are songs on it I don't care for, but as a cohesive work it's certainly at the top of the tree. Neil Hannon, for those who don't know,
is The Divine Comedy: he writes, composes, arranges, performs and produces all his music, using band members and session players for each album. This, and the followup
A Short Album About Love saw Neil enjoy some brief, if deserved, chart success, but he's not really about the singles, and you have to dig deeper to get to the real music of the man who is The Divine Comedy.
Note: as I know this album well, some of the questions in the matrix will be superfluous for me, so I'll be ignoring any that don't apply.
1. What were your VERY FIRST impressions on listening to the album, say from the first five minutes in?
n/a
2. What did you think of the opening track?
Love it: you think it sets the scene, and it kind of does, but the album gets much deeper and more emotional. It's a good opener though.
3. What did you think of the next track?
Not crazy about this. A bit weak I feel, even if it was chosen as a single.
4. Did you like the vocalist? Hate him/her? Any impressions? (see note 1)
I love Neil's cultured, pretentious-sounding voice. He has a way about him that just draws you into the songs.
5. Did the music (only) generally appeal to you, or not? (see note 2)
Yes, I like the music, and also the fact that there are so many styles used here
6. Did the album get better or worse as you listened to it (first time)?
n/a
7. What did you think of the lyrical content?
Mostly quite clever, plays on words and so on (“The casualties of casual sex”) but sometimes I feel he tries to be a little too clever (“Charge”) and it doesn't quite work.
8. Did you like the instrumental parts? (see note 3)
Mostly, yes
9. What did you think of the production?
Insert answer here
10. Did you know of this artiste prior to listening to the album, and if so, did that foreknowledge colour your perception of this album?
Originally, no: as mentioned above, this was the first DC album I listened to, and beyond knowing he did the music for
Father Ted I knew nothing of him. Now, of course, I'm very familiar with all his work, both post and prior to this album
11. Is this, generally, the kind of music you listen to or not?
Kind of not really, but I really do like it. It's quite poppy in places, orchestral in others, with as I said a lot of different styles used
12. Assuming you listened to the album more than once, on repeated listens, did you find you liked the album more, or less?
n/a
13. What would you class as your favourite track(s), if you have any?
“The dogs and the horses”, “Through a long and sleepless night”, “Songs of love”, “A woman of the world”, “Something for the weekend”
14. And the one(s) you liked least?
“Charge”, “In and out in Paris and London”, “Becoming more like Alfie”
15. If the album in question is a debut, did that fact allow it, in your mind, any leeway, and if so, was that decision justified or vindicated? (see note 4)
n/a
16. Are you now looking forward to hearing more from this artiste, if you have not heard any of their other material?
n/a
17. Were you surprised by your reaction - positive or negative - to the album?
n/a
18. Did the album end well?
Beautifully. You couldn't have a better closer than the sumptuous orchestration of “The dogs and the horses”, and the fact that the album opens with the word “Hello” and ends with “Goodbye” is perfect symmetry.
19. Do you see any way the album could have been improved?[/B]
No
20. Do you think the album hung together well, ie was a fully cohesive unit, or was it a bit hit-and-miss?
I feel it hung together very well, following the various human emotions and exploring love and sex and commitment from every angle.
A solid
9/10 for me.