The Divine Comedy – Casanova

Description

09/10/2020

In 1990 Neil Hannon started recording and releasing under the name The Divine Comedy. Thirty years and twelve great albums later, Hannon is rightly adjudged one of the finest singer songwriters of his generation. To celebrate, Divine Comedy Records are remastering and reissuing nine of the band’s classic albums.  The nine reissued albums have been remastered from the original tapes at the legendary Abbey Road Studios by mastering engineer Frank Arkwright (Blur, The Smiths). Overseeing the audio throughout the campaign is engineer / mixer / producer Guy Massey, whose work on the Beatles Stereo Remasters won him a Grammy Award.  ‘Casanova’ was the band’s third album and the first to bring real success. First released in 1996 it explored and dissected a world of casual affairs, loose morals and a thousand anxieties in between. From the NME: “‘Casanova’ fairly teems with sex, with suppressed desires… with ample evidence of what dicks men can be.” Mojo described it as a “glorious… sumptuous paean to life, love and longing.” Select said “Only a barren heart could resist it… Sensible people simply swooned.” 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.  The CD release consists of two discs: the original remastered album, with a second CD of B-sides, demos and alternate versions lovingly curated by Neil Hannon, much of which has never been heard before. The CD comes with a booklet of photos, credits and extensive liner notes written by Neil covering the context and inspiration behind the album and its songs.  The LP release consists of the original remastered album, cut at Abbey Road, packaged with a download code for the album and bonus tracks. The LP is heavyweight black vinyl in a gatefold sleeve accompanied with photos, credits and Neil’s liner notes.