Regeneration
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Track listing
Show track credits
- 1 Timestretched 2:48
- 2 Bad Ambassador 3:46
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session musician
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session band
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- 3 Perfect Lovesong 3:11
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cello
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- 4 Note to Self 6:00
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Clio Gouldsession musician
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session band
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- 5 Lost Property 4:39
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session musician
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session band
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- 6 Eye of the Needle 5:33
- 7 Love What You Do 3:52
- 8 Dumb It Down 3:56
- 9 Mastermind 5:22
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session musician
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session band
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- 10 Regeneration 5:33
- 11 The Beauty Regime 5:12
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session musician
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session band
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- Total length: 49:52
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6 Issues
- Release view [combined information for all issues]
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Regeneration [p]
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Regeneration Bonus Tracks
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Regeneration 180 gram, Digital Download, Gatefold, Remastered
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Regeneration Bonus CD, Gatefold, Paper/Cardboard Sleeve, Remastered
19 Reviews
Regeneration comes from a weird point in The Divine Comedy's history where Neil Hannon seemed perturbed by the project's odd status as being essentially his solo career; bands were the in thing, therefore the Divine Comedy needed to seem like a band, therefore black and white photos of Neil with some musicians in the booklet and a whooooole lot of tapping into then-current Radioheady trends ahoy.
It'd be infuriating if Neil weren't so bloody good at mashing up OK Computerisms with his usual songwriting style; Perfect Lovesong, for instance, could have slotted onto any of the band's albums from Liberation to Fin de Siecle, whilst most of the other songs likewise simply add a then-cutting edge production aesthetic and gloomier than usual lyrics to Neil's usual songwriting approach. And perhaps part of the whole project is meant to be an enormous deconstruction of then-current trends in rock music (see, for instance, Mastermind) and, simultaneously, crafting an album which exhorted people to see the best in themselves even whilst acknowledging the ugliness in the world (best expressed in The Beauty Regime). It's sorely, sorely underrated.
It'd be infuriating if Neil weren't so bloody good at mashing up OK Computerisms with his usual songwriting style; Perfect Lovesong, for instance, could have slotted onto any of the band's albums from Liberation to Fin de Siecle, whilst most of the other songs likewise simply add a then-cutting edge production aesthetic and gloomier than usual lyrics to Neil's usual songwriting approach. And perhaps part of the whole project is meant to be an enormous deconstruction of then-current trends in rock music (see, for instance, Mastermind) and, simultaneously, crafting an album which exhorted people to see the best in themselves even whilst acknowledging the ugliness in the world (best expressed in The Beauty Regime). It's sorely, sorely underrated.
Published
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Neil Hannon carries this project with clever lyrics. It's art rock with classical elements. He's supported by guitars, synthesizers and percussion. Note to Self makes a philosophical statement for every day of the week. It contrasts pensive moments with outbursts of existential desperation. Dumb It Down criticizes the banality of cable television. Humor, wisdom and artistic expression go hand in hand.
Published
I struggle with Regeneration. Released following The Divine Comedy's departure from Setanta Records and the hugely successful A Secret History: The Best of The Divine Comedy, it really should have been the release which saw Neil Hannon and his band mates solidify their position as the UK's favourite chamber pop act, weaving knowing humour into orchestral pop tapestries.
Instead Regeneration saw Hannon form a stable band and steer them towards a less orchestrated, more guitar-orientated direction. It was a brave move, especially as they had only recently found enormous success with their previous sound after years of trying, and as such had lots of new fans who just wanted more of the same. On the flip side, it was undoubtedly the right point in their career for Hannon to reinvent their sound, as they had pretty much gone as far as they could with their previous approach, and to churn out another album that followed the same pattern would have been counter-productive, though doubtlessly commercial successful.
As it was Regeneration confused a lot of The Divine Comedy fans that were new to the band, though in fairness many long-time fans loved the new approach, realising that the band need to evolve their sound or become stale. There were some great tunes, too, with both "Bad Ambassador" and "Perfect Love Song" being belting numbers. As the album progresses, a lot of the numbers start to blur together though, leaving a not unpleasant, but oddly unmemorable listening experience.
On reflection, Regeneration was perhaps the right album, at the wrong time. If they had released just one more album followed their previous approach, it might have satisfied their recently acquired fans, instead of challenging them to adapt their expectations in the manner that this album did. Sure, Regeneration would have still split opinion when it was released, but at least it might not have scared off the fair-weather fans in the way it did.
Regeneration isn't a bad album by The Divine Comedy, just a badly timed one.
Instead Regeneration saw Hannon form a stable band and steer them towards a less orchestrated, more guitar-orientated direction. It was a brave move, especially as they had only recently found enormous success with their previous sound after years of trying, and as such had lots of new fans who just wanted more of the same. On the flip side, it was undoubtedly the right point in their career for Hannon to reinvent their sound, as they had pretty much gone as far as they could with their previous approach, and to churn out another album that followed the same pattern would have been counter-productive, though doubtlessly commercial successful.
As it was Regeneration confused a lot of The Divine Comedy fans that were new to the band, though in fairness many long-time fans loved the new approach, realising that the band need to evolve their sound or become stale. There were some great tunes, too, with both "Bad Ambassador" and "Perfect Love Song" being belting numbers. As the album progresses, a lot of the numbers start to blur together though, leaving a not unpleasant, but oddly unmemorable listening experience.
On reflection, Regeneration was perhaps the right album, at the wrong time. If they had released just one more album followed their previous approach, it might have satisfied their recently acquired fans, instead of challenging them to adapt their expectations in the manner that this album did. Sure, Regeneration would have still split opinion when it was released, but at least it might not have scared off the fair-weather fans in the way it did.
Regeneration isn't a bad album by The Divine Comedy, just a badly timed one.
Published
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1
Timestretched
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2
Bad Ambassador
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3
Perfect Lovesong
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4
Note to Self
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5
Lost Property
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6
Eye of the Needle
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7
Love What You Do
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8
Dumb It Down
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9
Mastermind
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10
Regeneration
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11
The Beauty Regime
Published
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A bit more subdued than previously, but with the same soul of absolute preciousness.
Published
I did not hear this album at the time of its release - I was either broke or some one said it wasn't very good. Well it is unmistakably Neil Hannon but it is The Divine Comedy as a band and it is a lot darker than the albums that came before (or after for that matter). A lot of reviews say it is an acoustic "OK Computer" and they are right - there is certainly a lot more in common than Nigel Godrich who produced both. So - a very fine album.
Published
Underrated
Published
A really pleasant album. I am trying to convince my wife that she likes The Divine Comedy with this one, but not really getting very far.
So, you will either like it in an OK sort of way, or it will do nothing for you. It isn't going to set the world on fire, but it does get you humming along and tapping your feet occasionaly. A perfect example of this niceness is Perfect Lovesong. It has recorders! (Or something that sounds very much like them...) Careful though, he swears on Note to Self, the naughty man.
In order of preference I listen to this after Fin de Sielcle but before Absent Friends.
So, you will either like it in an OK sort of way, or it will do nothing for you. It isn't going to set the world on fire, but it does get you humming along and tapping your feet occasionaly. A perfect example of this niceness is Perfect Lovesong. It has recorders! (Or something that sounds very much like them...) Careful though, he swears on Note to Self, the naughty man.
In order of preference I listen to this after Fin de Sielcle but before Absent Friends.
Published
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