Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Out With The Old..., 11 Nov 2003
This album seems to be something of a curate's egg for some fans of Neil Hannon's previous work. Gone are the sweeping orchestral backdrops, big production and sardonic lyrical wit, to be replaced by more sparse arrangements and a decidedly more cynical outlook. It puzzles me that some people view this change of direction as a concession to a more commercial sound required by a major record label (or selling out), or a contrived attempt to emulate the likes of Radiohead (hiring Nigel Godrich as producer), or the token duff album every band produces once in a while.
What nonsense. This album finds Hannon in a more introspective and musicianly frame of mind; contributing guitar on every track this time around and giving the band more of a look-in. Hence the stripped-down, band-orientated sound. Surely if you're a musician, or any creative type for that matter, you are constantly looking for fresh angles from which to create; new perspectives in which to present your work. Hannon could easily have continued his trademark foppish suit-and-tie orchestral whimsy and probably become a huge star, but he has the wisdom to leave it before it becomes boring and predictable and tread a new path.
This is very much evident with album-opener "Timestretched", a muted, downbeat song in stark contrast to the big opening numbers of previous albums. Straight away you know that this is not The Divine Comedy of old. "Bad Ambassador" unleashes a bit more bombast and reassures the listener that Hannon has not abandoned the violins altogether. The only song remotely approaching familiar territory is the lovely "Perfect Love Song", before the entirely unfamiliar crops up in the dark, edgy, guitar-driven "Note To Self".
From here on in, the tone is distinctly cynical - disillusioned, despairing, angry, world-weary, all hung together by a tentative thread of slight optimism - but certainly never contrived. Hannon's bemusement at the ridiculousness of many aspects of modern life appears to be the main theme - he takes swipes at religion, vanity and celebrity culture, amongst other things. Sure, it takes a bit of getting used to if you were expecting Hannon's social observations to follow previous examples ("Generation Sex", for instance), but one gets the feeling that Nigel Godrich's remit was to reign in Hannon's usual predilections. So, where you might normally expect a grandiose orchestral setting for Hannon's melancholy reflections, there is a pared-right-down arrangement with an acoustic guitar being gently strummed in the background. What was once lush and flamboyant becomes bleak and austere.
As the album title suggests, this is the work of a man tired of his old image (and possibly the public perception of his work, perhaps done no favours by "National Express" being the hit it was), and eager to tread pastures new. The lyrics, while perhaps more edgy in places than previous offerings, are no less articulate (or witty) for it, and Hannon's heart is still very much on his sleeve. This is an album strong on tunes and thought-provoking lyrics, and it would be a foolish DC fan indeed who dismisses it just because it sounds different. If you want violins and bassoons and songs about European cinema, there is a wealth of wonderful material in Hannon's back catalogue for you to explore. Hannon has moved on, and continues to do so - since the release of this album he has disbanded the seven-piece incarnation of The Divine Comedy to go it alone. One wonders what this latest change in format will bring. Having seen Hannon showcase some new songs (with a string quartet) at the Royal Festival Hall at last year's Meltdown Festival, I am optimistic.
This album represents the first step in a new direction for The Divine Comedy, and all praise to Neil Hannon for striving to break new ground rather than produce more of the same. Pay no heed to those disgruntled fans spouting all manner of twaddle about Hannon "trying to be an indie kid" and other such drivel, and appreciate a fine album of intelligent, well-crafted and articulate music. Then perhaps delve into his previous work and see what you have been missing.
|
|
|
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tonight Matthew, I’m going to be Radiohead!, 6 Feb 2006
I don’t have all of the Divine Comedy’s albums, but I love the 3 I heard before this one. My first feeling on hearing this was disappointment. The album seems a lot more homogenous than other DC records. The songs are similarly paced, and mostly use the same instruments. Slowly tho, it grew on me… this album is definitely a ‘grower’. I would now place is equal with any of the other DC albums. The album begins with the understated ‘timestretched’, which sets the tone of warm melancholy for the rest of the album, with Neil Hannon comparing his life passing to the consumption of beer by a barfly… ‘bars get too busy, with people saying ‘is he…
That guy, oh, what’s his name…?’ ‘bad ambassador’ and ‘perfect lovesong’ come next, almost to throw one off the scent. These are more like traditional DC songs, the latter having the big, sweet sound of something off ‘pet sounds’. After that, the album sounds to me like a more acoustic ‘ok computer’. Tho it’s certainly no slavish copy; Neil Hannon clearly has enough musical ‘strings to his bow’ (no matter what he claims in ‘timestretched’) to give any song his own stamp, whoever who the initial influence may be. For instance, ‘mastermind’ borrows some of the riff from ‘karma police’, but Hannon marries the unsettling tune with positive lyrics and an anthemic chorus that might well make Thom Yorke shudder… Neil Hannon has clearly wanted a change of direction on this album, and he drafts in Nigel Goodrich, the producer of ‘ok computer’ to help him achieve it. Thus there are nice little electronic touches, like the sliding brass synthesiser sound on ‘eye of the needle’ that sounds to me like a very tuneful vacuum cleaner… Incidentally, this would have to be my favourite track; Neil Hannon’s lyrics being at once sincere and witty, and a beautiful uncluttered tune. This album doesn’t have any of the big orchestral productions that characterised ‘fin…’ or the novelty songs that Hannon occasionaly throws into the mix, but in my opinion, it is certainly not the weaker for it. In fact, I think the album displays a real maturity in his songwriting, and the songs stand up without the need for a ‘wall of sound’ production. I have read other reviews here with interest. One reviewer states “‘Regeneration’ is simply their finest!” well, I agree, it is- but then so is ‘Casanova’, ‘Fin de Siecle’ and ‘Liberation’ the other three CD’s of their’s I have heard. It’s like trying to choose the best Beethoven symphony- they’re all flippin’ brilliant! …in their own way.
|
|
|
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of their best, 4 Oct 2005
Regeneration is quite a different album from the rest of the Divine Comedy back-catalouge, and it owes it mostly to its very different sound, created largely by Radiohead's producer. Some may think this is a case of jumping on the musical bandwagon (as Radiohead were very much at the cutting-edge at the time). But after a listen or two to the album, any such concerns can safely be ignored. The arragements are beautifully constructed, and each is a great tune in itself. The sombre, haunting production creates a completely different sound than the usual jaunty, classical sound. Neil Hannon has also written some different songs to match the sound. There are still some moments of comedy and whimsy, but most of the songs contain more angst, and are generally more pensive. Neil Hannon is a brilliant lyricist, and as thought-provoking work goes, you are unlikely to come across anything else as passionate, interesting, or as accessable. He covers everything from dumbing down society, the hypocrisy of the churchgoers mercedes in the church driveway on Sundays, to the difficulty of not quite wanting to live the rock-n-roll lifestyle in the way we expect. If you haven't heard the Divine Comedy before you should probably get Casanova to get an idea of what the body of their work is like. But if you found them too jaunty, or simply want something a little thought-provoking, then get Regeneration.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
~ The Divine Comedy
~ The Divine Comedy
~ The Divine Comedy
~ The Divine Comedy
~ The Divine Comedy
