A Short Album About Love (1997)

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.

Release

"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.

In other media

The middle eight of the opening track "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.

Critical reception

In a review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that the album was singer Neil Hannon "[deciding] to indulge his Scott Walker fetish", opining that "A Short Album About Love is, if anything, an even better record than [previous album] Casanova, simply because Hannon holds nothing back." He went on to state that "These are grandiose, extravagant songs that work because of their very pretensions."

The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

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