Casanova (The Divine Comedy album)

Themes

Treble writer A.T. Bossenger wrote that Neil Hannon went in a "more straightforward pop tone as the base for his songwriting" for Casanova, resulting in the album having a more Britpop flow to it. 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.

The first song begins with the word "Hello" and the last ends with "Goodbye."

Recording

Casanova had the longest recording period of any Divine Comedy album up to that point and consequently cost more. Setanta was able to indulge Neil Hannon's desires because of the success of Edwyn Collins' hit single "A Girl Like You."

Although more musicians were involved than on Liberation and Promenade, for most of the album, as with the previous two albums, Neil Hannon plays the majority of the parts himself, with co-producer/drummer Darren Allison directing proceedings. The album's last track "The Dogs and the Horses", which was recorded at Abbey Road Studios, features a large orchestral ensemble which includes future members of the live band, namely Joby Talbot, Stuart 'Pinkie' Bates, Grant Gordon, and Bryan Mills. Talbot was beginning to play an increasingly important role in the band; he arranged and orchestrated "The Dogs and the Horses," and he co-arranged "Theme from Casanova" with Hannon.

Connections with other music

"The Dogs and the Horses" is very close to the musical style of Scott Walker's first four solo albums. "Through a Long and Sleepless Night", a track off Casanova, shares the same title as a track off Scott's first solo album.

Two of the album's songs were originally composed by Hannon as potential theme tunes for the 1995 sitcom Father Ted. Hannon's first attempt was rejected, and he reworked it to become "A Woman of the World". His second attempt was accepted and used as the theme for the series; however, Hannon later reworked it, played on harpsichord (rather than the series' guitar), to become "Songs of Love".

Legacy

The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

In 2014, NME included the album in its list of "30 Glorious Britpop Albums That Deserve a Reissue Pronto," saying "Gawky Neil Hannon as smooth loverman was a conceit that actually worked and it produced two of Britpop’s least obvious classics in the hilarious Cold Comfort Farm-inspired tale of ‘Something For The Weekend’ and the movie fantasy of ‘Becoming More Like Alfie’."

Track listing

All songs written and arranged by Neil Hannon, except Track 10 arranged by Hannon and Joby Talbot; Track 11 arranged and orchestrated by Talbot.

1. "Something for the Weekend" – 4:19
2. "Becoming More Like Alfie" – 2:59
3. "Middle-Class Heroes" – 5:26
4. "In & Out of Paris & London" – 3:27
5. "Charge" – 5:27
6. "Songs of Love" – 3:26
7. "The Frog Princess" – 5:13
8. "A Woman of the World" – 4:12
9. "Through a Long and Sleepless Night" – 6:12
10. "Theme from Casanova" – 5:51
11. "The Dogs & the Horses" – 5:14

Singles