In a couple of earlier blog entries, I’d mentioned my interest in The Divine Comedy. and my puzzlement as to how I’d missed this wonderful music for so long. I’ve now managed to acquire all of the currently-available Divine Comedy albums. Absent Friends came from Apple’s iTMS, a local store yielded a CD of the Secret History “best of” collection, Amazon.co.uk supplied Fin de Siecle and Regeneration on CD, and I bought downloads of A Short Album About Love, Casanova, Liberation and Promenade from the group’s web site. (Purists will note that I don’t have Fanfare for the Common Muse or Rarities. Maybe one day.)
Among all these albums, one really stands out for me: Regeneration, released in 2001.
Half a dozen times over the last 25 years I’ve heard a new album which I immediately knew was different, special, something that was going to be part of my life going forward. Scritti Politti’s Cupid & Psyche 85, the Orb’s Ultraworld, The Seduction of Claude Debussy by the Art of Noise, the first October Project album, the LPD’s Maria Dimension, and Lightbulb Sun by Porcupine Tree.
The Divine Comedy’s Regeneration feels like one of these. It’s quite a bit heavier and more cynical than their other albums, and, as a couple of reviewers pointed out, there’s a hint of Radiohead in there. (But you’ll notice that OK Computer isn’t on my list: it’s outstanding stuff, but it doesn’t really touch me.) Songs like “Dumb It Down”, “Mastermind” and “Eye Of The Needle” really skewer their targets, and “Note To Self” makes you think….
Of course it isn’t all dark. “Perfect Lovesong” is just what the name implies:
Give me your love
And I’ll give you the perfect lovesong
With a divine Beatles bassline
And a big old Beach Boys sound
I’ll match you pound for pound
Like heavy-weights in the final round
We’ll hold on to each other
So we don’t fall down
And “Lost Property” is sheer fun – and, incidentally, the first Divine Comedy I ever heard (on a Back To Mine compilation).
Anyway, there it is. Regeneration. Wonderful stuff. Enjoy.