He was accompanied in that 1995 recording by a specially assembled group of young musicians, under the baton of Dr.

With the vast majority of it's runtime made up of songs themed around the act of fornication, it was Divine Comedy's first toe dipped into the blossoming Brit-Pop genre adding to it's style by way of Hannon's sharp suits and odd appearance. 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. Also included is the iconic 'Song Of Love' - a reworking of the tune originally written for the Channel 4 comedy 'Father Ted'. The breadth of quality is wide here, every moment given due consideration from the band and worth a thesis of critical analysis. L'épreuve de force pour le délicat Neil Hannon : recentrer son délirant opéra comique sur sa petite personne, retrouver au cœur du maëlstrom paranoïaque qui lui sert de dispositif guerrier un peu de la vérité d'une jeunesse ordinaire.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. It was released in 1996 by Setanta Records, and it happened to be the band's commercial breakthrough. Casanova and A Short Album About Love will be performed on the 3rd Sept in London and the 26th Sept in Paris.

The LP is heavyweight black vinyl in a gatefold sleeve accompanied with photos, credits and Neil's liner notes. Jeremy Lee of ABC News considered that this record brought Neil Hannon "closer to the orchestral pop sound he'd been dreaming of. 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. 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. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products.Walker might be gone, but the ways in which Hannon emulates him, captures his nuance and style, is like having someone putting out B-sides to Scott 1-4 across their own career.

The album's closing track, "The Dogs and the Horses", 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.

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.

No doubt the fame from Father Ted helped make the album a commercial success (making it a gold record as well as boasting two Top 20 singles in the UK charts), but the strength of Casanova is earned in its own right – something all the more obvious in hindsight. A couple of months ago, I became aware of The Divine Comedy and the amazing Neil Hannon for the first time (I know . Two of Casanova '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, but was later reworked as "Songs of Love", eschewing the original version's guitar for harpsichord. And ultimately that’s why Casanova is such a rewarding album for me: nostalgia, for both my younger self watching Father Ted, and my present self remembering the musical oeuvre of Scott Walker.Taken from the same session 'A Woman Of The World' was also a contender for the show's theme tune but ultimately became the jaunty deep cut seen here, proving that Hannon is no stranger to recycling creative ideas across his career. Phrases like “Pale, pubescent beasts” are golden, but one line sticks out in particular: “Fortune depends on the tone of your voice. There will be others who can relate to that, but it’s by no means a requirement for enjoying Casanova.