''Beyond Elysian Fields'' is the sixth studio album by

Hugh Cornwell Hugh Alan Cornwell (born 28 August 1949) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and writer, best known for being the lead vocalist and lead guitarist for the punk rock and new wave band the Stranglers The Stranglers are an English ro ...

, released by Invisible Hands Music on 4 October 2004 in the UK, with a worldwide release in 2005. It was produced by

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

and Danny Kadar. The album title refers to

Elysian Fields Avenue Elysian Fields Avenue is a broad, straight avenue in New Orleans named after the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris. It courses south to north from the Lower Mississippi River to Lake Pontchartrain, a distance of approximately . The avenue ...

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Critical reception

Adam Morton of ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' complimented Cornwell's "clipped, dry delivery" on the songs "Under Her Spell" and "Beauty on the Beach", but added that "melodies wane and lyrics become laboured on later tracks" such as "24/7". Helen Wright of ''

musicOMH ''MusicOMH'' (stylized as ''musicOMH'') is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History ''MusicOMH'' was founded an ...

'' described the album as "something like a cross between ob Dylan and

Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals, lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums, percussion). Th ...

at their best ... with a dash of the

Traveling Wilburys The Traveling Wilburys were a British-American supergroup formed in Los Angeles in 1988, consisting of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty. They were a roots rock band and described as "perhaps the biggest sup ...

for good measure." Wright also cautioned, "If you preferred the early

Stranglers The Stranglers are an English rock band formed in 1974. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 20 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have originated in the UK punk sc ...

you'll probably hate this album." Graham Rockingham ''

The Hamilton Spectator ''The Hamilton Spectator'', founded in 1846, is a newspaper published weekdays and Saturdays in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. One of the largest Canadian newspapers by circulation, ''The Hamilton Spectator'' is owned by Torstar. History ''The Ha ...

'' wrote, "''Beyond Elysian Fields'' doesn't contain the in-your-face attitude of Stranglers' songs like "

Peaches The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called nectarines. Peac ...

", " Grip" or "Hangin' Around" ... but it does contain that sardonic sense of humor and unmistakable voice. Cornwell's songwriting ventures into all sorts of unexpected territory."

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album liner notes. *

- vocals, electric and acoustic guitar, keyboards (1, 9), toy piano (11), handclaps (5) *Steve Lawrence - bass, organ (3, 7), piano (10) *Windsor McGilvray - drums, percussion *

- recorder (2, 11), castanets (2), handclaps (5) *Scott Bourgeois - flute (5, 6) ;Technical *Tony Visconti - producer, mixing (Looking Glass, New York) * Danny Kadar - producer, engineer (Truck Farm, New Orleans), cover photography *

Mario J. McNulty Mario J. McNulty (born December 1978) is an American Grammy Award-winning record producer and audio engineer based in New York City, United States. He has worked with David Bowie, Prince, Nine Inch Nails, The B-52s, Julian Lennon and many other w ...

- engineer (Looking Glass, New York) *Chris Goulstone - mastering *Ra - design, artwork *Steve Double - cover photography *Hugh Cornwell - sleeve concept

''Beyond Acoustic Fields''

''Beyond Acoustic Fields'' (2007), is a limited edition CD, only available on tour, performed by Cornwell with acoustic guitar and vocal only and was recorded by Tony Visconti at his New York studio Looking Glass in 2003, to give Visconti an idea of the songs before producing the full album with the band. Track listing: #"Cadiz" #"Beauty on the Beach" #"The Land of a Thousand Kisses" #"24/7" #"Henry Moore" #"The Story of Harry Power" #"Picked Up by the Wind" #"Do Right Bayou" #"Under Her Spell"

References

{{Authority control 2004 albums Hugh Cornwell albums Albums produced by Tony Visconti