Timewatching: The Divine Comedy Album-by-album thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by LivingForever, Nov 5, 2020.

  1. Radiophonic_

    Radiophonic_ Electrosonic

    Location:
    Royal Oak MI
    Yeah, this is a truly enjoyable track, and I appreciated the subject matter on first listen as an English major in college. I was still in grad school at the time, and I was like "this is the band for me!" I enjoy the alliteration Neil put in several of the lines, and the music is catchily arranged as well. 4.25/5
     
    LivingForever likes this.
  2. LivingForever

    LivingForever Forum Arachibutyrophobic Thread Starter

    Our good friend Bernice scores 68.15 from a bumper 17 votes, making a "highest so far" total of

    4.01

    Take that, Marjorie! :D
     
    The Booklover and vzok like this.
  3. LivingForever

    LivingForever Forum Arachibutyrophobic Thread Starter

    Today's track is: I Was Born Yesterday

    Another track which doesn't get a mention in Neil's new liner notes, except to say that it was around in the "band days".

    However, in the Promenade liner notes Neil offers up this little nugget of trivia:
    I assume he means, sing the lyrics of the spoken bit of Yesterday ("Saturday Morning, 18th of December"), along to the cello line of the verses of Booklovers (where the authors are being read out...)

    Interesting, anyway!


    ashortsite offers this analysis of the song:
    Given some of the "October" lyrics about education and the oppression of school, plus the fact that we know Neil's parents expected him to do exams and succeed academically, this feels like a likely interpretation.

    The song, then...

     
  4. LivingForever

    LivingForever Forum Arachibutyrophobic Thread Starter

    And, as usual, I'll offer up any available alternate versions of the songs, so here is the "live acoustic version" recorded during the Promenade sessions at Elephant Studios.

    This was included on the bonus disc "A Promenade Companion", and it's quite notable for being both more stripped back and more over the top (not quite sure what that voice is all about at the start but suspect he wouldn't do that now... ;) )

     
  5. Vagabone

    Vagabone Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    I Was Born Yesterday

    To recap on my premature remarks from yesterday, this is the song whose title attracted me in the review I read, but it disappointed me when I heard it on the radio. And it makes three harsh-sounding tunes in a row, to these ears.

    Furthermore, it's a case of diminishing returns with these three songs. It's 4 star song, 3 star song, 2 star song. Lots of the songs of this slow-burner of an album have grown on me, but this one I still don't like. At least. I don't like the main part. I like the spoken word bits, and the delicate instrumental passages. But the title hook and the rest of the verse/chorus are just too unpleasant sounding. It sounds like the kind of song a fledgeling teenage band would be very happy with, and would feature in their live show for years, before discreetly relegating it to b-side status when they began their recording career. I'm not surprised to read that it is indeed an early song.

    I much prefer that Promenade-era version, I think he had really found his sound by then and I'm a sucker for those strings. That version would merit an extra star.

    2/5. More positive ratings/reviews to come!
     
    Hazey John II and LivingForever like this.
  6. Hazey John II

    Hazey John II The lyrics are fine, there's no problem there

    I'm with @Vagabone, though I'm willing to be converted if anyone is a fan of this (I would like to like all of them!). All I can hear is pretentious teenage angst, and it's annoying me more the more I listen to it. The awkward rhymes do it no favours, it has the flavour of a crossword puzzle (second song in row with the same syllable at the end of every line of the chorus, tolerable on Bernice, but grating here). Unlike Death of a Supernaturalist, the arrangement does nothing to elevate it beyond an indie dirge - the cymbals and strings in the bridge are particularly leaden. I used to find the tale of the ballerina somewhat interesting, but Rosemary by Scott Walker does it so much better it makes this irrelevant. I'm surprised at its origins, I won't have it sullying The Booklovers! 1.5/5
     
    LivingForever likes this.
  7. christian42

    christian42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lund, Sweden
    I Was Born Yesterday

    Together with its predecessors, this gets the album off to a good start (which will continue for a couple of tracks). It's still the track here in the beginning that I like the least, but it still rises well above average.

    I'm not overly fond of the spoken bit - I've never liked spoken lyrics in my music - but the rest of the track pleases me greatly. We're back with more baroque sounding arrangements, fairly sparse during the spoken bits and more fully instrumented during the sung bits.

    3.5
     
    The Booklover and LivingForever like this.
  8. jon-senior

    jon-senior Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eastleigh
    I Was Born Yesterday seems very much of a kind with Death of a Supernaturalist (which is probably why I mixed up the demo version when talking about the latter two days ago). As such, it shares most of the same criticisms - it's all a bit too pretentious, taking itself a bit too seriously. It's quite interesting: the spoken word sections are quite bold this early into the career, and the bridge - while a bit clunky, as christian42 says - is, at least, unusual in the context of the music of the time, but it's bit sixth-f0rm-poetry - the last of its kind, just about.

    The demo version on the new reissue is an interesting one in that it's almost a completely different song, and one that would have fitted the style of the Europop EP more than the album we eventually had. Not going to score it - it doesn't seem fair to score a demo that eventually changed so much - but it's a fascinating illustration of how much a song can evolve on the way to its final destination.

    What I do quite like is the acoustic arrangement that pops up on the Promenade Companion / the Secret History bonus disc (and, to a lesser extent, the la Cigale live take). In these versions, Neil seems to have realised that the song is a bit self-important, and he sings it in a style which knocks it down a peg or two. On balance, it's the version I prefer, but not the version I'll score because that's not what we're dealing with.

    3/5
     
  9. OverTheHills

    OverTheHills Well-Known Member

    Location:
    London
    It's interesting going through this, I'd always assumed I loved Liberation, not least because I really did when I was much younger.. But now I find a lot of it somewhat naive and lacking in subtlety. I wonder if that's because it's the creative product of a very young man which spoke to me when I was also young,?

    Saying that, I do like "I Was Born Yesterday" - I like the pacing and the talky bits and the slightly sinister lyrics which remind me of later songs like "Through a Long and Sleepless Night."

    So I think 3.75.
     
    LivingForever likes this.
  10. James Cunningham

    James Cunningham Forum Resident

    Location:
    Edinburgh, UK
    I Was Born Yesterday

    I agree with the previous comments about this one missing the mark. The angst in the lyrics doesn't work for me and does come across as a bit pretentious... Neil will nail pretentious in much better songs to come.
    Is this the first of the songs with spoken word? I know we will here many more of them as we progress.
    Sorry folks, this one is a miss for me...

    2.5/5
     
    LivingForever likes this.
  11. ericthegardener

    ericthegardener Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dallas, TX
    I Was Born Yesterday

    I dig it. 3.75/5
     
    LivingForever likes this.
  12. Linky53

    Linky53 Forum Resident

    Location:
    North Yorkshire UK
    I Was Born Yesterday

    Not amongst my favourite tracks on Liberation. A song about oppression and doing what others expect is never going to be a jolly tune. Musically seems to be lacking in inspiration and ideas. The spoken word sections are a diversion from the music, but don't really add anything to it.
    2.5/5
     
    LivingForever likes this.
  13. TheLemmingFace

    TheLemmingFace Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    I don't mind naivety or pretentiousness in Neil's lyrics, because I always presume it's knowing and intentional... So I've never had an issue with I Was Born Yesterday on those grounds, though I can see where people are coming from if I am, in fact, giving Neil too much of the benefit of the doubt!

    All in all, I like this song. Possibly because I mainly hear it in the context of the album, where it completes, to my mind, the opening suite. We began with the soft, teasing prelude of Festive Road, added some complexity and intensity with Supernaturalist, Bernice compounded the energy (driving rhythms and a driving narrative), building to a climax with Born Yesterday - an explosion of angst and taut emotion. A nice little exposition/rising action/climax structure (though I'm not claiming they're cohesive on a narrative level). 3/5 from me.
     
  14. LivingForever

    LivingForever Forum Arachibutyrophobic Thread Starter

    Thank you, @jon-senior for reminding me that I had not posted the demo version to go with the album track and the Promenade Companion acoustic take...



    As he said, a really quite different song.
     
  15. LivingForever

    LivingForever Forum Arachibutyrophobic Thread Starter

    I Was Born Yesterday

    “I made a new song with some old ideas”, sings Neil in the demo version. And funnily enough; that’s exactly what he did for the final version too - marrying the chorus of this fun little song (which sounds like a Juveneilia -era tape to me?) and the spoken lyrics which should have been the verses of “The Booklovers”.

    It’s no wonder then that it sounds like two different songs; and I think I’ve always felt that. The boisterous, ponderous, (yes frankly pretentious) chorus, and the more refined verses with their quiet sustained strings and uncomfortably close whispered vocals.

    I like the “verse song” a lot better, I think. The “chorus song” is naive and doesn’t have the most interesting tune, either. The verses remind me what I like about Neil, some interesting imagery (“where a dog in two minds times his run to perfection...”) over the top of some funny chords played in almost chamber music style.

    It’s not quite my least favourite song on the album, but I think it is the second least favourite and so I’m going to give it a “still better than anything on Fanfare” 3/5.
     
  16. Billy Bird

    Billy Bird Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    I Was Born Yesterday

    Can't disagree with the common criticism of the rather heavy-handed lyricism on this one. There is an enjoyably glam swagger to the beat for the non-spoken word bits but the whole thing feels rather contrived and oh-so-very-aware of how it isn't a conventional pop song. The drawn out vowel sounds of the concluding 'Youuuuuuuuuu are a part of me, Iiiiiiiiiiiiiii am a part of you' section are classic Neil and I'm rather fond of the ending, although that might be because of what it cues up! I don't skip it and can enjoy it in the context of the album, but it hasn't aged well.

    I had forgotten just how utterly smashed Neil sounds when introducing the Promenade Companion version - I suspect that is the main influence on the delivery, rather than any latter-day realisation of how pretentious the song is. In many respects, it's amazing how well he holds it together at the start.

    3/5
     
  17. vzok

    vzok Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    I Was Born Yesterday 3.75
     
    LivingForever likes this.
  18. The Booklover

    The Booklover Forum Resident

    Location:
    Germany
    My problem with the lyrics in the verses are the stalkery vibes and condescending tone towards the female subject.
    As for the music, I love everything about it including the bit mentioned here:
    Let's agree to disagree: I think it's the later Promenade-era version that sounds harsh and unpleasant, because Neil ridiculously hams it up during the chorus with way over the top vocals. The album version gets 4/5 from me (I had to deduct 1 point because of the awkward lyrics).
     
    LivingForever likes this.
  19. LivingForever

    LivingForever Forum Arachibutyrophobic Thread Starter

    Honestly I’m not sure whether it’s drunkenness - I’ve always heard it as him doing an ill-advised impersonation of someone with a disability. (Which I always assumed was a reference to the idea of someone being “born yesterday”, i.e not very clever.)

    I really hope that *isn’t* it, though.
     
    The Booklover likes this.
  20. jon-senior

    jon-senior Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eastleigh
    Fair enough. I guess it's the contrast - if you're predisposed to specifically like the album version, I guess you're going to be less keen on the version where he sounds like he's taking the piss a bit.
     
  21. jon-senior

    jon-senior Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eastleigh
    Blimey - you'd have to hope not. I always just assumed he was messing around and making the speech slurry and indistinct so contrast with the over-enunciated singing of the first chorus especially.
     
  22. Billy Bird

    Billy Bird Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    I wonder if it's possible that they had also recorded 'A Drinking Song' during the same session at Elephant Studios and, as a result, he's coming off the back of that and continuing the drunken act? The burp at the end does seem a little forced on reflection.
     
    LivingForever likes this.
  23. Vagabone

    Vagabone Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Yes, I don't especially like the vocal, but the arrangement more than makes up for it.
     
    LivingForever likes this.
  24. rediffusion

    rediffusion Forum Resident

    I Was Born Yesterday – a conservative 3.5 for me
     
    ericthegardener likes this.
  25. Radiophonic_

    Radiophonic_ Electrosonic

    Location:
    Royal Oak MI
    I like "I Was Born Yesterday," but I don't love it. 3.65/5
     

Share This Page

molar-endocrine