The Divine Comedy
| Track | Album |
|---|---|
| The Certainty Of Chance | Fin de Siècle |
| Dumb It Down | Regeneration |
| Everybody Knows (Except You) | A Short Album About Love |
| If ... | A Short Album About Love |
| A Lady Of A Certain Age | Victory For The Comic Muse |
| Lost Property | Regeneration |
| Our Mutual Friend | Absent Friends |
| Something For The Weekend | Casanova |
| The Summerhouse | Promenade |
| Your Daddy's Car | Liberation |
Contributor: Paul Glinn
The Divine Comedy have been producing sublime and intelligent pop music for twenty years. During that time, there have been various lineups, but these days it is, essentially, Neil Hannon with various collaborators. The beauty of The Divine Comedy’s work lies in the perfect meld of tragicomic lyrics and jaunty, often string laden, melodies. Song writing at its best.
Last year The Lyric Book Company produced a volume, The Lyrics of Neil Hannon, which is a great read and poetry book in its own right.
As a perfect introduction to the band, check out 1997’s A Short Album About Love.
The official Divine Comedy site
The Divine Comedy biography (iTunes)
TopperPost #41
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Definitely a good choice of Hannon masterpieces, with the exception of some tracks from Regeneration, the album I am not fond of. I would add “Songs of love”, “Your daddy’s car” and “Down in the Street Below”.
That’s odd, because I think Regeneration is Hannon’s masterpiece … and demand that “Eye of the needle” is added to this list!
Really? Actually I think “Regeneration” mostly lacks great melodies and I honestly miss the ‘orchestral sound’ …
I think that it stands out from his body of work because it isn’t as immediately accessible melody wise. I know that makes me sound like a muso, but I think that it is more satisfying. I have found his last two albums enjoyable, but a bit samey – Regeneration was a change of direction, and certainly lacked his usual humour. I gather it did not sell well, so for what it is worth, I think most DC fans would agree with you!
I second that demand for Eye of the Needle. Would have to say there is not a song by Hannon I do not actually enjoy. Our Mutual Friend is my personal choice for best song, even the home demo sounded amazing.
Can I suggest “The Wreck of the Beautiful” from the “Absent Friends” album for a clunker of a Hannon song?
Absent Friends is my favorite DC album. Yes, Our Mutual Friend is my favorite track. It’s so visual, like a 3-act play with beautiful moving music accompanying it.