You bloody pervert! (Casanova - The Divine Comedy)

Member Name: lazywolfeyes

Product:	Casanova - The Divine Comedy
Date:	23/07/09 (16 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent summer album

Disadvantages: A couple of filler tracks

Casanova is the seedy sequel to Promenade. Gone is the romantic, naive young lover and in his place is the randy, cynical womaniser; the Casanova of the album title. It is very much an album of it's time, sitting comfortably in the Brit pop era, yet there's something timeless about it too.

Something for the Weekend: This opens with our Casanova flirting with some giggly young girls, setting the tone for the rest of the album. It's the story of a young man trying to get his leg over, but the object of his affections is put off by something in the woodshed. Realising he has to show her there's nothing there in order for him to get his shag, he goes into the woodshed, only to be knocked unconscious by her boyfriend. They leave with his car and his money, and he's left for dead... There's some great wordplay here - "Something in his jeans (genes) told him to pretend" and storytelling is something Neil excels at. Something for the Weekend was the single that got Neil noticed - mainly due to Radio presenter Chris Evan's enthusiasm for the song.

Becoming More Like Alfie: Using a sample from the Michael Caine film 'Alfie' clearly outlines what this song is about! Not only does Neil use the film as inspiration for the lyrics, but there is a 60's vibe musically too. One of the highlights of the album.

Middle-Class Heroes: A sarcastic outlook on the state of society, addressing tacky fads and baby booming. I tend to regard this as a filler track but I must admit it's growing on me.

In and Out in Paris and London: The 'in and out' refers to sex, sex and more sex. Another filler track; this is the weakest song of the album in my opinion. It doesn't work for me lyrically or musically.

Charge: Neil uses war as a metaphor for.... oh bloody hell you know what's coming *ahem* next. The lyrics in this are fun, sexy and utterly hilarious

Carefully cut the straps of the booby-traps/ and set the captives free

Chock full of innuendo as well as yet more literary references, this is a pretty special track. It includes funny and alarmingly convincing impersonations of Barry White and Prince. And who doesn't love lines like

Roamin' around in no man's land
gettin' caught in your barbed wire
Baby baby, gonna set your village on fire

Songs of Love: This is a short departure from all the randy, seedy shagging and is a real highlight of the album. Famously used for the theme tune to Father Ted, Songs of Love follows a young romantic as he tries to write love songs, watching on as 'pale pubescent beasts [..] run round, with trousers on fire'. It would perhaps seem more appropriate for the album had Neil kept the original lyrics. Instead of 'my type hibernate' the lyric was 'my type masturbate'. It would certainly fit better on the album, but I can't imagine many people wanting to use it as their first dance at their wedding!

The Frog Princess: We're back to normality here. Women with loose morals, bad relationships and the realisation that the narrator's princess 'turned into a cow'

A Woman of the World: Neil's ode to Breakfast at Tiffany's. This was one of the songs Graham Linehan considered using for Father Ted's theme tune.

Through a Long and Sleepless Night: This a great, often disturbing song about a man with insomnia and the strange thoughts that run through his head at night. Neil's breathy, urgent delivery makes even the most bizarre lyrics sound sexy. "I contemplate my navel hair/ and slowly slide into despair"

Theme from Casanova: An instrumental track introduced by Divine Comedy collaborator Joby Talbot. The song fades out to the sound of running horses and barking dogs, leading into:

The Dogs and the Horses: A strange ending for the album that deals with sex, shagging and horizontal dancing. A sombre, heart wrenching song about the sadness of outliving pets, it never fails to bring a tear to my eye (stop laughing!). Although it's a departure from the theme, it does seem a fitting end. Our Casanova is all grown up, with only his pets for company as he has never settled down, his most meaningful relationships with his animals.

Here's something for the fact fans: The album starts with hello and ends with goodbye.

Summary: Sexy, funny, witty.