Description

In 1990 Neil Hannon started recording and releasing under the name The Divine Comedy. Thirty years and twelve great albums later, Hannon is rightly adjudged one of the finest singersongwriters of his generation. To celebrate,nbspDivine Comedy Recordsnbspare remastering and reissuing nine of the bands classic albums.The reissuesnbspwill be released by Neil Hannonrsquos own label Divine Comedy Records on August 21st, 2020A Short Album About Lovenbspwas conceived as a companion piece to the bands previous albumnbspCasanova.nbspItnbspwasnbsprecorded live at the Shepherdrsquos Bush Empire in London in 1996 with a 30piece orchestra, and was released in time for Valentinersquos Day 1997, charting at 13 in the UK. NME described the show where the album was recorded as an evening when dreams finally come true a night of costume changes, classical kisses and in time honoured tradition of drinking and dressing up hugely sophisticated funhellip One suspects it wouldnt be too hazardous to suggest that Neil Hannon is having by far the finest night of his entire sodding life.nbspTime Out, reviewing the album, said Seven of the most heartstoppingly gorgeous, romantic smoochers you have ever heard, all drenched in strings and emotion.nbspThe singlenbspEverybody Knows Except Younbspreached 14 in the UK chart.The album has been remastered from the original tapes at the legendary Abbey Road Studios by mastering engineer Frank Arkwright Blur, The Smiths.nbspOverseeing the audio throughout the campaign is engineermixerproducer Guy Massey, whose work on the Beatles Stereo Remasters won him a Grammy Award.The CD release consists of 2 discs the original remastered 7 track album, with an additional 12 tracks of Bsides, demos and alternate versions lovingly curated by Neil Hannon, much of which has never been heard before. The 2nd disc is the DVD A Short Film About A Short Album About Love ndash a previously unreleased 50minute film of the Shepherdrsquos Bush Empire concert at which Short Album.. was recorded. The CD comes with a booklet of photos, credits and extensive liner notes written by Neil covering the context and inspiration behind the album and its songs.The LP release consists of the original remastered album, cut at Abbey Road, packaged with a download code for the album and bonus tracks. The LP is heavyweight black vinyl in a gatefold sleeve accompanied with photos, credits and Neils liner notes.To mark the release, The Divine Comedy play five nights at the Barbican in London in early September and then later the same month, five nights at the Cite de la Musique in Paris. Performing as an elevenpiece ensemble, the bandnbspwill play two albums from their catalogue in full each night. Casanova and A Short Album About Love will be performed on the 3rd Septembernbspin London and the 26th Sept in Paris.The reissues will be supported by a fan focused social media and email database campaign plus broader PR and marketing campaigns. The Divine Comedy LP is available for home delivery from Vinyl Records London, only £23