The Divine Comedy – Fin De Siècle

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.  ‘Fin de Siècle’ was first released in 1998. Chock full of millennial angst, it was the band’s most ambitious album to date. Time Out described it as “A huge, extraordinary record – a concept album even, picking at the scabs of Twentieth Century existence… quintessential pop music.” Metro said “‘Fin de Siècle’… is dangerously close to being a masterpiece… funny, sad, melodically compelling and obsessed with the themes of numbness, death and public transport.” Neil McCormick in the Telegraph said “Neil Hannon is one of the most prodigiously talented individuals working in the world of pop… The range of Hannon’s songwriting is simply unmatched by any of his contemporaries.” The album charted at number 9 but it was the third single from the album, ‘National Express’, that provided The Divine Comedy with their first Top Ten single. Other stand out tracks from the album include ‘Generation Sex’, ‘The Certainty Of Chance’ and ‘Sunrise’.  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.