A Short Album About Love
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Released10 February 1997
Recorded20 October 1996
StudioShepherd's Bush Empire, London
| A Short Album About Love | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 10 February 1997 | |||
| Recorded | 20 October 1996 | |||
| Studio | Shepherd's Bush Empire, London | |||
| Genre | Orchestral pop | |||
| Length | 31:58 | |||
| Label | Setanta | |||
| The Divine Comedy chronology | ||||
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| Singles from A Short Album About Love | ||||
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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.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [2] |
| The Great Rock Discography | 7/10[3] |
| The Guardian | [4] |
| MusicHound | 4.5/5[5] |
| NME | 8/10[6] |
| Q | [7] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [8] |
| Select | 3/5[9] |
"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.[10] The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[11]
Track listing
All songs written by Neil Hannon except where stated.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "In Pursuit of Happiness" | 3:31 |
| 2. | "Everybody Knows (Except You)" | 3:48 |
| 3. | "Someone" | 5:58 |
| 4. | "If..." | 4:25 |
| 5. | "If I Were You (I'd Be Through with Me)" | 4:41 |
| 6. | "Timewatching" | 4:42 |
| 7. | "I'm All You Need" | 4:51 |
European edition bonus tracks[12]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 8. | "Motorway to Damascus" | |
| 9. | "Love Is Lighter Than Air" (Stephin Merritt) | |
| 10. | "Birds of Paradise Farm" | |
| 11. | "Make It Easy on Yourself" (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) |
- "Birds of Paradise Farm" is a studio recording, produced by Darren Allison and Hannon, during the Casanova album sessions, and as such, features a completely different line-up to the band heard on the rest of the album, with Allison playing drums and percussion, Hannon playing "everything else", and strings/woodwinds recorded at Abbey Road Studios. "Birds of Paradise Farm" had previously appeared as a B-side of the "Something for the Weekend" single.
- "Love Is Lighter Than Air" and "Motorway to Damascus" are also studio recordings, this time featuring the newly formed, post-Casanova, core live Divine Comedy band. Both tracks had also appeared as B-sides to Casanova-era singles: "Something for the Weekend" and "The Frog Princess", respectively.[10]
