At the turn of the century it was quite easy to dismiss The Divine Comedy as simply a novelty band with a kitschy, comic shtick; but this collection represents more than simply a flimsy feel good album. After repeated listening it is apparent that TDC's body of work has real, deep emotional depth, lyrically and musically. "The Summerhouse" is a song of rare outstanding beauty; whimsical with the ever-present comic edge, but still up to the job of relating the intangible feeling of what it is to be a child in the middle of an unending summer holiday. Joby Talbot's surprisingly grand-scale orchestration is a perfect match for Neil Hannon's writing; none better than on "In Pursuit of Happiness", an edgy, dramatic, purposefully over the top theatrical tour de force that leaves the listener unable to choose whether Hannon or Talbot has outdone the other.Sadly, in about 2001 Hannon decided that TDC (at least in this original guise) was done, and that the whole project had "run out of steam". Disappointing undoubtedly, but this decision gave birth to one of their best, "Too Young To Die" in which Hannon says a heartfelt goodbye to The Divine Comedy 1.0, with a breathtakingly powerful vocal, even giving us a comic Mariah-esque vocal run at the end. Love it.