Casanova

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That’s the guy who does the Father Ted theme,” I thought to myself, knowing little else of his musical output at that point. 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. 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.

He can turn an unsuspecting phrase into a magnificent weapon on a whim; the kind that can strike you both immediately and decades later with the same force. The Divine Comedy's Casanova - a collection of songs for bass baritone and ensemble, inspired by the writings of the eighteenth century Venetian gambler, eroticist and spy; and performed for us there by the composer, Neil Hannon. Phrases like “Pale, pubescent beasts” are golden, but one line sticks out in particular: “Fortune depends on the tone of your voice. Take the aforementioned “Songs of Love” for example; Hannon pokes fun at young couples prancing about in front of him with absolutely no regard for how miserable he is.

Its central theme is sex, around which all songs on the album centre, except "The Dogs and the Horses", which is the last song on the album and whose theme is death. But one thing that has thankfully been unwavering through the decades is my love of the music from the show.

I had this on a TDK cassette and played it over and over flying from London to Japan on the way to Australia in early 1997.Casanova is the fourth studio album and features the singles: Something For The Weekend, The Frog Princess and Becoming More Like Alfie, plus Songs Of Love (the theme from Father Ted). It was released in 1996 by Setanta Records, and it happened to be the band's commercial breakthrough. Setanta was able to indulge Neil Hannon's desire because of the success of Edwyn Collins' hit single " A Girl Like You". I may be ready to leave Father Ted behind in the vault of nostalgia in my mind, but Casanova I will keep coming back to – and not just for “Songs of Love”. Truly a poet of his age, he has a magnificent skill of encapsulating everyday woe, everyday love, and the everyday feelings of every day into witty, deprecating couplets.

Singles Something For The Weekend, Becoming More Like Alfie and The Frog Princess became chart hits and airplay staples while an alternate version of Songs Of Love became the theme music for legendary Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted.A couple of months ago, I became aware of The Divine Comedy and the amazing Neil Hannon for the first time (I know . There will be others who can relate to that, but it’s by no means a requirement for enjoying Casanova. Thanks to orchestral arranger Joby Talbot, Hannon sounds truly like a timeless icon here, and that that icon is Scott Walker makes the album all the more enjoyable. 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.

Casanova featured more musicians than on the band's previous two albums, Liberation and Promenade, but like those two albums, Neil Hannon performed the majority of the instrumental parts himself, with co-producer/drummer Darren Allison directing proceedings. It was certified Gold in the UK in July 1997, aided by the release of the album's first single, " Something for the Weekend", which reached No. The fact that the song also shares a title with a track from Scott only drives home the deliberate Walker emulation.T. Bossenger wrote that, with Casanova, Divine Comedy frontman Neil Hannon "started going for a more straightforward pop tone as the base for his songwriting", resulting in the album having a more Britpop flow to it.