Casanova

Product Information

Two of Casanova 's songs were originally composed by Hannon as potential theme tunes for the 1995 sitcom Father Ted: Hannon's first attempt was rejected, and he reworked it to become "A Woman of the World"; his second attempt was accepted and used as the theme for the series, but was later reworked as "Songs of Love", eschewing the original version's guitar for harpsichord. Singles Something For The Weekend, Becoming More Like Alfie and The Frog Princess became chart hits and airplay staples while an alternate version of Songs Of Love became the theme music for legendary Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products.

I may be ready to leave Father Ted behind in the vault of nostalgia in my mind, but Casanova I will keep coming back to – and not just for “Songs of Love”. And it always sounds fantastic, because, besides the brash orchestra in the background (and sometimes at the forefront), Hannon can really sing. Taken from the same session 'A Woman Of The World' was also a contender for the show's theme tune but ultimately became the jaunty deep cut seen here, proving that Hannon is no stranger to recycling creative ideas across his career.Also a scratch right at the beginning of the side to dead wax that creates a nasty pop for the first five or six seconds. The fact that the song also shares a title with a track from Scott only drives home the deliberate Walker emulation. Setanta was able to indulge Neil Hannon's desire because of the success of Edwyn Collins' hit single " A Girl Like You".

The album is “inspired by the writings of the eighteenth century Venetian gambler, eroticist, and spy” (which Hannon himself details in the penultimate “Theme From Casanova”, using his best BBC voice as he ushers in a contrastingly gentle and ambling instrumental piece). Walker might be gone, but the ways in which Hannon emulates him, captures his nuance and style, is like having someone putting out B-sides to Scott 1-4 across their own career. But one thing that has thankfully been unwavering through the decades is my love of the music from the show.Casanova is Hannon at his best, showing his range, his talent, and his inventive mind as he takes in the world around him. But hearing it also reminds me to be thankful that the show put me onto one of Northern Ireland’s best musical exports: The Divine Comedy.