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.

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
The Guardian	^[2]
NME	8/10^[3]
Q	^[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	^[5]
Select	3/5^[6]

"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.^[7] The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.^[8]

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^[9]

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 "Becoming More Like Alfie", respectively.^[7]

In other media

The middle eight of "In Pursuit of Happiness" was subsequently adopted as the theme for the TV series Tomorrow's World. The original version was used for one season of the show, with a specially-recorded version being substituted thereafter.

Personnel

The Divine Comedy

Neil Hannon – vocals, guitar
Ivor Talbot – guitar
Bryan Mills – bass guitar
Joby Talbot – piano, orchestral arrangements
Stuart "Pinkie" Bates – Hammond organ
Miguel Barradas – drums

The Brunel Ensemble

Simon Baggs – violin, orchestra leader
Lisa Betteridge, Kate Birchall, Krista Juanita Caspersz, Emily Davis, Benjamin Harte, Mary Martin, Timothy Myall, Benjamin Nabarro, Juliet Warden – violins
Yannick Dondelinger, Zoe Lake, Jong On Lau, John Murphy – violas
Betsy Taylor, Robbie Jacobs, Douncan Moulton – celli
Peter Devlin, Philip Dawson – double basses
Max Spiers – oboe
Charlotte Glasson – saxophone, flute
Matthew Gunner – horn
Simon Jones – trumpet
Adam Howard – trumpet, flugelhorn
Jane Butterfield – trombone
Robert Farrer – percussion
Christopher Austin – conductor

References

^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "A Short Album About Love – The Divine Comedy". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
^ Sullivan, Caroline (7 February 1997). "The Divine Comedy: A Short Album About Love (Setanta)". The Guardian.
^ Kessler, Ted (8 February 1997). "The Divine Comedy – A Short Album About Love". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
^ Maconie, Stuart (March 1997). "The Divine Comedy: A Short Album About Love". Q. No. 126. Archived from the original on 1 September 2004. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
^ Randall, Mac (2004). "The Divine Comedy". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 245. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
^ Harrison, Ian (March 1997). "The Divine Comedy: A Short Album About Love". Select. No. 81.
^ ^a ^b "Divine Comedy – Full Official Chart History". Official Charts. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
^ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (7 February 2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 0-7893-1371-5.
^ "The Divine Comedy – A Short Album About Love (1997, CD)". Discogs. 5 October 1997.

v t e The Divine Comedy
Neil Hannon
Studio albums	Fanfare for the Comic Muse Liberation Promenade Casanova A Short Album About Love Fin de Siècle Regeneration Absent Friends Victory for the Comic Muse Bang Goes the Knighthood Foreverland Office Politics
Compilation albums	A Secret History... The Best of the Divine Comedy
Singles	"Lucy" "Something for the Weekend" "I've Been to a Marvellous Party" "Generation Sex" "National Express" "The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count" "Gin Soaked Boy" "Bad Ambassador" "Diva Lady" "To Die a Virgin"
Related	Discography The Duckworth Lewis Method Simon Little Joby Talbot