Casanova

Product Information

To mark the release, The Divine Comedy play five nights at the Barbican in London in early September and then later the same month, five nights at the Cite de la Musique in Paris. As the Father Ted theme song was my entry point, it’s only predictable that I first found the original song where the theme appears, as part of the track “Songs of Love”. When not doing that, you can find him making music nobody listens to, dancing like everybody is watching, or playing a Greek God on stage. By far the tightest of the band's earlier works it paved the way for not only more ambitious music from Neil Hannon over the course of the next few years but also left a permanent mark on the Brit-Pop genre, making The Divine Comedy a must have to many an indie lover. There will be others who can relate to that, but it’s by no means a requirement for enjoying Casanova.

It's probably in some ways DC's crudest album, but it's also crackling with brilliant lyricism and wit, and full of tracks that will stick in your head for days.And ultimately that’s why Casanova is such a rewarding album for me: nostalgia, for both my younger self watching Father Ted, and my present self remembering the musical oeuvre of Scott Walker.

The remastering work, on my copy, really does make such a huge difference in the definition of the sound, when compared to the OG pressing. Recorded at the famous Abbey Road Studios the song is the most grandiose of 'Casanova' and may even have you shedding a tear as Hannon plays out the record's last goodbye. When Hannon delivers a line, he does so entirely invested in it, regardless of how absurd, silly, or ludicrous it might be.This is a brilliant album, it features The Divine Comedy's best songs such as Something for the weekend and Songs of love which was the theme tune from Father Ted.