DIVINE COMEDY A Secret History Best Of Rare Orig UK 1999 2LP set on Setana
  £   62
  $   82

 


£ 62 Sold For
Aug 7, 2016 Sold Date
Jul 31, 2016 Start Date
£   10 Start price
12   Number Of Bids
  Great Britain Country Of Seller
eBay Auctioned at
 
save auction  

Description

          Salemspider Ebay Page     

 

The Divine Comedy

A Secret History - The Best Of

Very Rare original UK 2LP set released on Setana Records in 1999. 1st UK pressing complete with insert.

For those who want lyrical bones to chew on, there's no denying Neil Hannon's sly appeal. To dismiss him as "baroque" would be as misleading as pegging him as the missing link between Noel Coward, Anthony Newley, and Scott Walker. But Hannon's highly evolved song constructions, grandiose orchestral pretensions, and baritone crooning seem as much quaint classicism as a bicycle built for two -- even as his deft, complex, ambitious arrangements are contemporary. (He's no Leon Redbone.) In the end, his consummate skills as a writer come across most. You hang on the surprise of every wily word, wrapped around venerable melody. Distilled here to a best-of, Hannon makes one of his strongest cases for his dashing, romantic charm. It's this sweeping romanticism, the thick violins and pianos like spectacular sunsets spurring his yearning singing, that transcends his occasional lapses into naughty schoolboy leering. One listen to Fin de Siècle's triumphant "The Certainty of Chance" or A Short Album's cascading "In Pursuit of Happiness" is to open the blinds in a dark room that emit bursts of blinding light; the sweep of the orchestra playing madly, as if running to catch a train, and Hannon's voice bawling along, carried away, shedding its sporadic smugness. Today's Divine Comedy is a lot sweeter and emotional than Dante's. As a word of caution, the uninitiated might find the opening "National Express" and the so-so "Generation Sex" tough going. But with the early help of Hannon's first English hits "Something for the Weekend" and "Becoming More Like Alfie," one can get hooked into Hannon's passion play without realizing it. Pop can mean something more than momentary, torpid trifle again, if only those stifling blinds can be lifted.
 

Tracks Are :-

Side One

1 National Express
2 Something For The Weekend
3 Everybody Knows (Except You)
4 Generation Sex
5 Becoming More Like Alfie

Side Two

1 The Summerhouse
2 Your Daddy's Car
3 The Pop Singer's Fear Of The Pollen Count
4 The Frog Princess

Side Three

1 Gin Soaked Boy
2 Lucy
3 Songs Of Love
4 In Pursuit Of Happiness

Side Four

1 I've Been To A Marvellous Party
2 The Certainty Of Chance
3 Too Young To Die
4 Tonight We Fly

 

  • Released on Setana Records in 1999

  • Catalogue Number SET LP 100

  • Record is in Near Mint condition 

  • Sleeve is in Ex condition (some shelf wear)

 

 ***All Items must be paid for within 7 days***

 

 

 


price rating