Casanova (studio album)
by The Divine Comedy

An album that sounds like a mesh between Pulp, Morrissey, the Kinks, and Sinatra. Some very unusually memorable lyrics and very fine singing combine with stellar orchestration to produce an excellent record. It is still one step below an all-time-classic like "Different Class" or "Parklife," but it is still quite good. 9/10!

From Jboy56 03/19/2022 11:47 | #283030

I do not care about this kind of operatic style of music. Reminds in many respects Scott Walker.

I can't even remember who suggested this to me (it must have been close to 10 years, lol), but somehow i stumbled on it today and it proved to be a more than worthy rec.

From planetneutral 01/20/2018 13:44 | #206038

"Not my thing" would be a gross understatement.

I heard only recently "Casanova" in its whole, after having heard and read that the album is often considered the best from Divine Comedy. I was very excited about the recent Divine Comedy albums such as "Bang Goes the Knighthood," "Victory for the Comic Muse" and also "The Duckworth Lewis Project", so of course I had to get to know "Casanova", too.

At first the album was a disappointment; generally much heavier arrangements, at times almost in musical approach. Moreover the number of really good songs doesn't compare with the later albums. The production also isn't not quite so clear and modern.

Of course, there are really good songs to find. "Something For the Weekend" was deservedly a nice big hit - very catchy melody and spooky lyrics.

"Songs of Love" is pure pleasure in its musical simplicity, after a streak of something heavy tracks. Both "Becoming More Like Alfie" and "The Frog Princess," were single hits, and these also belong among the most memorable numbers.

The complex and dramatic "Through a Long and Sleepless Night" may be a little hard to get hold of, but it actually has a very nice chorus.

I would, though, never choose "Casanova" to present the Divine Comedy to the uninitiated.

If you love an album it will love you back. If you give it flowers, chocolates and spend time with it, you will be rewarded with love. However there are albums that love from the moment you see yourself on their shiny rear side. Terrible imagery there? Yeah, I agree. Well this album was one which bowled me over the first time. I hadn't heard the passage of life ode with added buses of 'National Express' or the sweet charming 'Everyone Knows (Except You)' yet. Doesn't need them though. With tracks like 'The Frog Princess' there is no need. "You don’t really love me and I don’t really mind, ’cause I don’t love anybody, I come and go through people’s love lives, Your place or mine?" are sharp fellow crones over the string players on the rialto. Also an interesting idea relating the former lover to the royalty and then executed by the revolution royalty. There is a lot of that here, relating the love to a game of predatory conquering. 'In & Out of Paris & London' is one such ballad and a dark tunnel of love. Whole vibe of it is out after midnight ride in the taxi through the city asleep. Wordplay is fantastic too! 'Becoming More Like Alfie' is a funny piece of satire for the nethanderal and 'Middle-Class Heroes' has polite impish tinkering which will make smoke ascend through your room the moment it's on. From a cold fire it would be though. All so stringy. Like a night at the opera house... well if there was no opera on but instead the orchestra. Can be a diverse album. Goes from up-cold-sweet-screaming through haunted house to a piece of classical music... or baroque music? It's a breather anyway. Like classic fm! Also gets out an acoustic guitar for a little ditty named 'Songs Of Love' in the middle. Might want to check that out. This album is going to give you all the love you want. It will reward you dearly. And as it is a CD and an inanimate object it will never let you down and/or threaten to stab you. A real gem!