The Divine Comedy is the debut studio album by American actress and model Milla Jovovich, released on April 5, 1994, by SBK Records. She was billed as simply Milla for this release. The album is named after Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy.
The Divine Comedy was met with positive reception by critics and peaked at number 23 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart, while its lead single, "Gentleman Who Fell", reached number 21 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. Jovovich toured North America throughout 1994 to promote the album, opening for Crash Test Dummies and Toad the Wet Sprocket, as well as playing smaller acoustic sets.
Background and production
The Divine Comedy was released to positive reviews from music critics. San Diego Union-Tribune critic Mikel Toombs stated that Jovovich "impressively keeps both her imagery and her import-implying vocals in check" and "supplies just the right touch of the dark drama suggested by the album's unnecessarily pretentious title, and gives all indications of a bright future." Let It Rock commented: "Her songs take form in fairytale poetry, as if she were some medieval storybook princess, held captive against her will in a Dragon's Lair. Authentic Russian acoustic instruments create a soundscape of delicate beauty, ethereal, yet soulful and heartfelt. An original."
Johnny Cigarettes was more ambivalent in NME, writing that The Divine Comedy lacked "a decent tune" despite Jovovich's "fine voice" and "intriguingly whimsical lyrics".
Legacy
Following The Divine Comedy, Jovovich expressed interest in releasing a second album, having had ten songs ready for a future recording that was intended for a summer 1997 release. However, Jovovich has yet to formally release a second album. Her 1998 studio album The People Tree Sessions was reportedly unauthorized, and Jovovich launched legal action in order for it to be taken off the market. In recent years, Jovovich has opted to release her new songs for free on her official website. With these demos, she extends to all listeners the right to remix the songs, but reserves the right to sell the songs, preventing unauthorized resale of her material.
"While it's now common for models and actors to try their hand at music," wrote Tom Demalon in a review for AllMusic, "the good results of The Divine Comedy are not as common... Milla has a pleasant voice and above-average songwriting ability, and the songs are organic, light, airy concoctions that work well in their understated settings." Slant critic Sal Cinquemani said: