The Divine Comedy - Casanova
An interesting album in some respects, fusing pomp and Britpop and musical theater into a concept record that covers a variety of moods and ideas. To these ears, Freddie Mercury, Peter Hammill, Frank Sinatra and Gino Vannelli are the obvious reference points in regards to Neil Hannon's approach to performance, though I can say with confidence that he's not anywhere near those guys in sheer vocal power (Mercury, Vannelli) nor in lyrical imagination (Hammill, Sinatra). He also sticks a little too close to the Tim Burton / Danny Elfman school of theater rock which is a mark against him for me.
Going through the songs here was a bit like skipping stones: every once in awhile I'd get a good throw in and find something I liked (' In & Out of Paris And London', 'The Frog Princess') where an early Scott Walker-esque pop sensibility comes to the fore and works well. When he isn't hitting on all cylinders though...the whole album falls apart, especially when he gets twee and goes full Broadway ('A Woman of the World', 'The Dog & The Horses', etc.).
So, I can accept someone like Freddie Mercury in full pomp mode because he really sells a croon. Dude was untouchable in sheer theatricality. Or, to use a living example, I can also accept Gino Vannelli even at his most pompous cause the guy has a six-octave vocal range and a band on par with the Mahavishnu Orchestra backing him. The people that play with Gino when he's in Vegas or up in Montreal are demigods in the jazz-fusion world. Sir Hannon, unfortunately, is a few notches below the masters. I'd have to go sit down with his other Divine Comedy outings to see if he got better or worse than this as time went on.
6.5 out of 10
Last edited by Anteater; 07-20-2017 at 10:57 PM.
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