A Short Album About Love

A Short Album About Love is the fifth studio album by Northern Irish chamber pop band the Divine Comedy, released in 1997 by Setanta Records. It was recorded on 20 October 1996 at Shepherd's Bush Empire, London.

A Short Album About Love
Studio album by
The Divine Comedy
Released10 February 1997 (1997-02-10)
Recorded20 October 1996
StudioShepherd's Bush Empire, London
GenreOrchestral pop
Length31:58
LabelSetanta
The Divine Comedy chronology
Casanova
(1996)		 A Short Album About Love
(1997)		 Fin de Siècle
(1998)
Singles from A Short Album About Love
  1. "Everybody Knows (Except You)"
    Released: 10 March 1997

Release and reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Guardian[2]
NME8/10[3]
Q[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[5]
Select3/5[6]

"Everybody Knows (Except You)" was released as a single on three separate CDs, each one featuring an extra three live tracks. It became one of the band's biggest hits, reaching No. 14 in the UK charts.[7] The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[8]

Track listing

All songs written by Neil Hannon except where stated.

No.TitleLength
1."In Pursuit of Happiness"3:31
2."Everybody Knows (Except You)"3:48
3."Someone"5:58
4."If..."4:25
5."If I Were You (I'd Be Through with Me)"4:41
6."Timewatching"4:42
7."I'm All You Need"4:51

European edition bonus tracks[9]

No.TitleLength
8."Motorway to Damascus" 
9."Love Is Lighter Than Air" (Stephin Merritt) 
10."Birds of Paradise Farm" 
11."Make It Easy on Yourself" (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) 
  • "Birds of Paradise Farm" is a studio recording, produced by Darren Allison and Hannon, during the Casanova album sessions, and as such, features a completely different line-up to the band heard on the rest of the album, with Allison playing drums and percussion, Hannon playing "everything else", and strings/woodwinds recorded at Abbey Road Studios. "Birds of Paradise Farm" had previously appeared as a B-side of the "Something for the Weekend" single.
  • "Love Is Lighter Than Air" and "Motorway to Damascus" are also studio recordings, this time featuring the newly formed, post-Casanova, core live Divine Comedy band. Both tracks had also appeared as B-sides to Casanova-era singles: "Something for the Weekend" and "Becoming More Like Alfie", respectively.[7]

In other media

The middle eight of "In Pursuit of Happiness" was subsequently adopted as the theme for the TV series Tomorrow's World. The original version was used for one season of the show, with a specially-recorded version being substituted thereafter.

Personnel

The Divine Comedy

  • Neil Hannon – vocals, guitar
  • Ivor Talbot – guitar
  • Bryan Mills – bass guitar
  • Joby Talbot – piano, orchestral arrangements
  • Stuart "Pinkie" Bates – Hammond organ
  • Miguel Barradas – drums

The Brunel Ensemble

  • Simon Baggs – violin, orchestra leader
  • Lisa Betteridge, Kate Birchall, Krista Juanita Caspersz, Emily Davis, Benjamin Harte, Mary Martin, Timothy Myall, Benjamin Nabarro, Juliet Warden – violins
  • Yannick Dondelinger, Zoe Lake, Jong On Lau, John Murphy – violas
  • Betsy Taylor, Robbie Jacobs, Douncan Moulton – celli
  • Peter Devlin, Philip Dawson – double basses
  • Max Spiers – oboe
  • Charlotte Glasson – saxophone, flute
  • Matthew Gunner – horn
  • Simon Jones – trumpet
  • Adam Howard – trumpet, flugelhorn
  • Jane Butterfield – trombone
  • Robert Farrer – percussion
  • Christopher Austin – conductor

References
  1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "A Short Album About Love – The Divine Comedy". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  2. Sullivan, Caroline (7 February 1997). "The Divine Comedy: A Short Album About Love (Setanta)". The Guardian.
  3. Kessler, Ted (8 February 1997). "The Divine Comedy – A Short Album About Love". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  4. Maconie, Stuart (March 1997). "The Divine Comedy: A Short Album About Love". Q. No. 126. Archived from the original on 1 September 2004. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  5. Randall, Mac (2004). "The Divine Comedy". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 245. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  6. Harrison, Ian (March 1997). "The Divine Comedy: A Short Album About Love". Select. No. 81.
  7. "Divine Comedy – Full Official Chart History". Official Charts. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  8. Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (7 February 2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 0-7893-1371-5.
  9. "The Divine Comedy – A Short Album About Love (1997, CD)". Discogs. 5 October 1997.
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