Unsurprisingly, the sound is lush, sweeping and swelling; full of romantic strings and orchestrated sighs. "Everybody Knows" is a grand, slightly tongue-in-cheek epic, with Hannon pouring out his heart to some poor unwitting paramour. Taken straight, it is a bit po-faced and ridiculous, but with a pinch of glitter dust and a following wind it is a fantastic piece of romantic pop.

Released on 3 CD singles, the b-sides (3 different live tracks on each) effectively comprise a live LP when put together. Highlights are a huge, elegantly wasted orchestration of Bacarach & David's "Make It Easy on Yourself"; a glitteringly glorious version of "Something For The Weekend"; a punchy stomp through "Tonight We Fly"; and a majestic instrumental (sadly not the theme from Father Ted), "Europe By Train".

Not only good value for money, this release shows The Divine Comedy to be aptly-named indeed: heavenly tunes married with a knowing smirk and a sense of fun.

Rating: 9/10

On the b-side is "What Me, Worry" a piece of pure jazz funk, the sort of thing you can hear in hotel lounges up and down the land. Nothing if not eclectic, the next track is "In A Galaxy, Far, Far, Away...", a synth-based exploration of some of the poppier planets passed over by Stereolab. Last up is another version of "The Joker Is Wild", more or less exactly the same.

Rating: 7/10

The b-sides are "Xanthien", an Only Ones-like bit of new wave guitar bluster; the craftily-named "A Song" (think Cast with no tunes); and the Nirvana-ish "Easily Scared" (again, tune is severely lacking).

Not bad, just nothing special.

Rating: 5/10