Promenade (album)

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Professional reviews
Promenade

Studio album by The Divine Comedy
Released	March 28, 1994
Recorded	October 1993
Genre	Baroque Pop
Length	45:28
Label	Setanta
Producer(s)	Neil Hannon and Darren Allison
All Music Guide [1] Q Magazine [2] NME (Positive) [3] Hot Press (Positive) [4] Mojo (Positive) [5]
The Divine Comedy chronology
Liberation (1993)	Promenade (1994)	Casanova (1996)

Promenade is The Divine Comedy's third album. It was released in 1994 (see 1994 in music) on Setanta to much critical acclaim but little commercial success. It is a concept album about two lovers who spend a day at the sea side.

Promenade is even more classical sounding than its predecessor Liberation. The string arrangements are reminiscent of the works of Michael Nyman, with whom The Divine Comedy would later collaborate. Neil once said that after attending one of Michael Nyman's shows he went up to the composer, handed him a copy of Promenade, and jokingly said, "You can sue me if you like." Years later Nyman said he did not remember the incident, but he said he felt more "flattered than ripped off."^[6]

Promenade is also more literary than Liberation. The album opens with a quote from Isaac Watts' hymn "Our God, Our Help in Ages Past" and ends with a quote from Horace's Ode to Man which is sung as the chorus in an earlier song entitled "The Booklovers." "The Booklovers" contains references to over seventy different authors. Neil Hannon sends all of his albums to Scott Walker, of whom Neil is a very big fan. After Neil sent Scott a copy of Promenade Scott sent him a letter back stating that he particularly liked "The Booklovers."

Promenade also marks the first appearance of Joby Talbot in The Divine Comedy's history. He would go on to become the arranger for most of The Divine Comedy's work, even co-writing two Divine Comedy songs.

1 Album Concept and Themes
2 Track listing
3 Personnel
4 Notes

[edit] Album Concept and Themes

Promenade is a concept album about two lovers who spend a day at the sea side. There are many different interpretations of the story, but it always runs something like this: "Bath" is about the female character taking a bath, and "Going Downhill Fast" is about the male character bicycling over to her house. "The Booklovers" is about the two discussing their favourite authors, "A Seafood Song" is about them enjoying a meal comprising of different types of fish, in "Geronimo" they get caught in the rain as they head back to his place, and they go on a Ferris wheel ride in "Don't Look Down." Later, in "The Lights Go Out All Over Europe" they go see a French film, and "The Summerhouse" is about them reminiscing about their childhood. Then, the girl tries to commit suicide by drowning herself at sea in "Neptune's Daughter", they then get drunk in "A Drinking Song", and "Ten Seconds to Midnight" is about counting down to the New Year and the anniversary of the time when they first met. Finally, in "Tonight We Fly", they transcend everyone through their ecstasy. Some view the song as the couple dying.

One recurring element in Promenade is water. Water is mentioned in one way or another in the following songs: "Bath," "A Seafood Song," "Geronimo," "The Summerhouse," "Neptune's Daughter," and "Tonight We Fly." Another recurring element is gods from mythology. Aphrodite is mentioned in "Bath." Mercury is mentioned in "Going Downhill Fast." Neptune is in the title of "Neptune's Daughter."

References to French New Wave cinema occur in two of the songs. "The Lights Go Out All Over Europe" alludes to François Truffaut's Jules et Jim, contains excerpts of dialogue from Jean-Luc Godard's À Bout de Souffle and one of the characters in the song declares "...my mission is to become eternal and to die", paraphrasing a line from À Bout de Souffle. "The Booklovers" contains the line "Tu connait William Faulkner?", also a quote from À Bout de Souffle.