The Divine Comedy - Foreverland (2016) {Divine Comedy Records Limited DCRL107CD}
The Divine Comedy - Foreverland (2016) {Divine Comedy Records Limited DCRL107CD}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 258 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 99 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 73 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2016 Divine Comedy Records Limited / [PIAS] | DCRL107CD
Chamber Pop / Baroque / Alternative / Indie Pop / Orchestral Pop
Plenty of bands and artists have tried to perfect chamber pop into an ideal mixture classical ideas, instrumentation, and compositions with modern sensibilities and textures. Some end up landing mostly in the pop category with a few strings and horns sprinkled in, other veer far into the experimental and lose any pop appeal entirely. But Neil Hannon, leader and only consistent member of the Divine Comedy, apparently hit the ideal balance sometime in the late ‘90s and just keeps running with it. But Foreverland doesn’t sound like the result of an artist that’s been at it for over two decades. It’s still fresh and impressively in tune with the rest of the musical landscape.
The Divine Comedy - Foreverland (2016) {Divine Comedy Records Limited DCRL107CD}
![The Divine Comedy - Foreverland (2016) {Divine Comedy Records Limited DCRL107CD}]()
Hannon has built his career at least partially on very clever, wink-nudge songwriting. His ability to write odd little songs about standing one one leg and beating your dad at chess one moment, then turn around and and perform a heart-wrenching ballad of lost love the next moment is utterly singular. He’s quirky and funny without being seen as a childish novelty artist and he’s poetic and thoughtful without appearing aloof or elitist. And he makes that delicate balance seem almost easy, especially on this new album.
Foreverland is rich with intricate orchestral arrangements right from the beginning. “Napoleon Complex” fairly shimmers with lively strings and bouncy percussion. Hannon delivers a clever and comedic—if historically innacurate—lyrical story that sets the tone for the rest of the album. It’s very musically complex and serious in its composition, but the lyrical content, well, that’s where the charm really kicks in. “Catherine the Great” sits a jangly pop tune on top of classical period harpsichord as Hannon sings the praises of Russia’s 18th century Empress in only semi-accurate terms. And the duet of “Funny Peculiar” is light and cute and ultimately charming even for all of it’s cloying sweetness.
The Divine Comedy - Foreverland (2016) {Divine Comedy Records Limited DCRL107CD}
![The Divine Comedy - Foreverland (2016) {Divine Comedy Records Limited DCRL107CD}]()
For some Absent Friends was a high point for Hannon. The album exuded a sense of the fact that he had essentially just become a solo artist and it came off as moody. Bang Goes the Knighthood also stands out as a successful work, but it was heavily cynical and sarcastic which took away from the music’s charm. But with an album that centers primarily around love and personal relationships, Hannon seems to have less to be cynical about. So many of the songs are uncharacteristically uplifting like “My Happy Place” and “To the Rescue”. Even the solemn and tender song “Other People”, after setting a contemplative mood with emotionally swelling strings and words that tug at the heartstrings, ends abruptly with Hannon stopping mid thought and trailing of saying “And blah, blah, blah”. That’s one way to lighten the mood back up again and it’s moments like that that are unexpected but effectively balance the feeling.
The album’s low points don’t necessarily have a single notable weakness, they just seem mostly superfluous surrounded by the more successful tracks. After an initial listen, the listener wants to return to memorable stories like “I Joined the Foreign Legion (To Forget)” or to relatable and unique takes on standard love songs like “How Can You Leave Me on My Own”. Songs like the title track seem too predictable or understated to have the same initial quality that makes you want to put the song on repeat.
After over 25 years of tweaking the formula, Neil Hannon clearly still fits into his niche. But it’s expanding and morphing with every iteration and Foreverland is one of the more notable ones. He and his band seem to not only have perfected the genre of orchestral pop, but to have perfected their own balance of goofiness and sincerity. It’s a peculiar kind of funny and it’s strangely attractive.
The Divine Comedy - Foreverland (2016) {Divine Comedy Records Limited DCRL107CD}
Personnel:
The Divine Comedy - Foreverland (2016) {Divine Comedy Records Limited DCRL107CD}
tracklist:
01 - Napoleon Complex
02 - Foreverland
03 - Catherine The Great
04 - Funny Peculiar
05 - The Pact
06 - To The Rescue
07 - How Can You Leave Me On My Own
08 - I Joined The Foreign Legion (To Forget)
09 - My Happy Place
10 - A Desperate Man
11 - Other People
12 - The One Who Loves You
Exact Audio Copy V1.1 from 23. June 2015
EAC extraction logfile from 1. November 2016, 21:59
The Divine Comedy / Foreverland
Used drive : ASUS DRW-24B3ST i Adapter: 1 ID: 0
Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No
Read offset correction : 6
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000
Gap handling : Appended to previous track
Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 128 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : No
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Flac\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -8 -V -T "ARTIST=%artist%" -T "TITLE=%title%" -T "ALBUM=%albumtitle%" -T "DATE=%year%" -T "TRACKNUMBER=%tracknr%" -T "TOTALTRACKS=%numtracks%" -T "GENRE=%genre%" -T "ALBUMARTIST=%albumartist%" -T "ALBUM ARTIST=%albumartist%" -T "COMMENT=EAC Secure Mode, Test & Copy, AccurateRip, FLAC -8" %source%
TOC of the extracted CD
Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-
1 | 0:00.00 | 4:45.16 | 0 | 21390
2 | 4:45.16 | 4:01.46 | 21391 | 39511
3 | 8:46.62 | 3:03.42 | 39512 | 53278
4 | 11:50.29 | 2:44.30 | 53279 | 65608
5 | 14:34.59 | 2:55.39 | 65609 | 78772
6 | 17:30.23 | 5:16.03 | 78773 | 102475
7 | 22:46.26 | 3:31.49 | 102476 | 118349
8 | 26:18.00 | 3:41.28 | 118350 | 134952
9 | 29:59.28 | 4:10.53 | 134953 | 153755
10 | 34:10.06 | 2:42.37 | 153756 | 165942
11 | 36:52.43 | 1:35.59 | 165943 | 173126
12 | 38:28.27 | 3:21.00 | 173127 | 188201
Track 1
Filename C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Rips\01 - Napoleon Complex.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:02.00
Peak level 94.3 %
Extraction speed 4.5 X
Track quality 99.9 %
Test CRC A379CF98
Copy CRC A379CF98
Accurately ripped (confidence 9) [0DE045CF] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 2
Filename C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Rips\02 - Foreverland.wav
Peak level 83.0 %
Extraction speed 5.8 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC CB365639
Copy CRC CB365639
Accurately ripped (confidence 8) [7C96865B] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 3
Filename C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Rips\03 - Catherine The Great.wav
Peak level 94.3 %
Extraction speed 4.8 X
Track quality 99.9 %
Test CRC 5BB1B26E
Copy CRC 5BB1B26E
Accurately ripped (confidence 8) [E66F0522] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 4
Filename C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Rips\04 - Funny Peculiar.wav
Peak level 85.9 %
Extraction speed 6.2 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 2A4F57D8
Copy CRC 2A4F57D8
Accurately ripped (confidence 8) [6DDE0687] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 5
Filename C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Rips\05 - The Pact.wav
Peak level 91.8 %
Extraction speed 6.4 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 953B27E4
Copy CRC 953B27E4
Accurately ripped (confidence 8) [8D666F73] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 6
Filename C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Rips\06 - To The Rescue.wav
Peak level 94.3 %
Extraction speed 6.5 X
Track quality 99.9 %
Test CRC 5AE2F21A
Copy CRC 5AE2F21A
Accurately ripped (confidence 8) [F5D1D3B8] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 7
Filename C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Rips\07 - How Can You Leave Me On My Own.wav
Peak level 94.3 %
Extraction speed 7.4 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC AE179F4D
Copy CRC AE179F4D
Accurately ripped (confidence 8) [CE8978A7] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 8
Filename C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Rips\08 - I Joined The Foreign Legion (To Forget).wav
Peak level 93.8 %
Extraction speed 7.9 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC BF77DF31
Copy CRC BF77DF31
Accurately ripped (confidence 8) [96D32BE9] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 9
Filename C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Rips\09 - My Happy Place.wav
Peak level 93.4 %
Extraction speed 6.3 X
Track quality 99.9 %
Test CRC 31ACCA00
Copy CRC 31ACCA00
Accurately ripped (confidence 8) [2835B787] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 10
Filename C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Rips\10 - A Desperate Man.wav
Peak level 94.3 %
Extraction speed 5.5 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 34F4EDE4
Copy CRC 34F4EDE4
Accurately ripped (confidence 8) [58B2CDDF] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 11
Filename C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Rips\11 - Other People.wav
Peak level 94.3 %
Extraction speed 3.2 X
Track quality 99.7 %
Test CRC DB7DBC56
Copy CRC DB7DBC56
Accurately ripped (confidence 8) [BF80622E] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 12
Filename C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Rips\12 - The One Who Loves You.wav
Peak level 94.3 %
Extraction speed 3.7 X
Track quality 99.8 %
Test CRC 10776A0D
Copy CRC 10776A0D
Accurately ripped (confidence 8) [DCC78AA6] (AR v2)
Copy OK
All tracks accurately ripped
No errors occurred
End of status report
–– CUETools DB Plugin V2.1.6
[CTDB TOCID: BH0ue72EIdNvDoM8gADRHwbedCE-] found
Submit result: BH0ue72EIdNvDoM8gADRHwbedCE- has been confirmed
Track | CTDB Status
1 | (68/69) Accurately ripped
2 | (68/69) Accurately ripped
3 | (68/69) Accurately ripped
4 | (68/69) Accurately ripped
5 | (68/69) Accurately ripped
6 | (68/69) Accurately ripped
7 | (68/69) Accurately ripped
8 | (68/69) Accurately ripped
9 | (68/69) Accurately ripped
10 | (68/69) Accurately ripped
11 | (68/69) Accurately ripped
12 | (67/69) Accurately ripped
==== Log checksum A93E56F76BD976F0A1CE350972C2E574B673DA71AC00F26EDF8BF164B2A2FCCE ====
EAC extraction logfile from 1. November 2016, 21:59
The Divine Comedy / Foreverland
Used drive : ASUS DRW-24B3ST i Adapter: 1 ID: 0
Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No
Read offset correction : 6
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000
Gap handling : Appended to previous track
Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 128 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : No
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Flac\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -8 -V -T "ARTIST=%artist%" -T "TITLE=%title%" -T "ALBUM=%albumtitle%" -T "DATE=%year%" -T "TRACKNUMBER=%tracknr%" -T "TOTALTRACKS=%numtracks%" -T "GENRE=%genre%" -T "ALBUMARTIST=%albumartist%" -T "ALBUM ARTIST=%albumartist%" -T "COMMENT=EAC Secure Mode, Test & Copy, AccurateRip, FLAC -8" %source%
TOC of the extracted CD
Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-
1 | 0:00.00 | 4:45.16 | 0 | 21390
2 | 4:45.16 | 4:01.46 | 21391 | 39511
3 | 8:46.62 | 3:03.42 | 39512 | 53278
4 | 11:50.29 | 2:44.30 | 53279 | 65608
5 | 14:34.59 | 2:55.39 | 65609 | 78772
6 | 17:30.23 | 5:16.03 | 78773 | 102475
7 | 22:46.26 | 3:31.49 | 102476 | 118349
8 | 26:18.00 | 3:41.28 | 118350 | 134952
9 | 29:59.28 | 4:10.53 | 134953 | 153755
10 | 34:10.06 | 2:42.37 | 153756 | 165942
11 | 36:52.43 | 1:35.59 | 165943 | 173126
12 | 38:28.27 | 3:21.00 | 173127 | 188201
Track 1
Filename C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Rips\01 - Napoleon Complex.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:02.00
Peak level 94.3 %
Extraction speed 4.5 X
Track quality 99.9 %
Test CRC A379CF98
Copy CRC A379CF98
Accurately ripped (confidence 9) [0DE045CF] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 2
Filename C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Rips\02 - Foreverland.wav
Peak level 83.0 %
Extraction speed 5.8 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC CB365639
Copy CRC CB365639
Accurately ripped (confidence 8) [7C96865B] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 3
Filename C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Rips\03 - Catherine The Great.wav
Peak level 94.3 %
Extraction speed 4.8 X
Track quality 99.9 %
Test CRC 5BB1B26E
Copy CRC 5BB1B26E
Accurately ripped (confidence 8) [E66F0522] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 4
Filename C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Rips\04 - Funny Peculiar.wav
Peak level 85.9 %
Extraction speed 6.2 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 2A4F57D8
Copy CRC 2A4F57D8
Accurately ripped (confidence 8) [6DDE0687] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 5
Filename C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Rips\05 - The Pact.wav
Peak level 91.8 %
Extraction speed 6.4 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 953B27E4
Copy CRC 953B27E4
Accurately ripped (confidence 8) [8D666F73] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 6
Filename C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Rips\06 - To The Rescue.wav
Peak level 94.3 %
Extraction speed 6.5 X
Track quality 99.9 %
Test CRC 5AE2F21A
Copy CRC 5AE2F21A
Accurately ripped (confidence 8) [F5D1D3B8] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 7
Filename C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Rips\07 - How Can You Leave Me On My Own.wav
Peak level 94.3 %
Extraction speed 7.4 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC AE179F4D
Copy CRC AE179F4D
Accurately ripped (confidence 8) [CE8978A7] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 8
Filename C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Rips\08 - I Joined The Foreign Legion (To Forget).wav
Peak level 93.8 %
Extraction speed 7.9 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC BF77DF31
Copy CRC BF77DF31
Accurately ripped (confidence 8) [96D32BE9] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 9
Filename C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Rips\09 - My Happy Place.wav
Peak level 93.4 %
Extraction speed 6.3 X
Track quality 99.9 %
Test CRC 31ACCA00
Copy CRC 31ACCA00
Accurately ripped (confidence 8) [2835B787] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 10
Filename C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Rips\10 - A Desperate Man.wav
Peak level 94.3 %
Extraction speed 5.5 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 34F4EDE4
Copy CRC 34F4EDE4
Accurately ripped (confidence 8) [58B2CDDF] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 11
Filename C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Rips\11 - Other People.wav
Peak level 94.3 %
Extraction speed 3.2 X
Track quality 99.7 %
Test CRC DB7DBC56
Copy CRC DB7DBC56
Accurately ripped (confidence 8) [BF80622E] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 12
Filename C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Rips\12 - The One Who Loves You.wav
Peak level 94.3 %
Extraction speed 3.7 X
Track quality 99.8 %
Test CRC 10776A0D
Copy CRC 10776A0D
Accurately ripped (confidence 8) [DCC78AA6] (AR v2)
Copy OK
All tracks accurately ripped
No errors occurred
End of status report
–– CUETools DB Plugin V2.1.6
[CTDB TOCID: BH0ue72EIdNvDoM8gADRHwbedCE-] found
Submit result: BH0ue72EIdNvDoM8gADRHwbedCE- has been confirmed
Track | CTDB Status
1 | (68/69) Accurately ripped
2 | (68/69) Accurately ripped
3 | (68/69) Accurately ripped
4 | (68/69) Accurately ripped
5 | (68/69) Accurately ripped
6 | (68/69) Accurately ripped
7 | (68/69) Accurately ripped
8 | (68/69) Accurately ripped
9 | (68/69) Accurately ripped
10 | (68/69) Accurately ripped
11 | (68/69) Accurately ripped
12 | (67/69) Accurately ripped
==== Log checksum A93E56F76BD976F0A1CE350972C2E574B673DA71AC00F26EDF8BF164B2A2FCCE ====
The Divine Comedy - Foreverland (2016) {Divine Comedy Records Limited DCRL107CD}
The Divine Comedy - Foreverland (2016) {Divine Comedy Records Limited DCRL107CD}
===