Liberation (The Divine Comedy album)

Liberation is a 1993 album by The Divine Comedy, released on Setanta. It was the second album to be released by The Divine Comedy, although the band's leader, Neil Hannon, often refers to it as the first due to the stylistic differences of the earlier album, Fanfare for the Comic Muse. The album was recorded over the space of twelve days in March, 1993 by Hannon and Darren Allison. Hannon played most of the instruments on the album, while Allison was the recording engineer and drummer.[4]

Liberation
Studio album by The Divine Comedy
Released	16 August 1993 (1993-08-16)
Recorded	March 1993
Studio	Fundamental, London
Genre	Pop,[1] art pop[2]
Length	51:57
Label	Setanta
Producer	Neil Hannon, Darren Allison
The Divine Comedy chronology
Fanfare for the Comic Muse (1990) Liberation (1993) Promenade (1994)
Singles from Liberation
"Lucy" Released: 18 October 1993

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Hot Press	10/12[1]
Select	4/5[3]

The album was released to much critical acclaim but little commercial success. It features harpsichord, violin, viola, cello, French horn, and a Hammond B3 organ. Several of the songs are inspired by (or refer to) works of literature: "Bernice Bobs Her Hair" is based on the short story of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald; "Three Sisters" is about the play of the same name by Anton Chekhov; "Lucy" is an amalgamation of three of the Lucy poems by William Wordsworth; "Timewatching" is inspired by the popular song "When I Fall In Love"; "Death of a Supernaturalist" is preceded by a quote from A Room with a View by E. M. Forster, spoken by Julian Sands and Daniel Day-Lewis and sampled from the Merchant-Ivory film of the same name. More playfully, "Festive Road" is a tribute to the children's television programme Mr Benn.

Track listing

All songs written and arranged by Neil Hannon; additional lyrics on "Lucy" by William Wordsworth

1. "Festive Road" – 1:56
2. "Death of a Supernaturalist" – 3:18
3. "Bernice Bobs Her Hair" – 4:00
4. "I Was Born Yesterday" – 3:29
5. "Your Daddy's Car" – 3:55
6. "Europop" – 4:30
7. "Timewatching" – 3:53
8. "The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count" – 4:19
9. "Queen of the South" – 4:27
10. "Victoria Falls" – 4:10
11. "Three Sisters" – 4:42
12. "Europe by Train" – 4:27
13. "Lucy" – 4:39

Personnel

• Neil Hannon – vocals, guitars, bass guitar, keyboards
• Darren Allison – drums, Percussion
• Lucy Castle – viola, violin
• Monica Scott – Cello
• Quentin Hutchinson – french horn

References

1. Clark, Stuart (25 August 1993). "The Divine Comedy: Liberation". Hot Press. Archived from the original on 31 May 2004. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
2. Raggett, Ned. "Liberation – The Divine Comedy". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
3. Linehan, Graham (September 1993). "The Divine Comedy: Liberation". Select (39): 86.
4. A Secret History – The Best of the Divine Comedy (Media notes). Setanta. 199. p. 6. SETCD100.