Casanova

The overly-British spoken word parts surrounding each song took me out quite a bit, especially the opening song. The music itself is quite nice, at times. Bonus fact: this is the guy that wrote the theme song for IT crowd, how strange. 4/10.

Chamber pop, a genre I had never heard of before this morning, is not a thing I vibe with. Definitely feels like a pastiche on the crooners of yesteryear, but not in a good way.

It’s a no for me, didn’t care for the vocals

I gave it an extra star for the father Ted theme tune, and because my lovely horse was on some expanded edition

was alright, it's so so so so so british i've never heard anything more british in my life lmaooo

As the last album on my list was Scott Walker, this album is remarkably similar. However, this is not a compliment. His voice is so mediocre and when the music did something, he did nothing. The ending of Becoming More Like Alfie was neat, but that was the only cool part. Not horrible, just mediocre.

Sounds like a bunch of parody songs for an Austin Powers movie but none of it is catchy enough to make the cut.

OK, when the spotify bio says this guy has "aspirations of becoming a chamber pop fusion of Scott Walker, Morrissey and ELO" I knew it was going to be bad. 2 is generous here.

Musically this was decent, even though it's not my scene. Lyrically, well, it comes across as creepy, sung by someone who sounds like a poser. I certainly won't be revisiting this one.

Interesting, don't think I'll listen to it again, but was not boring

Music was fine. A little too rapey for my tastes. Sounded like the soundtrack of a musical written about the devil.

Meh its ok but never a top 1,000 album. Last 2 songs really killed this album although the slowing of the rythym I liked towards the end but songs were bad

Oh jeez... these guys again? Was one album not enough for the Divine Comedy? If you ask me, I think one album is too much! Oh well, I'd at least say that this album is probably better than A Short Album about Love, maybe. The positives of this album I'd say are stronger than the positives on that one. The sound is mostly solid. There are some moments I didn't love, but the album's sound didn't make me want to tear my ears off, so I'd call that a pro of the album. The singing is a part of that. I'd say it's good for most of the album, but there are points that it got kind of annoying. There are, of course, plenty of complaints I have. For one, I'd say the one thing that made A Short Album About Love bearable to me is in that album's name. It's short, which is something I can't say about Casanova, which sits at 52 minutes. I didn't love listening to this album. And of course, my biggest complaint here is the same as it was for the other album. I do not like the writing of these songs. Most of them are about sex, which makes me cringe. Writing about sex is a tough task because you want to be able to capture the sensuality of it for people looking for that while also not being offputting to people like me who just want to listen to some music. Casanova does not succeed at that. The writing here is weirdly vague and kind of uncomfortable at various points in the album. Fortunately, I wouldn't say any of the songs here are as bad as "If..." from the other album. The closest one of them gets is on "In & Out of Paris & London" which has one line in particular that seems super rapey. But hey, at least horses aren't mentioned until the last song! I still think this guy wants to have sex with a horse though. Overall, while I will admit that there are good things here and Neil Hannon is clearly a man with some sense of musical talent, The Divine Comedy is simply not a musical act that I respect enough to give any sort of attention to on a list like this. High 2/5.

Never heard of this one! Cool yeah I didnt love it. There were definitely some cool things about it. But it was kinda like that Geordie Greep album if it was boring. Or maybe not boring, just less inspired by the music I love. I was excited when their bio mentioned ELO , but this seems to lack a lot of the life and groove that I love from ELO. This feels a lot more showtune-y, which I don't hate but I am not really interested. I love musicals and have played in several pit orchestras, but I guess I dont really like when regular music tries to sound like broadway music lol. There were interesting moments for sure, mainly in the chords and melodies that I liked, but overall I really dont feel like listening to it again.

55% Best: Becoming More Like Alfie Must-Hear? No

Not for me.

Yet another boring basic British album that is forgettable and belongs no where near any list of albums you need to listen to before you die

an evil and ultimately bad combination of david bowie and kiss of the spider-woman, somehow. i think more rock musicians should be honest with themselves about their desire to write stage musicals because they always end up sounding like this. embrace the show tunes…don’t make us listen to this under the guise of real music.

The Tom Jones-y vibe wears a little thin after a couple songs, and I'm a little confused by the allusions--they don't seem to have any relation to the songs. Does In and Out of Paris and London have anything to do with Orwell? Is Charge anything more than euphemistic sex play, inviting Tennyson to come into it somehow? I am a little put off by the intentionally (?) juvenile sexual politics. The retro musical stylings come up a little short too. Couldn't get behind this one.

This felt like a parody album or a bit of a joke. It has some good moments but is so random in parts. The album switches from French to instrumental with no rhyme nor reason. That said it has some good tracks on it, I really like "songs of love". I have heard it somewhere before but I can’t picture where (Father Ted). I also enjoyed 'love is lighter than air". You can see why the reviews are so polarising. The good moments on the album lifted the score to 2/5. I liked the miracle is mine from the extended version. Maybe this is just because I am a fan of father ted. Favourite song: Songs of love Least favourite: The theme from Casanova is a very boring instrumental. Album artwork: Cool cover

Did not enjoy. Thematically had lots of potential. But execution is poor, and not enjoyable sonically.

Not Great.

oof. a bit too theatrical for my taste. track one was good but they lost me at the spoken word bit in intro to the middle class one. theatricality in itself is not a bad word, someone like fiona apple i find quite theatrical - but it feels authentic, like a natural extension of a theatrical personality. This unfortunately just sounds pretentious.

Maso

Theatrical and campy as all hell. I was going to give it a 1. But they did twist a few good lyrics and musically while not my style - at all- was well done.

Its like The Magnetic Fields, but not as good...somehow straight, but also more gay.

E-Z-Listening: mostly soft and edgeless with a few exceptions. And sort of smarmy somehow, if music can be smarmy.

Peculiar. It's like the album is part of some joke that I'm not in on - but then again, I don't want to be in on it.

Um. This is pretty bad. It escapes one star because it's sincere...

raiskariesque konsepti.. klassinen pohjois-irlantilainen käsite. feikki ääni feikki aksentti. et rollaa ärriä suomalaisittain enää kiitos. lyhyt ja ruma -> homomusiikki pipeline on aika raju olen huomannut.. pikku nyökkäykset tsaikovskiin paras asia albumissa sillä tuo tunteita esille.. vihaa, vihaa tälle saatanan pellelle joka kehtaa poppivittuiluunsa tuoda jotain tuonkaltaista.. kukaan ei ajattele että olet kasanova neil, olet vain vittu outo ja puistattava, ja olet tämän lisäksi paska artisti, paska laulaja ja saatana alipainoinen nulikka. opetteleppas tavoille, ehkä saisit narttuja pippelillesi. trumpetille yksi piste something for the weekend

As other listeners noted this HAS to be a parody. Like making a mockery of 1970's theatrical soundtrack type albums. But that being said some of the instrumentation was pretty good, and the lyrics were at times enlightening and at times cringey. Overall 2 or 3 star album, Frog Princess was an iconic and ironic banger.

Reveal thoughts: No idea. You know the movie Love, Actually? This sounds like if the “rock star” guy made a full album.

Full of itself and trying too hard to be funny

Not a fan of his voice

This did not work for me.

Hard work. As always with The Divine Comedy great in small doses but a whole album is way too much. A couple of cracking songs though.

Quite pleasant to listen to, and I liked the 'Songs of Love' track, and a few others, but overall it's rather boring and unremarkable.

2 sterne

Well that was different. Kinda like someone trying to be Frank Sinatra, but missing by a mile.

Has the sound of someone trying way too hard to impress on karaoke night. Talented, but absolutely nothing here I feel like I HAD to hear.

Pretty much as bad as I was expecting. The worst part is that some people may think this is representative of British music!

As I recall, this sort of worked its niche as some kind of thinking man’s Brit pop at the time. But it all seemed rather like an in-joke of some kind that I didn’t really care for much. Nearly 30yrs later it still all feels a bit silly. Over the top Scott Walker affected vocals that just sound a bit Mike Flowers after a while (I wonder what is actual singing voice is like). The music I guess is well thought through, but how much 60s lounge music can you stand. The content is all a bit too Terry Thomas, even straying a bit metoo in one place, guess this does align with the 90s stylings of Brand somewhat. Or was it ironic, probably kinda meant to be, but not totally in reality. It wasn’t terrible as such, the first couple of songs (the singles I think) are OK, but it all just gets a bit tiresome and annoying after a while.

I can’t help but thinking that this is what Dr. Frankenfurter would sound like if he made a 90s chamber pop album. I was consistently put off by the gross creeper stuff, begging for kisses etc. Weird but not in a good way.

This left me with so many questions

Would've been a 3-star album if not for the terrifying laughter in the first track.

Ever seen reading Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy I have tried to find another fictional novel as funny… it doesn’t exist. Comedy rarely works outside of stand up and movies. I think the same is true of music. Casanova is slightly to over the top for me. 5.5/10

Bowie esque style. Some sings reminded me of The National. Overall not terrible but nothing jumped out at me or wowed me. Will not listen to again

I recognized the name The Divine Comedy as the band responsible for backing Ute Lemper on the astoundingly bad ‘Punishing Kiss’, so I feared this album was going to be on par with that garbage. I was pleasantly surprised to find this is mostly unremarkable, kinda weird acoustic-tinged chamber pop with a vocalist who I don’t like, but who isn’t nearly as aggressive as Ute. “In & Out of Paris & London” almost sounds like it could be a Magnetic Fields song and was my favorite on the album. I also liked the instrumental half of “Theme to Casanova”. Solid 4/10.

Someone somewhere is going to love this Casanova back. It's a strong, particular flavor this. Not to my taste though I can recognize it has idiosyncratic pleasure to offer.

Uh what

‘90s Brit pop singer-songwriter jam masquerading as artsy loungey dancehall smoothness. There’s creativity here, and cleverness, but the overall effect is corny and deeply, deeply irritating. The worst thing about it is the lengths to which the singer goes to make his voice sound affected.

I get that it’s supposed to be funny, maybe even high brow in its own way. I get that it’s a character (I mean it’s titled “Casanova,” after all). I get it. It’s just a bummer that that shtick was pretty off putting. The music was actually pretty great. But the conceited and schmoozey tone of it all, even if it’s supposed be funny, just didn’t land with me. The music, as I said, is cool. Felt like it was trying to push boundaries in terms of pop music. Good chamber pop, as Wikipedia calls it. But on the whole? Kinda cringe, not for me. Two stars. Standout Tracks: Becoming More Like Alfie, Charge, The Frog Princess, The Dogs & The Horses

👎👎👎👎👎

Wow, this is... something. Very campy, I *think* intentionally? I hope. Odd references to Cold Comfort Farm & A Tale of Two Cities. Whomever said it sounds like a bad (Casanova) musical with songs out of order is right on. It certainly stays on (the Casanova) theme. No idea why this is on the list. Not a 1 simply because if I don't pay attention, it's not always terrible, the orchestration is fine, but I don't ever need to hear it again. I'm pretty sure I maintained a look of disgust anytime I actually listened to the lyrics. His singing is more cheese than anything else, not unskilled, but not serious.

This is like if a guy who does David Bowie covers decided to release an album but didn’t want to drop the Bowie impersonation. It’s not unbearable, it just doesn’t hit me as something special by any means.

..

Nothing special. Didn't hate. Didn't like. 2.5/5

- Das erste mal, dass ich von The Divine Comedy gehört habe war von Jan Böhmermann im Podcast, der bekennender Fan ist. Hört man auch irgendwie - Habe bis zu diesem Album noch nie was davon gehört. Das wird sich auch nach diesem Album wohl nicht groß ändern. - Die beiden Hits "Something for the Weekend" und "Songs of Love" sind schon ganz witzig aber ich war ehrlicherweise doch eher gelangweilt von der ganzen Geschichte 2,5/5

Pop, 1996 -> 2

Mostly annoying

Meh

I absolutely hated this while at fleeting moments, loved it. If nothing else, he stepped out of the usual and did something original. That being said, no interest in ever putting this on again.

Un álbum bastante mediocre en comparación a su sucesor, "A Short Album About Love", que recomiendo bastante más que este. Sufre en esencia por ser "demasiado largo"; algunas ideas se extienden más de lo suficiente y se vuelven redudantes. Otras están mal concebidas desde el principio, pero entiendo la importancia de este trabajo como una contraparte a la oscuridad propuesta por artistas como Nick Cave, construída con un lenguaje similar.

Super cheesy

This was so boring

dude is horrendously down bad

Yeah, I’m not really getting what’s so special. He’s clearly trying to do something here. It’s definitely Pop. But it’s just like, slightly better Pulp, mixed with Marc Almond. It’s fine, but kinda boring.

A couple of good lines in some of the songs, but the mix of britpop seemed like it tried to be too many things at once. A little Queen, a little Broadway themed. It did have a Scott Walker vibe as well, which I recognized once I read the article, but in the same vein as Walker, it felt rather inauthentic. 2/5.

I don't really get it, is it a parody? If so, why is it so unbearably boring? But it does have the Father Ted theme.

I heard the first minute of the first track and couldn't handle it. I put off the listen as long as I could. Some of the instrumentation is fine. Most of the tracks are too long for being music that is this cheeky. The ingredients are here, but in this format are not for me.

Crap

There’s a bit of Morrissey’s drama here and some of Scott Walker’s style (who I learned about from this list), who sang modern takes on French and German cabaret. I also hear just a touch of Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys, at least the current longe act version of the band. In general I don’t love this album but I can’t be mad at a guy who’s just trying to put on a show for me. 2.5

Pretty terrible. Hope this was meant to be satirical and not real music.

It’s only been 12 hours and I remember not a single thing from this album. I vaguely remember it being very bland 90s music and that’s already a fleeting memory at best.

I feel like this is actually really close to being something I like. But unfortunately, it's not very good.

Sounds like show tunes to me. It’s very dramatic -over the top. Did he just trill a note? No thanks.

Just okay

Like a xerox of a xerox of a Scott Walker album. My friend Gerry's least favorite album of the 1001, for me... ehh, we'll call it a low 2

Very meh.

Not my bag. Kinda sounds like a soundtrack to a musical I've never seen.

The author of the list loves this band and has such poor taste that he is unable to think of enough artists to fill the list, so puts them on multiple times. I didn’t enjoy it

Not only did it make my ears bleed for most of it, it was also kinda rapey. Bumped up to 2 because the last 3 tracks had good arrangements.

It is fine. Not particularly interesting and not offensive to listen.

Sporadic moments of great pop, but overlong and plodding. The instrumentation oscillates between lush and overproduced. It sounds often like they're having some kind of fun; I wish I felt the same. Highlights: Something for the Weekend, The Frog Princess Nadir: Charge

Brit pop 2.7

Silly

Songs of Love // A Woman of the World //

# Playlist track - Something for the Weekend # Notes - Album has some fun moments, but it's overall extremely overdone. To the point, I kept trying to figure out the the "Comedy" on the band's name was literal. - "The Dogs & The Horses" alone is worth -3 stars.

Probably between a 2 and a 3 but the longer it went on, the more fed up I got. I don't normally like novelty / comedy songs and this leans into it too much. Most of the album is just crooning about shagging over horns or strings, which is both boring and creepy

Um. No. I don’t understand what I’m listening to…lounge music, non-music? It’s the most non-descript and generic of voices and no line, melody.

Starts with something for the weekend which is, meh at best and it’s all downhill from there

This album was just ok. Didn’t strike me one way or another.

This was certainly an album of all time. It's bad enough that this list seems to have an over-representation of britpop, but this was overly cheesy and pompous. A few of the singles keep this afloat for me, but mostly skippable at the end of the day.

This was strange. I didn't hate it as much as I thought I was going to. It was kind of original in a creepy lounge act meets Broadway kind of way.

I really hated this album, but in a way that also makes me like it. I'd give it 1 star for how much I enjoyed listening to it, and 3 stars for being strange, interesting, and being someone's extremely well executed personal vision. Even though I at no point liked any of the songs, the world is better for this album existing, which is why it gets 2 stars. My main complaints: - I dont like showtunes, schmalzy dinner theater cabaret, or art school circus music, and this album combined all of that. - I didn't like the songwriting. All his melodies bothered me. Any time he started doing something I liked, it ended up resolving in a way I didn't like leaving me just kinda dissapointed. - At times this album made me angry. Album cover: B+

Not my taste

hmmm... i truly don't know what to make of this album. not my fav. interesting texture to his vocal. very mid.

WHAT I ENJOYED: some of the lyrics were (I believe I'm using this Britishism correctly) quite cheeky GRIPES: musically a little melodramatic, lyrically kind of creepy (but I'm guessing/hoping it was satirical??) RECCOMMENDED IF YOU LIKE: Morrissey, Rufus Wainwright #490 revealed / #521 rated

I guess it was mostly firmly tongue-in-cheek but it just wasn't that good.

Basically, this is British kids doing silly posh voices at school made into a whole album. No idea why it goes full Prince at one stage, and it's genuinely creepy in places. "Something for the Weekend" is admittedly quite a clever song, though.

Если бы Ник Кейв выбрал водевиль

Étonnamment moins pire que l’album d’avant, mais paa top quand même

Theatre kid Bo Burnham. Does that make sense?

Bien que ce soit un personnage, la performance du personnage de Casanova, l'homme à femmes, le womanizer, m'a irritée. Notes de théâtre musical.

Bright and breezy offering from the Britpop era, with very British sensibilities and cultural references. Perhaps interesting in that context but the often mannered (/pretentious) vocals and the irritating spoken interludes give the reviewer little room for manoeuvre.

Really? The editors missed Morrissey and hackneyed lounge singing? This list is more annoying then edifying. Check out Richard Cheese. 2*

Kind of interesting. This has a lot of Scott Walker vibes.

The album was hit and miss for me. I liked Something For the Weekend and The Dogs & The Horses. But I didn't like Middle-class Heroes and A Woman of The World.

I often criticise albums for being too boring, for the tracks being too similar. This album is a good example of how interesting and varied doesn’t necessarily make something good. Lots of variety of bad here.

Found this incredibly boring

This may have been the most unique album I've listened to in a long time, but it wasn't super my thing.

Not bad, but mediocre 2.5/5

It's funny...as I listened to this album progress, my thought was "this sounds way more like a solo artist album than one by a band", and now Neil Hannon is now listed as it's only member. Score another one for weird observations by my brain... This is a pretty interesting album to me overall...so much so that I'm not sure if I like it or not. I like the variation in songwriting and feels, I like the instrumentals, the voice pairs well with them...but something just doesn't connect with me as much as I'd think given all the components that I like. Favorite track: Through a Long and Sleepless Night

This was some goofy shit.

Not very interesting

Sounds like a musical

I really wasn't feeling this one. I hope for this guy's sake that the sleazy player act was making fun of that kind of artist, otherwise yikes.

musically i loved this album but the lyrics took me out. lots of sexualizing teenage girls, and weird no means yes stuff…

Boring vocals over repetitive instrumentals

Seems like it'd be up my alley, I kinda like when random 90s alt rock acts I've never heard of show up here. But idk it was kinda just annoying. 2.5/5

This is odd. What a weird album! It has a very 60s feel, then suddenly it’s a 40s ballad, then an Irish folk song. It’s definitely eclectic. I added one song to my playlist, which saves this from a 1. Woman of the World was that song. I can’t say I want to listen to any other songs again.

I was better than the other album by Tia band on the list but not much better. I wasn’t hating it but it felt like hours and I was just in track 6. Don’t think I’ll be listening to this ever again

The concert got more interesting as the album progressed. Not a fan with how polished the album sounded.

Maybe if I were in a different mood I could be into this, but right now this really just isn't connecting. Objectively, the music is theatrical, but quite fine. Vocals strike me as a bit campy with an appeal to fedora wearing crooners of years gone by. The instrumentals are fine; sweeping strings, skittering drums -- the whole suite. That said, this isn't it for me.

Interesting and odd album. Poppy with weird speaking tracks and then the orchestra playing. The last song sounds like its out of a Disney movie coming to a climax.

Chamber music. Showtunes-y. Gets boring after a while.

Not really a fan of this album. It’s just a little too … something. I can really put my finger on why I didn’t like it, but I didn’t. I never got to the point where I wanted to skip tracks but it was close. Only song I liked was Songs of Love, and I prefer the Ben Folds version of that one anyway.

For a comedy album, the songs are actually not too bad. You can get through a chunk of this thinking that you're just listening to a weirder subsection of pop music. But then you get hit with lyrics about your frog princess turning into a cow. The novelty is interesting, but besides that the music is nothing special. Not sure the concept of it all grants it enough merit to earn a place on the 1001 albums, but I guess there's gotta be something for all music fans?

Not that great.. a little overdramatic, broadway, but also cheap lounge?

Richard Cheese, Morrissey, and Baz Luhrmann get together to make an album—seriously, what the hell did I just listen to? I like camp. I like baroque pop. This is too much. 2/5

Never been able to get on with Hannon's weird smarmy smug delivery. Though he will always have my respect for My Lovely Horse

Not my cup of tea. Coffee shop/bar music

Cringey sexist

The divine Joke!

I was not feeling this. Maybe I caught it on the wrong day for me and I need to come back to it, but I tried to listen all the way through and I just couldn’t get there. Different headspace perhaps or just not a style that I was into on that particular day. Sorry Casanova, this story for me was more of a divine tragedy!

Not for me

I've never heard of The Divine Comedy nor the album, and it caught me off guard. This album intrigued me enough to do the research behind the songs and their meaning. That being said, I can't say that I like it. I'm not sure whether it is me not understanding the humor of their lyrics or it not being funny.

For all intensive purposes I felt like I should have liked this but I didn't. I was unimpressed and I'm felt like Middle Class Hero would be a song on an Aladdin movie and this is not in a good way.

the "I really want to be the Berry Manilow of my generation" album that no-one knew they were missing. Why do we need to be so dramatic?

La boucle

Some interesting sounds and influences, clearly, but eventually it ended up just sounding like a random musical theatre soundtrack. Fine if you're into that kind of thing, but not my cup of tea. Happy to be introduced to this artist though - I always enjoy interesting music.

Meh

Ok

It's weird. Definitely a different genre and not in my wheelhouse. Another way to look at Brit-Pop for the 90s. First couple hooks are interesting. But that's it. It'd all panache and empty Broadway after that.

This guy is so greasy. Like the human equivalent of a floppy Baconator.

Britpop mit Orchestereinflüssen; nicht uninteressant, aber mir zu monoton. 2,5

I am indifferent.

Somewhere, a community theater is missing it's acTOR. Pretentious, self-indulgent nonsense. If this guy could get over himself he could probably write a few decent songs.

Sounds like the theme tunes to some obscure and kinda crappy 70s sitcoms that your uncle had a vhs boxset of.

Very odd sound. Reminds me of 50ish talk singing.

I get that this is tongue in cheek, but it's not really a great listening experience.

what even genre is this? very 90s vibe, all over the place, not really consistent?

Where I loved the Associates I hated this, while very same sort of atmosphere. Dunno why, 2 stars it is

This album is the person at your school lunch table that everyone has decided is “the funny one” despite the heavy feeling and need for a shower you experience whenever they strike up a conversation.

Something for the weekend and father ted were ok.

Not my thing. Somehow reminded me of the vampire opera from Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

Listened Before? N I don't know how I feel about this style of pop music. On one hand, it's not really my favorite thing, but on the other hand I'm starting to realize there was a whole bunch of 80s-90s stuff from the UK and Ireland that influenced American music in the early 2000s, which I suppose makes this influential. I just think it's okay. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Something for the Weekend

what is this...

I thought I didn't know this band, but I recognized Become More Like Alfie. Starts out as britpop like Pulp etc. and slowly morphs into music for theatre nerds. It's all well-crafted, but I don't like it very much. I'm pretty sure there's over 1001 records more essential than this one.

Nope

This album is big and weird and aware of itself and I don’t think I’d listen again.

Whew 😓😅

38/100

Kinda rapey lyrics tbh and I can't tell if it's satire? I didn't care for the album but the radio that followed was good

It starts off weirdly creepy and doesnt really get better. Its humour deserrves to stay in the past

Fun album, but not one I'd revisit.

British music in the 90s was wild. So quirky and out there. Essential tracks: The Frog Princess (Playlist) Song of Love

This one just didn’t click with me at all.

Not a fan. Really dont like his French Jacque Brel style voice.. It really bugs me and the stream of songs about sex just irks me.

I gave it more than one star because it was at least well done, but...topically this was uninteresting, and I just didn't enjoy him vocally.

A bit over-dramatic for no reason.

Irsk 90’er poprock, lyrikken i fokus, sjove tekster, kedelig musik

This was an unremarkable album. Definitely something that can be skipped. It sounds very theatrical and somewhat of a joke. At first I thought it was Thom Yorke on the cover.

I don't know who that album was aimed at. Is it for britpop fans? Smiths fans? Pop fans? Comedy fans? Apart from the Father Ted bit it was painfully aimless.

Another peculiar pick of an album, joining a very long line of other picks on this here website. As is often the case, it smells of "do admire my sophistication for having picked this here album that you would otherwise not willingly choose to listen to".

vraiment oubliable comme album. J'ai écouté pendant 50 minutes et rien ne me revient, pas une chanson ni aucun arrangement... Mon écoute n'était pas tr`s active mais bon ca ne m'apporte rien de plus dans mon bagage et ca aurait probablement pu être laissé de coté dans cette liste.

4/10

Hmmm. This was very- theatrical. The lyrics were just wack and there’s no denying that, but I kind of liked the vibe. If there were no vocals or just better ones, I think I would actually enjoy this quite a bit, however they were unbearable. I really liked the overall sound of mysterious music though.

I certainly will not be listening to this one again. He's really good at talking over poorly-aged instrumentals, though.

What is chamber music anyway?! Never knew that’s what this style is supposed to sound like. It isn’t bad. I wouldn’t call it good. The lyrics are hokey with a little Lawrence Welk thrown in. Won’t remember this. Won’t likely ever look for it again.

esunaporon

Man, this album was a real struggle to get through. I don't know why this is on this list, but someone was drunk when making the choice! The Divine Comedy is a chamber pop/europop band from Northern Ireland. He sounds like a Dollar Store version of Nick Cave, except Nick has musical talent. I had to listen to this in installments throughout the day, because if was just so shitty. The only good thing that I discovered through this listen was that this guy is responsible for the theme song to Father Ted (Songs of Love), as well as the song My Lovely Horse from the A Song For Europe episode. Songs of Love was really the only listenable track on the whole record. Overall, this album is a hot mess. Absolutely no redeeming qualities. It is only getting a 2 because of the Father Ted connection. What a gobshite. Favourite songs: Songs of Love, Through a Long & Sleepless Night, Becoming More Like Alfie Least favourite songs: Charge, Middle-Class Heroes, The Dogs & The Horses... and the rest of the record. 2/5

Felt way too niche for my liking and way too long of an album.

I did not care for this. I understand Neil Hannon is leaning on his humour but I didn’t find it funny so it just sounded like a shitty musical where the lead is a rapist. 2 stars

Yeah fuck this. I guess you needed to be there, but seriously "Theme from Casanova" is the shit I hate. Self-referential masturbation. Rest of the album is bland. 1.5/5

You guys I think this dude might have listened to David Bowie before

Didn't love it

This guys voice gives me the creeps

I do admit that I left today's album too late as it's past 1am the next day, which admittedly isn't getting the most of my attention as im trying to stay awake, but i'm still thinking it's a little too much and too samey. Maybe if it caught me on a better day with a drink or two in me I might rate it higher but today isn't that day.

On the cover of The Divine Comedy’s “Casanova,” Neil Hannon looks like Thom Yorke having some kind of hipster crisis. Start listening though, and you won’t mistake Hannon’s cringy chamber pop bombastics for Radiohead.

I almost gave this a one but I found exactly one song to be inoffensively not terrible.

Ugh. Not this guy again. Two entries for this is group is overkill. I hate the deliberately goofy and artless way this album sounds.

meh

Ok, the weird seduction stuff is uncomfortable. It makes it feel like an album a rapist would listen to. If they were going for sexy, they failed. The album would be better without that. I actually kind of like the song Charge. This is definitely a unique album. This sounds like an off brand Bowie, like if you ordered David Bowie from Wish.com and got this instead.

Dit maakt me verdrietig!

Sorry hoor, maar dit kan ik echt niet serieus nemen. Wat een theatraal gedweep.

Best theatraal, best vervelend. Hoewel ik in eerste instantie enthousiast was.

Before I get into this I just want to acknowledge my mistake (like I knew I would have to) after listening to 'Electric Ladyland' by Hendrix again. I want to bump my score up to 4/5. I regret my initial score. As for this I didn't like it and I will not be amending my score of 2.

Too over the top and theatrical for me.

He / They wrote the theme music for 'Father Ted' don't you know?! She said, There's something in the woodshed Just nod if you can hear me Is there anyone at home? It's all a bit silly really, and if you scratch the surface, a little bit sinister. 2 / 5 stars.

I've never heard of The Divine Comedy, and all of the music on Casanova was new to me. The music verges into territory of music that I might listen to. The Divine Comedy sounds like Brit Pop (something I'll listen to) funneled through Frank Sinatra style crooning (something I don't listen to). Most of the time listening to the album I was trying to figure out if "putting up" with the music until it's over is good enough to NOT give the album a dis-like (2 stars). I don't think I liked it.

This album might be the most mediocre below average album I’ve ever heard. The singers voice us pretty lame. The song lyrics are boring and uneventful. The instrumentals are okay but lacking. Overall this album is an hour of music that just doesn’t hit. None of it us objectively bad it’s just boring. 4.6/10

At some points I thought this was a joke... is it?

Want to go 1.5 can’t decide if it’s leaning 1 or 2. Ugh the big hit wasn’t bad

I try to not immediately reach for "I did not in fact need to listen to this one before I died" when I don't like one, because at 1089 entries on the list, obviously there's going to be some duds in there. But geez this one was skippable. A late-90s attempt to update crooner shit to modern sensibilities, no thank you

Not my thing.

Already knew "Something for the weekend" but could never really get into the Divine Comedy. Was fun to hear the Father Ted theme though.

MOR indie-pop-singer-songwriter

A few great tracks but seems very dated now. Songs About Love is far superior

Hm. Is this ska? Pop? His voice is kind of David Bowie-like? But deeper? I think I'm just super confused on what this lol. But also, I just could not. This wasn't pleasing at all and I have 3,000,000 albums to review and I can't waste time listening to something I don't enjoy. 2 stars only. I reserve one star reviews for albums offensive to my ears.

somehow the divine comedy's casanova comes across as pretentious, like they're trying too hard. i'm not sure if this is because i'm an american and band is british. but even though the music isn't bad, i'm left with such a sour taste in my mouth and i find it hard to enjoy much of the music. in the spirit of saying something positive: i liked the usage of several melodies from classical songs interspersed throughout. and the backing orchestra can be quite beautiful! it's pleasant enough, but overall, eh.

Getting through this was not impossible, but it was definitely a chore. Everything about it felt overblown and self-indulgent. It was all over the place, and not really in a good way. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood, but I did not dig this at all. I am surprised how annoying I found this album to be.

Drippy lame music

okay so i am pretty sure this was like, satire? but im not sure what exactly it was satirizing or why. and it wasn't very funny or maybe i just didn't GET it musically it was fine but not great. it felt like it kept almost doing something that i would like, and then stopping and doing something else there were little bits here and there that felt like they could have been a super precursor to black midi but minus most of the stuff that make them cool i didn't ever really dislike this except the lyrics being maybe questionable sometimes but it was mostly mediocre

Never heard it before. Probably won't again.

C’est un peu drôle, mais ça ne suffit pas. 1 fois c’est suffisant

Pretentious British art-pop with an orchestral backing. Not my ting

Goofy brit-pop. Tongue-in-cheek "romantic" lyrics. Catchy at times but really nothing special. Standout is "Something for the Weekend"

Levyn paras biisikin oli aika skeidaa. Muutaman biisin jälkeen alkoi jo odottamaan päättymistä. Ei jatkoon.

Ei kutitellu kyllä mitenkään

This album is crazy. Certainly the description of Britpop and Irish Chamber Pop from the 90s during the CD era when albums were needlessly long, didn't engender it to me from the get go. It's a lot, very busy, very lush pop layers and highly produced. But I had it on for a few repeats and around the third time, I think I started to get the appeal, and I can understand a little bit better why people like this music, which is an excellent outcome from this 1001 Album exercise. This is just not really for me.

On paper this seems like something I’d really enjoy. However, this album is over earnest to the point of being creepy. Having said that, there are some really gorgeous moments on this album, but it’s trying to be too much. It doesn’t execute its lyrics well and coupled with some very dated musical motifs comes off as overwrought pseudo intellectual drivel.

Pop elegante y cómodo de escuchar, sin destacar especialmente. Con aires de teatro y muy inglés.

DNF Cool sound but too like incely? in parts

It's like a cooler Thom Yorke, but he made shittier music.

I’m simply too American for this.

This was amateur at best. 4/10.

There are some things about this album that are neat. I can't say that it sounds like anything else from its time. It's like a Tom Jones album made with 90s sensibilities. I think that it is possible to make a good album in with this approach, and Casanova has a nice voice that works with the musical arrangements On the other hand, I found this album cloying from the very beginning. I kept waiting for it to turn into something that I could get into, but that eventually turned into me waiting for it to finally end. I think that the name of the album and artist are an attempt to be funny, but like with everything about this album, execution is lacking. My only hope at this point is that I can get drunk enough tonight that I forget that this album ever existed, since the odds of anyone in my life ever bringing it up at any point in the future are pretty small 2/5

I listened to the most popular track ("Something for the Weekend") and didn't like it. It has a Smiths vibe without being as instrumentally or lyrically interesting. It sounds a little like The The with lesser vocals but more upbeat and tongue-in-cheek lyrics.

Casanova tries to pass itself off as normal but it's really not; a very deliberately odd vocal style, some dodgy lyrics, it occasionally makes for an alright listen but I disliked more than I liked. 2/5.

Never, ever, ever, ever heard of The Divine Comedy or this album. According to Wikipedia, this is Chamber Pop. I also am unfamiliar with that genre. There's a Dexy's Midnight Runners sensibility to this, so maybe that poppy new wave sound is chamber pop? Anyway, this is ok. I think it is a weird choice to put a bunch of child laughter on a track you hope will be a single. It's very distracting. The Alfie song feels like a joke, and it has that Burt Bacharach background instrumentation. There are some clear 80s/90s references and then all this Alfie stuff. What's it all about? :) Middle Class Heroes is another goofy song. I'm shocked this band ever caught on. These guys sound like I would sound if I was pretending to be in a band.

Honestly this album made me uncomfortable. It has a lot of rapey dialog and I’m not into it.

Not for me

Had some good songs and some not got at all

Yeah.. maybe yeah. Right? I mean... Not really though, right? I think... Yeah I actually think definitely not.

I think most of this was lost on me. Some enjoyable tracks but I did not feel like I was in on the joke

Ug. The cleverness - if you can call it that - and overt bravado of Neil Hannon turns me off.

Even though I was unfamiliar with this album, just looking at the cover I knew two things: 1) this was British, and 2) I wasn't going to like it (not that those 2 things are related). I like some of the arrangements, but not necessarily the way they are recorded/mixed. And the vocals really don't work for me. He seems incapable of pulling off what he's trying to achieve. I'd actually like to hear Mike Patton have a go at some of these songs. I think Mike could get across that tongue in cheek ironic quality they're going for, while evoking a more genuine range of emotions and reverence for the influences. Heck, even Jarvis Cocker could do wonders with this material. I think Jarvis could play the part much more convincingly. This album comes across sounding like they're trying too hard to write Scott Walker a love letter and it's just awkward. But I'll tell you, the thing that really irks me the most is anytime he breaks into a spoken word segment. They each made me cringe, but the affected accent one on "Charge" actually made me shudder.

Some Scott Walker vibes in here. And I was just getting over Scott Walker. I reserve 1's for only the purest of crap. This isn't a 1 but it certainly no more than a 2.

Not my style at all.

What genre is this? Orchestral pop? Not that that is a bad thing. Some catchy hooks here and there but overall not something I cared for.

Not my cup of tea, but pleasant enough

I really did not like this.

This is hard to describe, it's like some kind of weird musical theatre written by a sex crazed teenage boy. The lyrics are super cringey. The music is too "cute" with lots of orchestration. It's like one of those architectural styles that is too over the top with ornamentation: Baroque or Rococo maybe? What I'm saying is I could do with fewer fucking cherubs, metaphorically speaking of course. Holy shit, just got to "The Frog Princess" - this could be a Disney song, maybe if it was less obviously sexist. Not for me. I'd much prefer something authentic. Tempted to give it a 1 but at least it wasn't a boring listen so it's got that going for it.

It wasn't bad but also wasn't good in any way. 2 stars because it wasn't terrible but I couldn't recommend this to anyone.

I know this album is from 1996, but given I am listening to it for the first time in 2021 I can’t get past the lyrics. I was actually creeped out by many lines throughout the album (no means yes? Come on). It’s too bad because the background orchestration is cool and the lead vocals were very crooner sounding. This would be a 3 if not for the lyrics.

Brief respite from Faust, but lyrics were much rapier than I like in my music.

Heard snippets before. I had to give up on this - musically and lyrically not half as clever as it thinks it is.

Indie Theatralik, Opulenz, Pathos. Mag das eigentlich, aber hier ist mir den Sunday Roast zu stark in Marmite eingelegt gewesen. 2.2

The Divine Comedy daring to ask the question: "What if Danny Elfman was boring and shitty?"

There's a bit of interesting musical material and I like the instrumentation, but the orchestration is uneven and the overall impression is of Scott Walker-lite. Once that image fixed itself in my mind, it was hard to appreciate the concept or attempt at fourth-wall-breaking.

Largely unremarkable. Some fun songs, some horrid songs, nothing that I would go and seek out again.

One nice, rest is noise

First Listen. Had a good vibe to the album. I'd like to hear more.

I feel harsh giving this a 2 as this would be a 5/10 but I cannot give 3 stars for an album I wished was over half way through. Some surprises here and there, found the theme song from Father Ted, but was mainly bored throughout. Nothing terrible, just meh.

Was alright. Not really my cup of tea. Nice to hear the Father Ted theme-tune though.

Top 3 1. (6) Songs of Love 2. (11) The Dogs & the Horses 3. (1) Something for the Weekend

there can be a thing as too british

Started good but went downhill

Lame, tries so hard but fails. Some of the singles were alright but like 😳

Liked the idea, didn't like the execution

Meh, not terrible as background noise. Didn’t want to pay attention to the lyrics.

Did not resonate with me at all… At least the recording and production were good.

Interesting album as a whole. Several differing tones. Some good lighter, jazzy rock tracks were highlight

Uninteresting music with weak vocals.

Didn't like this much at all. Drawn-out, over-the-top, and at times very creepy with the soft whispers in your ear. a 2 because there were a few songs I somewhat enjoyed, but this was close to a 1

sure

My usual bus driver Shaun tells me that his sister once went to a Divine Comedy gig and got so drunk that she climbed onto the stage and whipped her flange out. Neil Hannon started wanking. The crowd looked stunned at first, then all joined in.

bleh nothing too great, some pretty...unsatisfactory tracks here, kind of molesty and gross. Some nice orchestration.

Like swinging a pig's dick in the wind on a Wednesday afternoon in April.

A posher, shitter Pulp. It does contain the Father Ted theme tune though so have that Jarvis.

Still wrapping my brain around Casanova. What an eccentric performance. But every once in awhile it reminded me of other concept albums like Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. I laughed when he kept going on about dogs and horses having their day or whatnot.

The first few songs were OK, but then the 5th song where they brought out a Barry White impersonator? ugh.

Art pop? Pop fusion? It's fine, not my thing.

I had never heard this (or heard OF this). And I’m not a fan. I’m not sure if it’s just a dated sound or what, but the production sort of sounds like this album was made as a joke. Like a mocking of David Bowie. Maybe it was? Some of this is just straight up cringeworthy.

Not for me. I'm sure there is an audience for this, but nothing "hooked" me

Not a fan. Too baroque and not poppy. 4/10

Eh, didn’t enjoy this much at all. That sort of schmaltzy lounge singer feel. Some of the music was nice but in general a thumbs down from me.

Ok I guess

This is an album made in the 90s that feels like an album made a lot earlier. Not my jam.

weird rock opera

1.8

not my thing

Vissa låtar var roliga och ganska bra men överlag inget som tilltalar mig.

1996. Key Songs: Songs of Love, Through a Long and Sleepless Night

Color me unimpressed. I don’t at all enjoy this site’s opinion on plenty of albums (AC/DC’s “Back In Black” is much to high for the trash it is, whereas “Third” by Soft Machine is much too low, for no reason other than it being too weird for much of this site’s user base), but I agree with this site’s low score here. It’s doing Pulp but without the class commentary, or any of the wit. The vocals are mediocre and not at all stimulating, the songs seldom hold water, and the production SUCKS. The strings are weirdly mixed, and they sound so cheap. Songs that have good bones, such as “In & Out of Paris & London” are ruined by these things, yet most of these songs don’t even HAVE good bones. “Charge” has its moments, but sucks. “Middle Class Heroes” is an example of a song that is bad from the top down. But it is all bad. It’s bad. It’s bad. 3.3/10

This list is simultaneously iconic albums and also albums that are just absurd and that’s why they’re on here

Tbh made me chuckle. Winningly regressive

Poopoo garbage

Continuously oscillating between “is this a joke?” and “wow, creepy lyrics.” This whole album feels like a gross old man’s sexual fantasy, and sometimes it’s downright rapey. I absolutely hated it.

Well that was different. Did not appeal to me at all.

Not really sure what that was all about. One of the reviews suggested it was some kind of Pulp-esque fusion which caught my attention but unfortunately it had all of the bad bits of Pulp and none of the things I like.

Honky shit

accidentally gave this 4 stars

This is a bit funky but not for me

are you a bad person if you like this kind of music? probably not. nonetheless, do i find this kind of music utterly, excessively offensive to the senses? with every ounce of my being, yes

I did not care for this album at all. The lyrics were weird and it didn't even sound fun. I don't understand how this made the list of 1001 albums to listen to before you die, but at the very least I can say I listened to it.

Couldn’t finish it that’s how fucking shit this album is

If axe body spray and neon ground effects on a Honda Civic personified made an album. This makes me think of my favorite tweet: Welcome to Chuck E. Cheese. Everything is visibility dirty and our mascot is a rat. Have some pizza near a sneezing child.

Massive creep vibes. These guys are way too old to be constantly sexualizing teenagers. Not to mention the romanticization of rape, coercion and emotional manipulation. Even taken as a “critique” of pop culture’s version of Casanova, this album seems to encourage these icky behaviours much more than warn against them.