Favorite Divine Comedy Song?

It's tough to say if it was a commercial decision or not. With Fin De Siecle and the Secret History compilation they were selling the most records they'd ever sold and were on the verge of being huge. Love What You Do seemed like a reaction against that and wasn't an obvious lead single. Bad Ambassador and Perfect Lovesong were more commercial but were quite faraway from Generation Sex or National Express. Absent Friends felt like an apology record after Regeneration where they were aiming for the more traditional Divine Comedy sound and proper hit singles.

Didn't he part company with the rest of the band after Regeneration? I believe from that point on it's always been pretty much just Neil Hannon(with special guests).

he talks a bit about the shift away from the trademark sound on Regeneration, and shift back on Absent Friends, in this interview:

But on Regeneration, their first album for a major label, The Divine Comedy abandoned the highly stylised, orchestral pop they were famous for, hired lugubrious Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, and made a record stripped of 'cheese' (Hannon's term at the time). The formerly dapper Hannon traded his suits for jeans. The album was not a success. 'And bands are expensive,' Hannon concludes, ruefully. 'We really shot ourselves in the foot by not sounding like us any more.'

Hannon is aware of the irony that, in order to be himself creatively, he must slip into character. And that this character is heavily indebted to Scott Walker, the Walker Brother whose first four solo albums form a set text of elegant melancholia.

'On Regeneration I had said, "No Scott Walker, don't sing that way, no crooning." On this one, I went, "Croon! Croon for your life!" I figure I don't sound like me until I'm trying to sound like Scott,' he concedes.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2004/mar/21/popandrock2

I was actually just listening to Bad Ambassador and thinking (besides the fact that I like it a lot) that it sounds like Frank Sinatra trying to do Ziggy Stardust, so I'm not completely sure about the cheese stripping. I need to go back and relisten to this band. Playing the Vapour Trail cover right now, and having fond memories of seeking out various permutations of import singles. Although it was expensive, I miss that.

Yeah, there's definitely a sprinkling of cheese on Bad Ambassador and Perfect Lovesong.

Interesting interview. I loved the Absent Friends era. Great album and some wonderful shows that year. I didn't realise at the time that he would never be that great again.

having fond memories of seeking out various permutations of import singles

Easier for me, I didn't have to import. Just by chance the first album I got, Promenade, came with The Promenade Companion bonus cd with stripped down versions of Don't Look Down, Queen Of The South, Your Daddy's Car, and I Was Born Yesterday, still one of my favourites. And a great cover of Johnny Mathis Feet on one of the Short Album about Love singles.

Have been looking for the DC cover of Love Is Lighter Than Air on youtube recently to NO AVAIL.

Neil obviously loved Get Lost. He covered three of the songs from it around that period.

Is Promenade seen as the favourite Divine Comedy album around here? It's by favourite by a long way.

Yep, although not by a long way. Liberation roughly neck and neck with Fin de Siecle, then Casanova or maybe Absent Friends, but I think it's too late for the latter to climb higher in my affections.

Just listened to Regeneration, it's pretty good! From this distance it sounds a hell of a lot like The Divine Comedy, maybe it was a failure of marketing not production.

Casanova is my fave

I think Fin De Siecle and Regeneration were my favorites, but not by any great margin. The one I didn't listen to enough was Absent Friends (fixing that now...).

Oddly enough, the Magnetic Fields influence never occurred to me back at the time. I came to DC around Casanova, and they/he were just so overwhelmingly great and polished in terms of production/lyrics/etc. that they seemd to be in a completely different league from Merritt.

The new album is so bad. Maybe the worst album of his entire career. Anyone else bothered to listen to it yet?

I trust your judgement.

Pre-ordered version w/ bonus opera disc. Should be arriving this week.

I had a feeling this wasn't going to be my kind of Divine Comedy record when I heard the second single. I honestly thought it couldn't get any worse than At the Indie Disco https://youtu.be/Ehxil2jZiok

I listened to Absent Friends last week which stands as his last great record for me.

Jesus, that's bad.

Lady Of A Certain Age is one of the best songs ever written i don't think there's any doubt.

Yeah, that really is a stunning song. Probably his best set of lyrics.

Yup, think that's the last great DC song.

The new album, yeah -- easily the worst of his career. When the first track is a cast-off from your previous worst album ever (a demo of Napoleon Complex was included as a bonus track with Bang Goes the Knighthood), that's...not a good sign.

No comment on the album, but the opera is...really lovely? 21st Of May is kind of astonishing. All he needed was someone else to write lyrics for him, who knew eh

Yeah it's probably the most Nymanesque music he's written since Promenade, which is to say the best.

"You think you're a man", but then did he do any non-comedy songs?

24-disc box set on the way:

https://www.superdeluxeedition.com/news/thirty-years-of-the-divine-comedy-24-disc-cd-box-set-and-deluxe-reissues/

Looks amazing. Kinda wish the box set was a vinyl one though.

Five full album shows at the barbican: https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2020/series/venus-cupid-folly-time-30-years-of-the-divine-comedy

correction: five double full album shows.

The first of which was last night, after being postponed for two years. Loved it, I've barely listened to them in recent years but I'll dip back in now. I thought I would enjoy Promenade more but Liberation was so much fun and full of variety, really quite a stunning (sort of) debut album, especially considering he was the sole arranger and played most of the instruments (on the album, not in the show!)

Aww I’d love to see him do this. He played once in Toronto, his birthday, in a tiny little room. That was nice but so long ago

I and two friends had tickets for tonight's Casanova/Short Album bought in early 2020. In the enormous gestation period it turns out we all couldn't make it :(

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