: Alan Draper
: The Divine Comedy Every Album, Every Song
: Sonicbond Publishing
: 9781789524666
: 1
: CHF 4.40
:
: Musik
: English
: 144
: DRM
: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
: ePUB

Towards the tail end of the 1980s, Neil Hannon: a talented singer/songwriter from Northern Ireland, formed his first line-up of The Divine Comedy. In 1989, he signed a deal with independent label, Setanta Records, which led to the band becoming the label's most successful chart act of the 1990s.
In this book, Alan Draper examines the thirteen original studio albums released under The Divine Comedy banner between 1990 and 2022. This overview includes some interesting additional recordings including single releases and also takes in the pair of albums recorded by offshoot project: The Duckworth Lewis Method, on which Hannon combined forces with fellow Irishman Thomas Walsh.
The sweeping eclecticism on display throughout the recording career of The Divine Comedy is simply breathtaking: from indie roots on the 1990 debut album Fanfare For The Comic Muse; through the groundbreaking hybrid chamber-pop of Liberation and Promenade; to hit singles during the 1990s Britpop era and ambitious orchestral arrangements on later masterworks such as Fin De Siecle and Absent Friends. Through all these changes, Neil Hannon's restless spirit has remained a constant factor at the heart of The Divine Comedy, resulting in the extraordinary and ongoing canon of music explored in this book.


Alan Draper is a writer and musician living in Fareham, Hampshire, UK, with his wife Radiance. Starting his musical career as guitarist with The Alsatians in 1978, he wrote both sides of their 1980 single: 'Teen Romance'/'Our Man In Marrakesh'. His song 'Complications' featured on the album Rocking With The Renees by The Gymslips, a top twenty hit on the independent chart in 1983. His first solo album Earth Magic appeared in 1989, followed by Ascension Day in 1999, both displaying folk, classical and progressive rock influences. His first book Stackridge On Track, was published by Sonicbond in 2022.
Chapter1

Liberation (1993)


Personnel:

Neil Hannon: vocals, guitars, keyboards, arrangements, all other instruments apart from those listed below

Darren Allison: drums, percussion

Lucy Castle: viola, violin

Monica Scott: cello

Quentin Hutchinson: French horn

Recorded at Fundamental Studios, Crouch End, London in March 1993

Mixed at The Lab and The Drugstore, London

Engineer: Darren Allison

Producer: Neil Hannon

Record label: Setanta

Released: 16 August 1993

Highest UK chart position: did not chart

Following the demise of the three-piece line-up in April 1992, Neil Hannon returned home to Northern Ireland, there to lock himself away in his room while he composed the material that would constitute his next two albums:Liberation andPromenade. His latent talent seemed to suddenly switch on and he created the blueprint for his first two true masterworks in a creative frenzy that beggared belief. Ensconced in his parents’ attic, he then employed a four-track tape recorder to demo his next albumLiberation. By March 1993, Hannon felt ready to record the album and Setanta booked him into Fundamental Studios in Crouch End, London, for four weeks. The results proved to be spectacular: the breadth of The Divine Comedy’s new sound palette suddenly expanded Hannon’s songs from grainy black and white into widescreen colour.

The photoshoot for the album cover took place at Richmond Park, London on 3 May. Photographer Kevin Westenburg snapped Neil Hannon, who, sporting freshly shorn hair (dyed a dazzling yellow!), was dressed smartly in a suit and a tie and wearing shades. This head and shoulders image of him holding onto a park gate was set against the backdrop of one of London’s most attractive open spaces. On the final cover shot, both the sky and Hannon were tinted a yellowish hue, contrasting with the green fields in the background.

The album was released on 16 August, and Hannon performed some promotional gigs, accompanied by Chris Worsey on cello and Natalie Box on violin, including a support slot with Blur at Kentish Town Forum on 7 October. In most instances, the press responded favourably toLiberation: Ian Cranna inQ Magazine commented on Hannon, ‘It’s sometimes difficult to tell if he’s being serious or not’, Stuart Clark inHot Press opined, ‘If this LP only sells half-a-dozen copies, it’ll still be a triumph’ andSelect were of the opinion thatLiberation was ‘One of the most bountiful, overflowing joys of the year – any year’.

A voracious reader, Hannon openly admitted to ‘Using novels as a shortcut to wisdom’. One book, in particular, influenced his first tranche of Divine Comedy albums:A Room With A View by EM Forster proved to be a revelation to him, and he subsequently devoured all of Forster’s novels. A quote from Hannon best sums upLiberation: ‘I threw off the shackles of indie-pop and was able to write