Casanova is the fourth studio album by The Divine Comedy. It was the band's commercial breakthrough. It was released on Setanta and certified Gold in the UK in July 1997. This was helped by the release of the album's first single "Something for the Weekend" which reached number 13 on the charts. Two other singles released from the album, "Becoming More Like Alfie" and "The Frog Princess", charted at 27 and 15 respectively.
Themes
Treble writer A.T. Bossenger wrote that Neil Hannon "started going for a more straightforward pop tone as the base for his songwriting" for Casanova, resulting in the album having a more Britpop flow to it. Its central theme is sex, around which all songs on the album centre, except "The Dogs and the Horses", which is the last song on the album and whose theme is death.
Recording
Casanova had the longest recording period of any Divine Comedy album up to that point and consequently cost more. Setanta was able to indulge Neil Hannon's desire because of the success of Edwyn Collins' hit single "A Girl Like You." Although more musicians were involved than on Liberation and Promenade, for most of the album, as with the previous two albums, Neil Hannon plays the majority of the parts himself, with co-producer/drummer Darren Allison directing proceedings. The album's last track "The Dogs and the Horses", which was 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. 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.
Connections with other music
"The Dogs and the Horses" is very close to the musical style of Scott Walker's first four solo albums. "Through a Long & Sleepless Night", a track off Casanova, shares the same title as a track off Scott's first solo album. Two of the album'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; however, Hannon later reworked it, played on harpsichord, to become "Songs of Love".
Legacy
The album's sixth track, "Songs of Love", made its debut on the popular Channel 4 and RTÉ sitcom Father Ted, officially remaining the show's theme song, as heard in its opening titles and end credits. The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In 2014, NME included the album in its list of "30 Glorious Britpop Albums That Deserve a Reissue Pronto," saying "Gawky Neil Hannon as smooth loverman was a conceit that actually worked and it produced two of Britpop’s least obvious classics in the hilarious Cold Comfort Farm-inspired tale of ‘Something For The Weekend’ and the movie fantasy of ‘Becoming More Like Alfie’."
Track listing
All songs written and arranged by Neil Hannon, except Track 10 arranged by Hannon and Joby Talbot; Track 11 arranged and orchestrated by Talbot.
