Casanova

I don't know what this album is. It's quirky and fun. But is it good? I still don't know.

Did not rate this one. I understand this style of music exists but sometimes it just fucks me right off. I would get up to destroy the speaker it's playing from.

Very unique sound that combines many genres from pop to rock to thetrical

Has some great moments and nice to have something a little different in the 1001. 3.5 stars

7/10 Divertido, pero por momentos no termina de gustarme. Después bien, buena instrumental, la voz, no se hace pesado, cumple

Genuinely some really fun tracks on this. Was surprised by how much I enjoyed it considering some of the reviews left on here.

It’s a different kind of album but I don’t mind it

Something for the Weekend Become More Like Alfie The Frog Princess

++: Something for the Weekend, Charge, A Woman of the World, Through a Long & Sleepless Night, The Dogs & the Horses +: Becoming More Like Alfie, In & Out of Paris & London, The Frog Princess +-: Songs of Love, Theme from Casanova -: Middle-Class Heroes 5,5/10

I enjoyed this one much more than A Short Album About Love, so because I gave that one a 3, this one gets a 4. There's a lot to like, but its far from perfect, and a lot of cringe lyrics. But because I'm willing to listen to this again, I will stand by the 4 I give it

Meh. I didn't hate this.

sometimes i wonder if i have been being too liberal about my five star rating, that it means the truly phenomenal once-in-a-universe albums don't stand out as much against a tier of other admittedly cream of the crop albums. this is the first time i've felt that sentiment in the opposite direction. i, if anything, respect the commitment to the ethos. it is aggressively not for me. either the vocals work for me or the instrumental does, or neither, but never both in conjunction (and anything that doesn't work hurts my ears).

No me gustó. 1/10

A rare album where I listen to the full deluxe version. This was the first Divine Comedy album I ever bought and it’s always been a favourite of mine. There’s not a song on it I don’t enjoy. Disc 2 has some interesting B sides and demos on it but the highlight for me are the songs Neil Hannon wrote for the series Father Ted. It’s by far my favourite comedy series but since my Girlfriend hates it, Father Jack absolutely disgusts her lol, I watch it so much anymore. Massive nostalgia hit listening to them. Top Track - Songs Of Love, it would’ve been My Lovely Horse but they need to lose that sax solo

Tja. Hadde kanskje falt for dette på 90-tallet. Begynner å bli gammel?

This makes me think of that Andy Samberg - Snoop Dogg Corona commercial from a couple years ago where Andy raps and then... Andy: Was that good? Snoop: No. Andy: Oh. Snoop: It was incredible... Andy: Oh? Snoop: ...ly bad.

No.

My patience with this album was on the ropes by the third track, which meant the remaining eight were a slog. This feels very adjacent to another favorite of the 1001 book, Pulp—literary, self-satisfied, ironic, and irritating. The music is fine, if a little too Broadway theatrical for me. Another Divine Comedy album is on this list, so there's more irritation to come.

AHAHAH. Truly Divine Comedy xdd

Interesante, me gustó. Diferente a lo que escucho, parece una peli

Alltså hans sjunger som en korsning av Bowie och Iggy, men lever ju inte upp till deras cred. Det här är crooning, easy listening, en arvtagare till Sinatra. En trea!

Sounds like bad karaoke. But sure, put it on this trash list.

that was pleasant, nothing to write home about though. wondering why he's on here

Campy, cheesy, loungey. Not for me.

This feels like Morrissey's version of a musical. Moody, nonchalant, emoting. And it's not just me. My algorithm agreed, suggesting Morrissey directly after the album finished.

Setting aside the more obvious Scott Walker influence - this sounds like an entire album inspired by the Doors' "Touch Me". While that's not a good thing I can't fully write it off. He seems be having fun here mixing seriousness, self deprication, irony and satire all backed by ample strings. I don't want to hear it again. I get it but I don't care save Theme for Casanova which cooks.

recently listened to Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell, which is in a quirky and theatrical kinda spectrum of albums, somewhat like this one. and i'd say that these two albums go on opposite sides of that quirky and theatrical spectrum. I preffer the Meat Loaf's side. sorry, Neil.

This album was such a mixed bag. There were a few moments that I found genuinely sweet that I enjoyed, but most of it came off so pretentious or cheesy. I’m some of it was meant to be ironic, but it still didn’t sit well with me. I was surprised to see this guy had another album on the list because the first album I listened to from him was such a drag.

# In-Depth Review: *Casanova* by The Divine Comedy (1996) Released on 29 April 1996, *Casanova* is the fourth studio album by The Divine Comedy and remains the band's most commercially successful record. It arrived at the height of Britpop yet stood apart from the guitar-driven, lad-rock orthodoxy of the era, offering instead a theatrical, orchestral pop experience centred on the persona of an unscrupulous, foppish lothario. --- ## Lyrics & Themes The album is a concept record built around sex, death, and the absurdities of male desire. Neil Hannon adopts the character of a louche, upper-crust womaniser—part Casanova, part Terry-Thomas cad—whose exploits are rendered with gleeful self-awareness and dark humour. **Sex and Seduction:** Nearly every song circles around carnal pursuit. On "Something for the Weekend," the protagonist lures a woman into an affair while hiding his marital status. "Becoming More Like Alfie" flirts with dubious consent ("Everybody knows that no means yes / Just like glasses come free on the NHS") . "In & Out of Paris & London" pushes the Carry On-style innuendo to smutty extremes, subverting the Hokey-Cokey for comic effect . **Death and Mortality:** Beneath the bawdy surface lies a preoccupation with mortality. Seven of the eleven tracks contain explicit or allusive references to death . "Charge" treats trench warfare as a sexual metaphor, with Hannon alternating between falsetto and a Barry White-esque baritone to deliver lines like "Baby, baby, gonna set your village on fire" . The closing track, "The Dogs & the Horses," offers a deathbed vision of pets escorting the narrator to the afterlife—a moment of unexpected tenderness and redemption after an album of sleaze . **Class and Character:** "Middle-Class Heroes" skewers bourgeois mediocrity with psychic-reader theatrics, while "The Frog Princess" ("I don't love anybody / That stuff is just a waste of time") candidly admits emotional emptiness . Even "Songs of Love"—the gentle, pastoral track familiar to millions as the *Father Ted* theme—hides darker undertones about roaming the streets "looking for prey" . **Drag and Gender Performance:** "Through a Long & Sleepless Night" is sung from the perspective of a drag queen lamenting that she will "always be the bridegroom but never the bride." The line "I'd rather die than be deprived / Of Wonderbras and thunder thighs" was famously misread by *Rolling Stone* as "plain-spoken lust" rather than the character-driven pathos Hannon intended . --- ## Music & Production Musically, *Casanova* represents Hannon's move toward a "more straightforward pop tone" while retaining the orchestral ambition of his earlier work . **Orchestral Arrangements:** The album is rich with brass, marimba, harpsichord, and sweeping strings. Joby Talbot's orchestrations—particularly on "The Dogs & the Horses," recorded at Abbey Road Studios—evoke the baroque pop of Scott Walker's first four solo albums . "Middle-Class Heroes" could sit comfortably on *Scott 2* with its rubbery brass and wide-spanning instrumentation . **Genre Fusion:** The record blends 1960s lounge-pop, music-hall vaudeville, chamber pop, and neo-swing. "Becoming More Like Alfie" channels slick 60s swing with a glistening harpsichord and a surprising country-tinged guitar solo . "Charge" pairs marching drums with air-raid sirens and spiralling orchestral chaos . "The Frog Princess" deploys squelchy synths alongside brass riffing on the French national anthem . **Vocal Performance:** Hannon's delivery is theatrical and shape-shifting—by turns he channels Frank Sinatra, Jim Morrison, Scott Walker, and Barry White. On "Through a Long & Sleepless Night," he snarls and screams through a post-rock/Britpop climax that stands as the album's heaviest moment . **Production:** Co-produced by Darren Allison and Hannon, the album had the longest recording period and highest budget of any Divine Comedy record to that point, funded by the unexpected success of Edwyn Collins' "A Girl Like You" on the Setanta label . Hannon performed the majority of instrumental parts himself, giving the record a unified, auteurist vision. --- ## Influence & Legacy **Scott Walker Connection:** The album is perhaps the most explicit example of Hannon's lifelong devotion to Scott Walker. The title "Through a Long & Sleepless Night" is borrowed directly from Walker's debut solo album, and the chamber-pop grandeur of "The Dogs & the Horses" serves as a love letter to Walker's early baroque period . For fans of Walker, *Casanova* functions almost as a spiritual continuation—a "90s version of Jackie" that carries the torch for orchestral pop narrative . **Britpop Context:** Though often lumped in with Britpop due to its 1996 release and commercial success (two UK Top 20 singles, gold certification), *Casanova* actively resisted the movement's guitar-centric, laddish aesthetics . Where Oasis celebrated cigarettes and alcohol, Hannon offered camp innuendo and orchestral suites. The album's very existence—foppish, literary, and European in sensibility—was a quiet rebuke to Cool Britannia . **Cultural Permeation:** "Songs of Love" transcended the album to become a cultural touchstone via *Father Ted*, introducing The Divine Comedy to a mainstream audience. The track was actually Hannon's second attempt at a theme for the show; his first, brasher effort became "A Woman of the World" . **Later Influence:** The album's theatricality and wit can be heard in the work of artists like Pulp, Belle & Sebastian, and even Kaiser Chiefs (whose 2014 track "Cannons" bears the clear imprint of "Charge") . Hannon's later career scoring films like *Wonka* (2023) can be traced back to the musical-theatre instincts on full display here . --- ## Pros - **Lyrical Wit:** Hannon's couplets are razor-sharp—simultaneously hilarious, disturbing, and poignant. The album demands intellectual engagement. - **Orchestral Richness:** The arrangements by Joby Talbot and Hannon are lush, detailed, and timeless, elevating the material far beyond standard indie-pop. - **Character Consistency:** The Casanova persona is maintained with discipline across the album, creating a genuine narrative arc from lechery to deathbed redemption. - **Vocal Range:** Hannon's chameleonic voice keeps each track distinct, whether crooning like Sinatra or snarling like Walker. - **Commercial Accessibility:** Despite its complexity, the album produced genuine pop hooks and hits, making it an ideal entry point for newcomers. - **Emotional Depth:** Beneath the camp and innuendo lies genuine melancholy—particularly in "The Dogs & the Horses" and "Songs of Love." --- ## Cons - **Persona Fatigue:** The unrelenting sleaze of the central character can become one-dimensional over a full album. Some listeners find the "cheeky chappy" act wearing by the final tracks . - **Tone Inconsistencies:** Tracks like "Charge" and "Theme from Casanova" occasionally tip from knowing archness into outright novelty, threatening to undermine the album's sophistication . - **Pacing Issues:** At times the album feels overlong; a trim of ten minutes might have tightened the narrative without losing impact . - **Dated Sensibilities:** Lines like "no means yes" and the general predatory male gaze, however ironic or character-driven, have aged poorly for some modern listeners and can read as uncomfortable rather than transgressive . - **Smugness:** Critics occasionally note a sense of self-satisfaction in Hannon's delivery—the feeling that he is "not quite as clever as he thinks he is" . --- ## Verdict *Casanova* is a singular achievement in 1990s British pop—a record that managed to be simultaneously a commercial breakthrough and an artistic outlier. It is an album of contradictions: bawdy yet beautiful, camp yet sincere, rooted in the past yet unmistakably of its moment. Neil Hannon's creation of the Casanova persona allowed him to explore the grubby, self-serving realities of male desire without ever letting the listener forget that the joke is, in part, on the narrator himself. Thirty years on, it remains a testament to what happens when wit, orchestration, and theatrical ambition collide—and proof that Britpop's most interesting moments often happened far from the mainstream fray.

Parody is by definition a cynical art form, but it borders on nihilism when no accounting for such parodistic angles really exists. Exponents of 'chamber pop,' The Divine Comedy is at bottom just nineties baroque pop a la Scott Walker, The Associates, etc. Yet while Walker is our baroque genius, able to effect a classic sound made of dying aesthetics, The Divine Comedy has no interest in being taken seriously, happy to make fun of 'making fun of,' except on 'Songs of Love' & 'The Frog Princess,' closer to something that Stephin Merritt would compose, i.e., they're the best tracks here by far b/c they're soulfully eloquent. The rest is drab & insouciant, never in a durable Wildean mode. Irony is a necessary tool, but featureless parody dispirits.

There was nothing particularly redeeming about the album. It does feel out of place. 6/10 [DROP]

Some of the vocal performances reminded me of the vocals on ‘Ants From Up There’ by Black Country, New Road. The first two tracks in particular I really enjoyed. This was fun listen with very ‘large’ vocal performances.

Without the spoken word parts, this might have been good. I get that they are meant to be satirical, but they still aren't funny in spite of that. Plus, the humor of the lyrics is very much lost on me, and his lounge lizard-meets-David Bowie vocals get old by track 4.

Up there with my favorite discoveries from this project. Witty, sometimes ribald romantic indie songwriting arranged with a classical flare!

Musically cool. Feel like i need to take another listen or read the lyrics for some of these.... Can't tell if he's doing an Alex Cameron thing or a real misogyny lol

Pretentious but I think that was the intent. Some of the lyrics were interesting but overall I didn’t like the sound or the style of music.

Got a little less than half way through before tapping out. This is clown music (derogatory). I want the vocalist to take a vow of silence. It’s a shame because they are doing something musically interesting, it’s just also musically obnoxious. I’m not going to give it one star because I get why this is here but it’s the very first album to make me tap out nevertheless.

Phenomenally stupid and cringe album. Really pretentious musical theatre vibes coming off this lead singer.

Really show toon and kitschy

New to me. Not bad for background music.

Weird and campy. There are a few songs that I really liked, Something for the Weekend, Songs of Love and Through a Long & Sleepless Night were definitely the most interesting.

454/1089 - Sex-haver music. Not for me.

Disappointing. Theatrical, middle class baroque pop. Ugh.

Giving off Jack skelington vibes. I really enjoy the weird and cheesiness of this album. Probably won’t listen to it again but it was a fun first listen!

2.5/5 - Had a good start, but ended weird and not what I was hoping...

Neat. I liked it a lot at the beginning, a bit less in the middle, and then the end was a strong finish.

Very similar to our other album by him, and once again, I really enjoyed it. Again, no idea when or if I'll listen to it again, but a really delightful experience

This album was a bit too cringe for my tastes. While the other album we’ve had from The Divine Comedy was earnest to the point of cringe, this one was cringy with just a little too rape-y to overcome it.

Huh?

Britpop Sinatra, without the charisma of either. Dull, gray, bloated - like a whale car ass washed up on a beach. When it's not boring it's annoying.

In wat voor rare musical ben ik nu weer beland?

This is so painfully uncool.

I enjoy this project. It's a fun, campy romp. This album specifically makes me think I'm listening to some britpop version of a Donald Fagen record.

Didn’t hate it but felt slightly uncomfortable listening

could not listen in the library

There are a few good tunes: the singles, the Father Ted one but I don’t really get the lecherous older man persona, it is not amusing and certainly hasn’t aged well. 2.5

Second album proposé après 'A short album about love' que j'avais détesté (noté 1/5 - trop d'orchestration, ennuyeux). Cet album fait toujours appel à une partie orchestrale, mais qui m'a paru un peu moins envahissante que dans le précédent album, donc un peu plus supportable. Enfin, c'est ce que pensais après les premiers morceaux. Mais j'ai fini par jeter l'éponge avec les vocalises de 'Charge', terribles. Et l'album est beaucoup trop long. =>1/5

não ironicamente eu ADOREI a teatralidade. acho que conseguiu o objetivo de ser um álbum propositalmente "cringe" (o nome é literalmente casanova né amores) e combinar com instrumentais, técnicas e ritmos muito interessantes. talvez eu não pegue tão cedo de novo para ouvir de cabo a rabo, mas eu vou dar 4 porque achei que ele se compromete e é fiel com a proposta e eu adoro coisas divertidas, a vida é curta demais pra não abraçar a vergonha alheia!!!!

I did not enjoy this listen at all

I mostly liked this, but I feel like this sort of thing has been done better by others without the cheese.

Within a few seconds of the start i'm transported back to the mid 90s. It's so British - "like glasses comfy on the NHS" is such a great line. At it's best the lyrics are just outstanding and witty. Dispationately there are some lulls on the album. But the nostalgia in me can't help but rate it higher

The guy's clearly a songwriter, I just don't like his songs. Every chord progression just sounds incredibly bland to me, and the orchestration sounds cheap and predictable. His popularity may be lyrically driven and I just need to listen harder, but I'm fine just not liking the Divine Comedy. 1 - doesn't deserve to be on this list

Quite good

Very funky, not bad

Melodic horniness. Lots of great tracks on this and their other albums.

Divine AND comedic. What more could you ask for. 4 (+1 for surprising me with the theme to Father Ted)

Interesting and unique

This is a crime. Terrible. OMG. Never heard of this before and open mind but whoa. nope.

This is cringey. A misstep. Love his new stuff, not this.

Un band de pop orchestrale Irlandais, pourquoi pas! Les mélodies sont bonnes, mais ça vient peu me chercher, je reste assez indifférent. Je m'en doutais avec le titre de leur album, ce sont des chansons un peu ''lover''. J'ai commencé à apprécier un peu plus le style vers la fin.

interesting for sure. not exactly for me but it was cool hearing the father ted theme song. i liked that one and a woman of the world. fuck the creator of father ted though, i hate that guy

The Divine Comedy have crafted their sound and it delivers some good tunes and entertaining lyrics. Enjoyed this album.

An interesting album. Not a huge fan of when this guy talks in the middle of his songs. Some songs were very theatrical in production which made for an interesting listen. Most of the songs, however, don't stand up on their own and I will not be listening to them on their own.

The benign comedy… I can appreciate the production, no doubt about that. But it’s not for me. Songs like 'Songs of Love' and 'A Woman of the World’ brought it up from a 2 to 2.5. Insane voice on this guy btw.

I don’t think I’ll revisit this, but I enjoyed this

This just isn’t coming together for me. The writing is good, and it’s all well put together and mixed right and all that, but it’s just missing a spark to me

Sometimes fun, sometimes a plod, undermined by its frequent dips into what is meant as satire but comes off as lazy sniggering. When Neil Hannon puts on a joke voice, he sounds like a man who has just discovered his penis. Better the closer it gets to Brel, but doesn’t establish its own identity outside the stupid jokes. When it approaches Scott Walker, someone whispers “karaoke” in my ear. “A Long And Sleepless Night” heads somewhere interesting in structure. I remember a contemporaneous interview in Melody Maker with Hannon and Noel Gallagher, and I remember Gallagher cruelly and funnily ripping Hannon to bits of bits. He may have suggested no one wearing the jacket that Hannon was wearing that day could ever write a good song, that he substituted extra chords for tunes. Wonderfully mean. Nowadays, I think I’d rather listen to this than “Definitely Maybe”. Great laughter at the start, though.

Bit close to home this one (my sister's giggles start the record); my least favorite of the three I was involved with by a long way. I encourage people to check out Liberation and (especially) Promenade, which are much better. [EDIT: Some of this is still quite good, the opening pair, "Songs Of Love" and "Through A Long & Sleepless Night" with the vocal highlight: "You deserve to be horsewhipped, but I've no horse; that joke's so shit!" Always *hated* the pervasive faux-pervert persona, and "Charge!" especially. Spent most of the day listening to Promenade, which still holds up as excellent. Good times.]

I can't tell if I'm more annoyed by the tongue-in-cheek bullshit that makes up the bulk of the album or the parts that are actually trying to be sincere. Every time it started to work for me, the singer would find a new way to push me away. That said, I get why this works for somebody. Just not me.

what if Dead Can Dance was bad I’m probably being overly harsh to this album but the heart wants what it wants, and the heart wants cruelty

Well produced, but too theatrical for my taste. No desire to listen to this again.

Very theatrical, which in the past I did not enjoy much but has been growing on me the last few years. Like their other album from the project, I really enjoyed the listen and am surprised how low the global average is (I’m typically fairly close). 3.5/5

I’d previously listened to A Short Album About Love (also by The Divine Comedy). Other than that, this record is my only experience of Irish chamber pop. (A bit niche, this.) Honestly: it’s good, but not quite as good as ASAAL. Reminds me of ELO at their peak. It’s certainly Beatlesque in its approach to sound-building and use of instruments to carefully construct a texture. Songs of Love is probably the best example of this. The lead vocalist kind of sounds like he should be singing Christmas carols à la Bing Crosby, but to be fair, singers like Crosby can pull off just about any genre. Something for the Weekend opens the album with a ceaseless burst of energy (well, except it ceases after 4 minutes). A fantastic, energetic, “galloping” tune featuring a very simple but relatively catchy melodic hook. A couple of songs later, Middle-Class Heroes is delivered in a positively bizarre fashion. Something akin to late-70s/early-80s Bowie, maybe. I can almost hear him: “Always crashing, in the same car (ba ba ba ba ba baowwwww)…”. Except The Divine Comedy abandons the trippy psychedelia in favour of a weird, stringy, brassy, Disney-esque instrumental. It’s good, I guess. The short trombone(?) solo outshines the rest of the song. Songs of Love, a fun little waltz ditty, is a great use of harpsichord. It pairs nicely with the grandiose The Frog Princess, which would approach excellence if not for trying to combine its grandiosity with absurd whimsicality. Still a really good song, though. The whistling is goofy as heck. A Woman of the World steps up the whimsy, and is actually pretty mediocre until the explosive middle section. Through a Long & Sleepless Night takes it too far, though. Too self-indulgent, too long, the bloated culmination of the previous songs. I’ll probably come to like it after multiple listens, but man, my ears have got places to be. Theme from Casanova is just I Am The Walrus with a swung rhythm. Even when other instruments come in and change the melody and mood completely, I still can’t unhear it. To its credit, the song is good in isolation, and also good as a palate-cleanser after the behemoth preceding it. Beautiful strings. The album ends questionably with The Dogs & the Horses. Which is just Through a Long & Sleepless Night, Pt. II. And I have the same criticisms for the sequel. The lyrics get a bit clumsy here and there. In the song In & Out of Paris & London (arguably the weakest track here anyway, regardless of lyrics): “Out or in, this is not a sin / It’s not even original / and hey, we’re all individuals”. Even worse with Charge: “There’ll be a cannon to the left / And a cannon to the right / They’ll go bang bang bang bang bang bang bang all night”. That song is kind of hilarious though – complicit in its own mediocrity – so it gets a pass. Still, who knows what other lyrical nonsense is packed into this cute little Casanova box? 3/5 Key tracks: Something for the Weekend, Songs of Love, The Frog Princess

Garbage

Incredibly dull for how upbeat and theatrical it is. And my god some of the little talking skits and lyrics are so creepy and rape-y. I could feel my skin crawl as I listened to this

I only listened to the first couple tracks

Not bad, but I didn't enjoy it all that much

< the Beatles

1089 albums later, almost 3 years, and this album is my last, and my only review. What a fitting end. 40% of this list is irrelevant UK garbage, and this rape-y cringfest of an album is the norm, not the exception. The lyrics are, if I'm being kind, worthy of police investigation for sexual harassment, never mind his limited range and depth of a sippy-cup. So we get to listen to a incel chav's fever dream instead of, you know, actual great albums, hell, even actual great UK albums, like Madvillainy, or any EDM record in the past 20 years - no Tiesto, no Paul Oakenfold, no Armin Van Buuren, Eric Prydz, etc. etc. etc. Fucking hell. What a pot of piss of an album.

So pretentious!

Sliskigt värre. Svag tvåa

I vissa stunder fick jag verkligen kämpa mig igenom det här albumet. Gillade inte alls sångrösten och fick en dålig vibb. Men musikaliskt ändå mysigt på sina håll så det får ändå landa i en tvåa.

Ganska kul ibland, ganska panguselt ibland. Pulp-Frank Sinatra på hallucinogener.

Sexerligt, lusterligt och alldeles, alldeles underbart. Vilken upptäckt! Stumt att gå in och köra 100 % pranksång. Fina arrangemang, orkester och det händer något hela tiden. Mycket bra lyssning. Är typ sugen på att ge en femma, men får bli en väldigt stark fyra. Kommer lyssna mer.

spännande, aldrig hört talas om!

Roligt och absurt. Mycket passande musikalisk paketering till texterna Älskar det samtidigt som plojigheten gör att det är svårt att sätta högre än trea.

See Devo? Songs about sex don’t have to be grating on the ears. Album very much gives theatre kid x Halloween x Numberjacks sonically (and that is a compliment) Stand out tracks: Becoming More Like Alfie, Charge, A Woman of the World, Theme from Cassanova, The Dogs and the Horses

Enjoyable just not for me

I need to shower after listening to this lol

Enjoyed more than expected

I was not previously familiar with the artist or album. This is a sort of lounge music to my ears. Wikipedia says Britpop and orchestral pop. I really do not care for this and would not listen again.

I liked this a lot more than I remembered... Fun, cutting lyrics in the vein of Jarvis... Not quite as catchy music as Pulp though.

Okay. This was weird in a fun way, like Scott Walker and Roxy Music for me. It's not my day to day jam, but this was good fun. 3 stars.

This is a really strange album. Like in one sense it is pretty much just pop, but there's so much odd shit happening that it's like just a really strange experience. I don't even really remember that much from the album, I just remember a sense of confusion. It was good though, I did like it kinda. Just weird. Favorites: In & Out of Paris & London, Charge, The Frog Princess

This guy's spotify page says he's trying to be a fusion of Scott Walker and Morrissey. He definitely succeeded, and the result is kinda off-putting. It grew on me a little by the end though.

a little kooky. often has the vocal delivery of like, nerdcore parody music? generally charming though, and has some bops for sure. favorite song is In & Out of Paris & London

Rating: 5/10 Sort of in the genre of the annoying theatrical Scott 2 school of music, this was not the kind of thing I want to listen to even though it's adequately made eclectic stuff that is surely for some people.

I thought this was one of those "60s funny music" type of albums a la Scott 4. It was kind of fun and kind of decent and I didn't hate it 6.1/10

Gradually worse the longer you listen

this was quite weird 3

leichtes popgeträller.

Furchtbares Gesäusel.

5 / 10

I mean style was chill but ya lyrics where troubling at times and mostly underwhelming

🎧We have Pulp at home

what is this a fratboy musical theatre

Genuinely don't know what to make of this album. There is some music in here that I adored followed by some music I was baffled by. There are also some off-putting lyrics. Really can't make heads or tails

Not gonna lie...this felt like a Dollar Store Morrissey.

A lot of effort went into making this record. The finished product sounds like it was meant for a musical. One has to appreciate the artistry, if some of this falls short.

I listened to a lot of singers that don’t have great voices Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, but I still enjoy their music. Mr. Comedy doesn’t have a great voice but what separates him from those I named above is he doesn’t always hit the notes. I think his whole singing style is flat. I didn’t hate this album actually. I heard different influences from artists such as Burt Bacharach, Lena Lovich and Paul McCartney. There are some interesting ideas on the album and with different production ideas it might have been an excellent album.

This sounds like the soundtrack they play non-stop on the island. You know which one…

This isn’t one star but I gotta take my frustration out that they included a clearly “comedy” album that’s unfunny as hell & the lack of Weird Al is unforgivable. Pulp, but not good. Scott Walker, but not memorable. It’s no Melody Nelson. British comedy isn’t comedy, nor is it divine. (I liked the first couple tracks but then I realized oh, it as a one trick pony & the one trick isnt even good. Like seeing magician do a double lift over and over.)

This list is just an British prank to be played on Americans

What did I just listen to?

Why is this on the list? Is it suppose to be a joke like Weird Al or something else from Dr Demento? Over the top, theatrical Brit pop that I thought was trying to be funny, but wasn’t. 0 songs added to playlist. Gets one extra star for not being unlistenable.

Dit album, en dan vooral de zanger, voelt als een soort parodie op zichzelf. Ontzettend overdreven, bijna als een soort musical word alles gezongen en daar moet je van houden. Ik vind het niet verschrikkelijk en sommige nummers zelfs best wel lekker, maar af en toe word het mij wat te veel. Ja, dit is ontzettend campy popachtige rock? Singer Songwriter? Musicalfolk? Weet ik veel, ik krijg ontzettend het idee dat dit een soort soundtrack is van een musical die ik niet heb gezien. Nu haat ik musicals dus dat is geen al te goed teken. Een beetje Meatloaf's Bat out of hell, maar dan iets minder fun en rock n roll en meer musical. Helaas, ik waardeerde dan toch de meer fun en rock n roll, al kan ik me er niet helemaal aan het idee onttrekken dat dit meer een soort ironisch bedoelde musical is in plaats van daadwekelijk serieuze muziek. Lang verhaal kort; I am not your Casanova... Ultimate Kaos did it better. FAVO: Becoming more like Alfie, A woman of the world

A solid Pulp rip off

Hated it

Painful. I did not like

Fijne barokke pop, verrassend! 3,5

Holy creativiteit zo diverse very noice 4.5

Like listening to a play

Weirdly enjoyed this but also felt a sinister energy from this man?

Well, it's hard for me to rate this one. It's creative, some of the songs are fun, I really liked Charge. But low points are making me losing my focus from time to time... Probably will raise my rating later.

Quirky, considered, knowing, self deprecating, and a good listen. I saw someone wrote "the Irish Jarvis Cocker". I like that.

You know what, I really enjoyed this. Is it kinda silly? Sure! Is it also funny and different? Yes!

Not my thing - there were interesting arrangements but i just didn’t feel it

I usually like chamber pop and britpop but this album is too theatrical and kitchy overall. I liked some of the baroque pop songs on this album but not the over the top ones. I am also not sure why it is on the list.

This was so buns i’m sorry to this guy I couldn’t make it through

Not bad but not memorable!

The divine comedy: Casanova Production was very interesting, not boring at all despite the reviews. This album really feels like it goes on a journey from a happy tone to a much more dramatic and intense second half. Something for the Weekend: 4.2 Becoming more like alfie: 4 Middle Class Heros: 4.4 In&out of paris and london: 3.75 Charge: 4 Songs of love: 4.1 Frog princess:4 A women of this world: 4.3 Through a long & sleepness night: 4.4 Theme of casanova: 4.2 beautiful orcheastral piece The dogs & the horses: 4.2 Avg 4.14

I'm always excited for a concept album! However, this time I did not enjoy it that immensely as the lyrics and music could have been more interesting, but still it was an enjoyable listen, cannot say anything bad.

Where is My Lovely Horse

I was intrigued by this at first because I had a few older friends who got into The Divine Comedy when they went to college and I liked a few songs I heard as a result. What I recall was pretty different from this. I’ve run into this persona in British records in this list before, the ironic amoral lecher. Neil Hannon’s version worked a bit better than the previous instances because there was more of a sense of humor to it. And there were lots of good moments along the way. But… then I put on a few of his other songs and realized I liked them a lot more. So I think this is a 3 to be honest, but hoping for more in the future.

I feel like I'm being trolled. Like someone decided to do what they thought an old vegas act is but then they realized they couldn't fully commit to the bit. This has to be a comedy album. In and Out of Paris and London has to be a joke right? Ok every song seems to be about sex. Combine that with the way the album is structured I'm thinking the band/artist made this for the giggles. In that context it works. It's weird and out there and leans into the surreal. Think Frank from Always Sunny in Philadelphia saying, "I don't know how many years on this earth I got left, so I'm gonna get really weird with it." If they were trying to make a straightforward pop album I'm confused as hell.

Musical theatre nonsense.

I should like this a lot less - it's sort of a pastiche of The Smiths, the Zombies, and Pulp all at the same time, and the issue is that individually those are all some of my favorite bands. So, was this an enjoyable listen? I regret to say that, yes, I actually thought it was.

I owned this CD having gone out to buy it on the strength of Something for the Weekend. I was a bit disappointed at the time as I'd been hoping for an album of Britpop or maybe some Father Ted songs not something that sounds like musical theatre at times. Haven't listened to this in ages, I can still only give it a 3 because I only like about half the tracks and some of the others are pretty irritating. The songs I liked were Something for the Weekend, Alfie, Songs of Love, the Frog Princess and the previously unheralded (at least by me) Through a Long & Sleepless Night.

Blur, Oasis, and Pulp should be severely punished for the onslaught of Britpop. Not saying all Britpop is bad, but *points at album*

this is like a sexed up version of the album Cole’s corner - hated the spoken word/talking etc intros but the actual music itself was pretty ok

If Leisure Suit Larry wrote an album.

Sounds like music from Rent by a British dude who HATED Rent. It's so over the top that it works. I see the correlation between this and the same guy doing the Wonka soundtrack. I appreciate this, but won't be listening regularly.

Sometimes I get an album that’s so, so painfully bad that I have to share, and I make other people listen to it too. This is one of those albums.

The Divine Comedy is better enjoyed in small doses. This is the reason why I liked "A Short Album About Love". "Casanova" was good for the first 5 tracks. After that, it got boring really quickly. Reviewers on this website have also pointed that out. 2 stars for "Casanova".

There's two or three decent songs on here.

I’m not quite what to call this style of music, but I don’t hate it! Starting off with Something for the Weekend was a good opener and I did like the almost Christmassy vibes at the beginning. Becoming more like Alfie was a bop, and then leading in to Middle class heroes it was pretty good. In and out of Paris has some really cool instrumentation. I also like the deeper voice. Charge had some surprisingly intense moments which I enjoyed. I didn’t like it so much when it backed off, but then it came in again and all was fine. I liked the little piano motifs. Songs of Love was actually really sweet. I enjoyed it a lot. The frog princess was just good. The trumpet parts were nice and the track itself was pretty good. Through a long and sleepless night was very enjoyable. I liked the intensity. I don’t really have much to say from Theme From Casanova. It was in fact a theme. The Dogs and the Horses was a phenomenal closer. I loved the little oboe moments and the way it built was awesome. 3.5/5 ⭐️ 59/1089

This isn’t even fun bad. It made me sad with how bad it was.

Nothing burger!

How did I miss this in the 90s? Great storytelling, Zappaesque even.

The Divine Comedy has always sounded like a band that is not fully serious. This album sounds like a soundtrack to a musical and the lyrics got that story telling vibe to them. Have to give some respect to this band of being there, doing their own timeless pop music and not caring about any current on going trends.

Chamber pop is definition that I haven't heard before. Theatrical, dramatical and somewhat annoying. This wasn't a joyful listening experience as album feels too much of chamber pop to my taste.

Whoa! A band I've not heard even the name of, that I remember that is. Anyway, the music is kinda shite. It reminds me of the cheapest of Finnish shlager or iskelmä as we call it, combined with cheap Las Vegas stylings and delusions of grandeur. I need to add that I dislike the term/genre chamber pop.

Flög in som en lite udda fågel under britpopparaplyet. Det här albumet var väl den stora lilla kommersiella höjdpunkten. Dom två inledande spåren, tillika singlarna, är rätt kul. Men sen händer inte så mycket mer kul. Ibland drar det år nån slags varitéemusik som jag har lite svårt för. Bombasm står på programet och det hade gott kunnat ge fan i Når inte godkänt

Teaterpop som antingen flyter på ytan eller blir överdrivet dramatisk. Neil Hannon jobbar med croonersången, men saknar riktigt djup. Enda undantaget är Frog princess, som svänger lite åt Dexys-hållet.

Det börjar relativt okej. Men låt för låt blir detta album alltmer outhärdligt. En massa teatraliskt dravel. Har oerhört svårt för sången. Instrumentalt är det inte mycket bättre.

Första intrycket var att det här var snyggt men tråkigt. Men som kom det skojfriska musikalnumret Charge. Det uppskattas inte. Tillsammans med vidrigheten The Frog Princess kan betyget inte bli annat än underkänt. Det musikaliska skämtet att spela marseljäsen i låten med grodtitel är bara tröttsamt. Tydligen ska bandet ha varit återkommande förband till Suede i början av 90-talet. Utifrån hur den här skivan låter är det är helt obegripligt. Sparks har ju redan varit med på listan. Vad är nästa skiva i genren? Tenacious D? Det får räcka nu.

Album I would replace this one with: Stone Temple Pilots - Purple (1994) 5/5

The singer sort of sings like he's in a stage musical, but not in the style that I like. 1.5 stars

Not good, not memorable.

Neil Hannon is genuinely my favourite songwriter. Something for the weekend is a belter, it should have had the plaudits some of Pulp, Supergrass, and Blur songs had, and it's a thousand times better than tripe like Wonderwall if we're talking iconic Britpop defining bops. Alfie is a jaunty little number, and a nice nod to the movie and male ego and all that. Some of the songs in the middle of the album don't hold up as well as others, but they do maintain the wit, the bouncy, rollicking momentum, while unpacking awkward romantic endeavors throughout. Songs Of Love is a masterpiece of stringing phrases together, "pale pubescent beasts" and "young uniformed minds, in uniformed lines, and uniformed ties, run round with trousers on fire", it's so good! It sounds absolutely divine, so much so, it became woven into the world of the equally superb Father Ted. Frog Princess is a fantastic tale of an attraction that has quickly diminished, and the reflection and inward searching people go through after such an affair. It's big and brash, it's a really funny, boastful confession and something I've had on repeat for 20 years.

I love the Flight of the Conchords but had a hard time making it through this "comedy" album.

The Divine Comedy has a unique sarcastic writing style that can be novel and fun for an individual song, but after a whole album some might be inclined to mail a bottle of mouth-safe glue to Neil Hannon's home With that said, this album isn't too harsh in that regard, and the music is nice, diverse and interesting, and the fun mostly sticks around

Courtney: good vibes but most of the songs are the same and not very memorable. Craig: no real opinion

Not for me. 1/5

Stays too long. Find it smarmy. Would be 1 star but some of the orchestration/piano/instrumental backing is nice.

Pretty boring music

Erikoinen levy. Ei kuitenkaan niin erikoinen, että nostaisi pisteitä. Silti 2,25/5.

Not for me, sorry!

Put off listening to this because it looked really bad at a cursory glance. But then, I did a little bit of reading and oh, frontman Neil Hannon credited Scott Walker as inspiring him. That's cool, I love Scott Walker so much that I've got a book of essays on his albums waiting for me on the holds shelf at the library and I often find myself wishing that Walker had recorded more baroque pop before transitioning into the amazing albeit abrasive industrial music he's become celebrated for. Okay, maybe I'll actually love this album. Didn't happen! Staggeringly unpleasant listen. Hannon imitates Walker, sure, and the album's best track - The Dogs & the Horses - is just that but his sensibilities are just a copy of Walker's and his voice is much closer to the Stephen Merritt than Walker. I love Merrit's voice but the result of this guy trying to do Walker but sounding like Merrit is distracting. The album's concept is juvenile and underdeveloped, a one-note concept totally eclipsed by any Magnetic Fields album. Favorite Tracks: The Dogs & the Horses, Something for the Weekend, Charge

This has to be one of the cringiest albums I've heard on this list. Some of it makes for clever pop, but the bulk is just Mr Hannon thinking way too highly of himself. Thankfully, this is the second and final album by The Divine Comedy on this list for me and I'll never have to listen to them again...unless Spotify thinks I'm actively enjoying any of this and continue to force it down my throat like they have with other artists. Update: Spotify did take my listening to this album as intentional and has been adding them to my algorithmic lists to put more of this swill into my ears. I've decided to terminate my Spotify account as a result and start fresh on Apple

There's nothing offensive about this record or anything, but something just seems a little sinister about it. Maybe it was the creepy intro on the first track, but I just can't listen to it.

What da bloody blemeing hell is this album gonna be? I'm pretty sure I took a scroll through all the Britpop albums a while back, and I don't recall seeing this album in the mix. Were I to take a guess, I'm expecting a by-the-numbers 90s alt rock album. Something British, too - I forgot to mention that earlier. Man, what the fuck. I mean that with a positive connotation for a change. Opening your album with awkward crooning, children's laughter, glorious strings and some great electronic tones is a pretty great and funny way of opening your album. This is just a British Shibuya-kei album. It has the mellow songwriting. It has the jazz/lounge influence. The vocals sound straight out of Katamari - they're particularly reminiscent of "Katamari on the Swing". The only thing really undercutting my comparison is the occasional raw, aggressive guitar riff. This is riiiiight up my alley. It's been too long since one of these album doohickeys clicked with me, lemme tell ya. The instrumentals have a great sound to them. Very string-centered, with some welcome appearances from some of my other favourite instruments, namely the trumpet and harpsichord. The vocals aren't particularly outstanding to me, but I still appreciate them. I like the gentlemanly charisma that is captured within them. I wasn't paying too much attention to the lyrics as I was busy smashing out this review, but I liked what I heard. They're my kind of tongue-and-cheek, especially on "The Frog Princess". If I am to criticise, the album is let down a little by its lengthy runtime. "Through a Long & Sleepless Night" also doesn't measure up to its six-minute duration. The rest of this album was some nice, feel-good fun, however. I feel like I'm hearing the comedic exploits of a gentleman thief while I'm listening to this album. Book time. The band's finest hour. Strange lyrics. The entry talks a lot about this album being a modern revival of some Alfie character. They're talking about a British comedy film about a womanising, narcissistic young man, apparently. It's disappointing that there isn't much of note in this entry, but I don't need much persuading. I wrote a review of "A Grand Don't Come Free" ahead of its appearance on my list today, where I recounted a time where my Dad played "Fit, But You Know It" for me in his car. Given my previous experience of having heard Ian Dury's "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick" through my father, I concluded that the exact kind of person who likes weird British shit is my father. It's funny and kind of fortuitous that I happen upon some weird British shit of my own today. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, I guess. I cosign this inclusion.

On paper there are many things I should hate about The Divine Comedy - the innuendo, the arched eyebrow, the occasional misogyny, the utter pretention of it all. And yet, my god the man can write a song. The orchestraion is always supportive, rather than trying to make a substandard song sound special. Something For The Weekend was already a favourite, but there are countless standouts on this album - in places it's jarring and uneasy, in ithers utterly lush. The Frog Princess, in particular, rewarded repeat listens. It's right ln the 4/5 boundary and gets the 5 just from being different to so much from the same period. Bless Neil Hannon and all that sail in him.

It was ok

Interesting but not that much.

I tried hard to connect with this. But it’s awful.

the production is way too clean for my liking and the songs themselves feel like some sort of melodramatic scott walker-esque overdramatic nonsense. not for me

Not enjoyable as a whole. Some songs were ok. Most were not.

If there's one good thing I've taken away from this album it's the burning desire to go and rewatch Father Ted. Honestly whilst I enjoyed this in part, the lyrics and their delivery made me feel icky. "So I suggested. She protested. I persisted til she said Well OK. And I Said WeyHey". Even if the lyrics are meant to be taken as irony, it's a bit much for the full album. Favourites: Something for the Weekend Charge Songs of Love

When I put this on this morning I went through motions and finished but I wasn’t being true to myself. I barely listened. So I went back. Kind of glad I did. This was interesting and kept me entertained. Not sure I’d ever go back to it but I rather enjoyed this. And I feel better about myself.

too quirky for me

David Ackles if he sucked

Ah, so this is what Chamber Pop is. It's sorta like if "High School Musical" was made into a full length album. It's okay, but I didn't want to be listening to it for nearly an hour. Favorite Track: "The Dogs And The Horses".

Like, is this a play? What am I hearing here. Maybe it’s meant to be a comedy album

theater kids going feral

eh

Tvær stjörnur við fyrstu hlustun (í heyrnartólum, hjólandi). Fjórar stjörnur eftir ca. sex, og rúmar meira að segja. Skemmtilega tilgerðarlegt og stundum afar töff. Stundum fyndið, oft dramatískt, alltaf leikhúslegt á góðan hátt. Minnir mig smá á Richard Harris, á besta mögulega hátt.

It was ok, quite catchy lyrics, with his distinctive voice,but not really for me.

Again a little corny for me not my thing

Kinda fun but not really good, the songs feel like a play which adds a unique flair to it so I give it credit for that

Like a 90's Geordie Greep, loved it. Easy 4

S'alright

I think it's already been well-established that this kind of music just just not for me.

I both loved and hated this album, sometimes both feelings at the same time. Solid 2.5, but I'll be generous.

Not good. At all.

This came out in 1996? Really? I'd believe 1976. It's fine, I guess. Not my thing, maybe? I didn't hate it, but I won't come back to it.

boring

this was hovering at a 2/5 to begin with bc i think neil hannon sounds like jack skellington trying to be a lounge singer but then the quote from the father ted theme ran up and kicked me right in the dick

wyspiarskie popowanie z 96, album naprawde dobrze zrobil motyw casanovy, bo doslownie wychodzi mi bokiem kontent liryczny tej plyty, o ile the divine comedy to banda, to slychac ze jest mocno skoncentrowana wokol swojego wokalisty pana hannona, nawet nie wiem ilu czlonkow ma zespol, bo wiki listuje caly personel bez ladu i skladu, a sporo ludzi trzeba zeby nagrac bogato brzmiacy pop bez wzgledu na rocznik plyty, natezenie instrumentow detych i smyczkowych zdecydowanie nadaje chamberowosci tej plycie, ale nie buduje jakiegos charakteru, ktory znowu robi lirycznie motywem casanovy, juz nawet okladka z panem hannonem pasuje do motywu przewodniego, tak samo wokalno liryczne wypociny milosno nisko romansowo kasanowe, jesli zazwyczaj nie lubie tego typu muzyki to dzisiaj jest to jeszcze bardziej wyrazne, plyte uratowal utwor casanova theme, ktory okazal sie byc instrumentalem poprzedzonym malym intro dajacym troche insajdowego luka na plyte, ale wreszcie cos czego dalo sie sluchac, wiec tylko ten traczek dodam na plejke, a sam album zdecydowanie zapamietam z niesmakiem, bo juz zygam miloscia i jej wszelkimi odcieniami, nawet tak niskimi

Kind of funny album, I assume intentionally. Alright music, nothing I'd share with friends, but entertaining for one listen

It occurred to me that crooning might be like cilantro. People either love it or hate it. I count myself in the former category, but it's still possible for a dish to have too much cilantro.

I figured I was going to hate this, given how much I hated the last album proffered for this guy. Color me surprised when the first song drew me in, and I didn't hate the rest. I wouldn't make this a regular listen, but taken with a healthy dose of irony, I didn't find this entirely objectionable.

He gets some points for musical ambition on this album, but for the most part it allows him to suck in a variety of musical styles.

2/5 - One album of this guy was enough

Didn’t we already laugh this shit off the list?

Fuck this pretentious tosser and his embarrassing attempts at louche seduction.

I'm sure this is good to whatever niche genre it belongs to. If fact, objectively this is a fine album. I just don't like it. I understand the quality, it appeals to a certain audience. I'm not that audience.

What 2/5

4.5/10

Divertido album, aunque me dejó un poco intrigada. Volveré a él.

The singing was fun and enjoyable. A bit whimsical if I say so

Sounds like the soundtrack for Epstein Island. While there's some interesting music happening, I cant get past the lyrics. "Everybody knows that 'no' means 'yes'." Just gross.

With the knowledge that The Divine Comedy are playing with irony, this album is... fine. I liked some of the songs in the second half. But the two opening songs are so brutal, it's hard to get past them.

Weird British Pop. This gives me Prozzak vibes but way less sexual so whats the point?

I really enjoyed this album at first but as it went on that diminished until by the end I was very much not a fan. It was like a less fun, British Prozzak. Sucks to be you The Divine Comedy

Not my favorite but also didn’t hate it. Such a strange album. Hard to know even how to classify it.

so cheesy so not my thing 1/5

Wtf is this

This album is from an Irish group (actually pretty much one guy), and a group that I never heard of until now. Apparently they are well known around the UK. Most of the music reminds me of the type of music in a Broadway show. Although the record seems a bit juvenile, the lyrics are clever and the music is decent. I’m tempted to give this one four stars because it is unusual.

Neat. I like 90s chamber (brit)pop. You know you're eating good when there's both tuba and viola in the liner notes. The guy on this album cover (presumably the singer) looks an awful lot like a different guy whose name I can't recall. Too bad his voice is kind of unremarkable. The lyrics are obviously tongue-in-cheek, but I fear it's a bit of a Borat situation where some people will think "excuse me, sir????". Some similarities to 69 Love Songs, but not as eclectic or clever (imho), so ultimately it ended up being just "OK".

Parecen ser 1 de los precursores del indie por momentos se siente esa vibra arctic monkeys, muse También a veces se percibe como si fuera Thom Yorke cantando en notas más alegres de las acostumbradas The Frog Princess pieza favorita

Nah. It for me, it has that quirky feel about it but no substance in my opinion

Really really not my thing

2.5 This was interesting. I’m not against chamber/baroque pop at all, it’s usually smooth and different than most other pop. But the singing and lyrics here sometimes threw me off. Not sure if I’ll revisit, but it’s better than most other 2 star albums so far.

I never cared for 'something for the weekend' so wasn't looking forward to this album but boy was I wrong brilliant album, witty, wry, and who doesn't love brass. 5⭐ from me I still don't care for something for the weekend!

It's like if a theater kid with no taste liked David Bowie and took all of his dating advice from 80s movies.

ANOTHER Divine Comedy album. I didn't like the first one I got and I don't like this either. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

this was woefully bad i couldn’t even finish it please don’t ever give me this shit again

Jemig, wat een irritante muziek. Een soort Nick Cave-imitatie maar dan zo opgeblazen en aanstellerig dat je d'r kriegel van wordt. Meer schurkenmuziek à la Ute Lemper. Ik kende deze gasten verder alleen van de titelmuziek van de hilarische Ierse comedyserie Father Ted (hier herkenbaar als 'Songs of love'), en daar hadden ze het wat mij betreft rustig bij kunnen laten.

In elk onderwerp schuilt humor. Dus ook om een goede sexgrap kan ik wel lachen. Maar iets is niet grappig, omdát het over sex gaat, beste 'Divine comedy'. Maar goed; dat is slechts mijn mening. Er bestaan vele mensen die daar anders over denken. Pubers. Gelukkig klinkt het (vrij theatrale) album vaak wel fijn. Dus ik luister gewoon niet teveel naar die teksten. Wiki meldt me nog wel dat niet alles op dit album om sex draait. 'The dogs and the horses' gaat ergens anders over. Ben ik toch blij met die verduidelijking.

Een artiest uit de 90s waar ik nog nooit van heb gehoord. Dat kom je alleen tegen in deze snoblijst. Bij het zien van het genre chamber pop weet ik al dat ik een snobalbum voorgeschoteld ga krijgen. Gelukkig hoeven we nog maar een album of 200, al zullen we daar nog een album van deze Divine Comedy tegenkomen. We begeven ons zuchtend en steunend richting het einde van deze snoblijst, die keer op keer blijft verbazen. De muziek is op zich verder niet slecht. Het zijn een beetje niemendalletjes, soms iets theatraal aangezet qua stem als een croonende David Bowie of Grace Jones. Er zit een melancholisch toetertje in, wat strijkers of iets van een xylofoon. Je zou kunnen zeggen om wat sfeer te brengen, maar vermoedelijk ook om een bepaald snobpubliek te behagen. Kijk een beetje moeilijk, gooi er een half orkest tegenaan, en je ticketprijs kan x2 en je kan een retourtje North Sea Jazz of iets anders high-brows boeken. Het is ergens een vergeetbare 3, maar als je 2 albums van deze snobistische Britpop opneemt in je snoblijst en geen plek inruimt voor Mezzanine, dan is het de hoogste tijd om de minpunten uit de kast te halen.

Don't like it.

Why is this on here

Didn’t like this much at all. It was like the true average of every song among the Shrek 1 and 2 soundtracks

3.5/5

Not my mojo

Its trying to be really campy and funny about asshole men lead by their dick, but its just falls compeletely flat for me and doesn't land. It just turns into a very difficult to listen to album about some of the worst men you have ever encountered in your life. It's not a 1 because the music itself is really good and it was a case of 1 is not like the others because the last song is a very ernest song about pets dying and it got me.

1/5 Most of this album was an excrutiating listen, mostly because of the rapey lyrics. Even though I fully understand that the main characters in the songs were meant to be the bad guy - I could barely get through this album. Never again, thank you, NEXT.

I didn't care for this much. It may have been huge in the UK, but it just doesn't hit with me. Not bad, but I'm good without it. 4/10

Highlights: - Something for the Weekend - Becoming More Like Alfie - Through a Long and Sleepless Night

New band for me in every way and they definitely did not gain a new fan. Bland, boring, and background music are how I would rate it. It's like the meh emoji in music form.

I tried not to skip.. but it was a mistake... you should always trust your guts. Just skip this album.

3.5

3.5

What an odd album. I didn't hate it though! I'll go with a 3.

Wild ride

This was an interesting album - pretty good. He's a very creative lyricist.

Not bad at all!

Something of a latter-day Scott Walker, with highly orchestrated, and slightly melodramatic, pop with a classic baritone crooner. It can come across as jarringly cheesy or retro on first listen, but if you let it wash over you the terrific pop songwriting comes to the fore. A first listen of the Divine Comedy for me, and I look forward to exploring more of their/his catalog.

The cover is way cooler than the album, but it's ok.

What is this? 2.

Didn’t like

quite poetic

5/10 - not objectively bad but can't remember any song, he is a good lyricist though

Neil Hannon has one foot in the 21st century, the other in the 20th and his posterior balances lightly on the 19th. This Elizabethan cad muses about the NHS whilst jauntily bashing a harpsichor in his red velvet smoking jacket. The wit of Wilde combined with the pointed derision of Churchill, are delivered with tongue firmly lodged in cheek. For all the epic lyricism and arrangements, the songs are as ephemeral as candy floss.

*Loved the last 2 tracks and how they built up *Very unique sound- didn't overly excite me but I'm glad I listened.

This was a fun listen. Neil Hannon has some playful takes on sex and lust. Ultimately, it tells the tale of the emptiness of pursuing those as an end, and after he wraps it up with a mostly instrumental song that is like closing credits, he underscores the void with a totally different final track that moves from carnality and solipsism to mortality.

5.5/10

It wasn't exactly bad per se, but the sum of the parts did not work for me. 2.1

Not my thing

There’s bands I haven’t seen yet in this list yet I get more than 1 Divine Comedy album. I don’t really remember what my review was on the last album I heard from these guys but it’s more on the weak side than the so so side. Vocals are weak either way no range. That works with very few people. Not working with this guy. So ya, nope. Maybe I’m in an asshole mood but I don’t feel it.

I found this a bit smug.

Don't mind some of the vocals, but a lot of the instrumentals are a bit cheesy. Don't normally pay attention to lyrics, but the few I noticed here were pretty off-putting. A couple decent songs throughout the album, but otherwise fairly forgettable.

Unique, quite lovely really

The album about having so very much sex - sometimes even without coercion! The teenage-esque levels of horny are only saved by some good instrumentation and vocals, but not enough for me to listen to this again.

This smells like incel. It's not, and some of the music and vocals are quite nice, but it doesn't feel great to listen to.

Love

I enjoyed this

Liked generally. There were a few weird cheesy songs.

jsp jsuis pas fan j'aime pas les paroles après la musique en elle même me dérange pas juste c'est là et ça m'est égal

This one did not resonate with me. I like his voice, unique and deep, but the music did not grab me.

Never make me go through this again pleaSE. Some okays were Middle-Class Heroes and The Frog Princess.

Is it just me or were these lyrics incredibly creepy? It's giving that incredibly horny middle aged man who just goes for anything with a pulse. It's too much. I only really liked 'theme from Casanova' because Neil Hannon wasn't singing about school girls and not ever wanting to be deprived of Wonderbras and thunder thighs. And 'the dogs and horses' because he says goodbye - and with that I never have to listen to this again. I did not enjoy this. No thanks.

Not a style I find compelling, but its fine

Monotonous, unimpressive. Cool but meh.

Album No. 0117 on my list. I have conflicting views about this album to be honest. Or rather - my moods are shifting all the time. One time I think that Neil Hannon is just a very, very eccentric Brit doing very eccentric Britpop, the next I just find it a little too eccentric, like borderline creepy. There are some very good songs on this, and I love the overall theme of the album and the "Casanova Theme" track - I enjoy this meta-music. But some songs are also not as good, and then the creepiness that I mentioned before is just a little too much I guess. I'll add "Something For The Weekend", "Becoming More Like Alfie", and "Songs Of Love" to my playlist, with "The Frog Princess" just not making the cut. In the end, it's a very narrow decision between 3 and 4 stars. I'll go for the lower rating now, but I might just as well have gone for the higher one. 3/5 stars.

Hard one to rate, bonus point for being very unique at least. This is some halfway between muzak, music hall and musicals, inhabiting both the best and worst of said styles. The songs are all over the place, some parts I actually quite liked but most of it was really drab and unpleasant. I will most likely never listen to this again, but it's commendable to make a pop album as hard to listen to as this.

more '90s britpop? satisfactory. a campy, hybrid vintage/postmodern, mysterious and simply captivating album. i'm very surprised! this guy has the voice of... well, a casanova. a smooth-talking, manipulative casanova who sweeps you off your feet and carries you to his bedroom. it's so erotic and he has a pied-piper way of singing... i feel compelled to get closer and closer and closer.

Is this an April fools joke in January? This makes me think I can make an influential album.

One of their best

This sounds like a parody of a cheesy, pervy lounge singer singing to a backdrop of eclectic well played music. I shouldn't like this, but somehow it works for me.

I remember being quite disappointed by a previous album of theirs on here, but this was much more what I expected. Reasonable tunes, some clever lyrics all performed well. Worth a 3 all day long.

I rarely disagree with my best mate. We share lots in common in life and musically. He thinks that The Divine Comedy are awesome and funny. I however think this fella is a pretentious bore.

I've only ever listened to the Divine Comedy on the radio, so playing a full album is new territory. I knew Neil Hannon did clever lyrics etc, but i didn't realise they were what is known as Chamber Pop. It makes sense after listening to this, as it is all very witty and overblown with hints of classical music. I didn't mind it, I wouldn't say it set me on fire to go and listen to anything more by them. Or even feel the need to play this again.

One of the reasons why I think this book should have had a limit on how many albums from one entity there is is because if an artist is influential enough we were already going to have a bunch of copycat artists anyway. Like this one, I start listening and immediately think of early Scott Walker, who we have already listened to, and now I have to listen to him again, just in these guys' interpretation And you know who I blame for this? Beatles. The way I see it, Mr. Book Author put 40 Beatles albums on the list, because let's be real, they're all different from each other and one of them is even good, and then thought to himself 'Well, if I put so many Beatles albums in there, but not gonna put the same amount of Dylan Bobs, people are gonna think that I think Bob Dylan is less important... Not good, gotta equalise'. And thus long story short at the end of the day we end up with 5 The Byrds albums. Did we have to hear them before we die? Fuck no. Did Mr. Book even expect us to actually listen to all of them? I doubt so. But here we are. Hating on The Beatles

Could do without it, like many, many other albums on this list

Kedvenc/Favourite: The Frog Princess Érdekes volt, de valahogy nem tudott annyira megfogni. Nem pont az én stílusom, de nem rossz, voltak olyan számok, amik tetszettek is. It was interesting, but somehow it didn't really resonate with me. It's not exactly my style, but it's not bad, there were some songs I liked.

Irritating smug tongue-in-cheek tunes. No thanks.

A fairly enjoyable album, helped immensely by the nostalgia of Father Ted

No