Absurd Nightclub Comedy Of... ,The - Eugene Mirman

Advantages: Almost abjectly gorgeous
Disadvantages: To some, cleverness for its own sake

...Once upon a time (or "1989", as it's more commonly known), the diminutive son of a clergyman from Northern Ireland went to London to make his fortune. But his somewhat bog-standard indie guitar band, The Divine Comedy ("I wanted to be Mark Gardener out of Ride very badly indeed") didn't make anyone's fortune with their mini-album "Fanfare For The Comic Muse", so he had a rethink. Without his former bandmates, and with a new-found obsession with polyphonic harmony, chamber music and literary references, Neil Hannon's reborn Divine Comedy were a very different kettle of marine life. The old DC might have sounded deeply derivative, but the new one most certainly didn't, even if one wag did suggest it resembled "the Pet Shop Boys if they'd formed in 1916". In 1993 Hannon released "Liberation", a record tackling such diverse and (cough... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: A compilation of great songs from a great musician
Disadvantages: Disadvantages?!

...When James Marshall Hendrix died in September 1970 at the age of just 27, the world lost a great, talented musician who was a definite icon and innovator in music...and here comes a "definitive" greatest hits album of Hendrix's work - "Experience Hendrix". Released in the UK in 1997, the two-disc edition includes one CD of twenty of Hendrix's releases from numerous years of work... "Purple Haze" - 2:52 "Fire" - 2:43 "The Wind Cries Mary" - 3:20 "Hey Joe" - 3:30 "All Along the Watchtower" - 3:59 "Stone Free" - 3:36 "Crosstown Traffic" - 2:19 "Manic Depression" - 3:42 "Little Wing" - 2:25 "If 6 Was 9" - 5:34 "Foxy Lady" - 3:19 "Bold As Love" - 4:11 "Castles Made of Sand" - 2:47 "Red House" - 3:50 "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" - 5:12 "Freedom" - 3:25 "Night Bird Flying" - 3:50 "Angel" - 4:22 "Dolly... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Beautiful songs, great lyrics, tackling issues which are actually relevant, and all done in a new fresh way which nevertheless still stands out as The Divine Comedy
Disadvantages: Some older fans may not like the new style. Takes a couple of listens to really get used to.

...It's time, once again for me to grace the Divine Comedy area with my presence, and allow you an insight into the wonderful world of Regeneration... Before the album opinion, a bit of background info on the lead up to this album. After almost a decade with their first label Setanta, which had seenfive studio albums and a further "Best of" collection, the Divine Comedy had been dragged away from the small-time and brought into the bright lights and big noise of Parlophone. Also, for Regeneration they enlisted the help of a new producer, Nigel Godrich, who is probably best known for his work with Radiohead and Travis. To be honest, it shows. Just listen to the album and try and imagine one of those two bands singing just about all the songs. You know they could... It's no great secret that I am a Divine Comedy fan; and a big one... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful