Book review: On track…THE DIVINE COMEDY by Alan Draper

Sonicbond Publishing [Publication date 29.02.24]

At end of the 1980s Neil Hannon formed his first line-up of The Divine Comedy. In 1989, he signed a deal with independent label, Setanta Records, which led to The Divine Comedy becoming the label’s most successful chart act of the 1990s.

Author Alan Draper (who also penned a book on Stackridge published by Sonicbond) examines the thirteen original studio albums released under The Divine Comedy banner between 1990 and 2022. The book also covers the two excellent, cricket themed albums released by the Duckworth Lewis Method (Neil Hannon teaming-up with Pugwash’s Thomas Walsh).

This reader/reviewer tended to agree with the author’s take on the Divine Comedy’s albums and songs contained within. To be fair, Neil Hannon/the Divine Comedy have never released a duff album!

The story of the band and their fluctuating line-ups is covered at the start of each chapter dealing with a particular album. The many bonus songs and those exclusive to the two best of collections to date, are also covered in detail.

It had me re-visiting a couple of Divine Comedy albums not heard in awhile, namely ‘Liberation’ and ‘Foreverland’, thanks to the author’s enthusiasm when detailing and describing the band’s music.

The book does lack any real detail of the two official live albums or the EPs. Completists will be a tad disappointed, however, for the casual and new fan this is a good place to start into the wonderful musical worlds created by Neil Hannon and the Divine Comedy. ***1/2

Review by Jason Ritchie

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

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