Beyond Elysian Fields
album by Hugh Cornwell
Beyond Elysian Fields is the sixth studio album by Hugh Cornwell, released by Invisible Hands Music on 4 October 2004 in the UK, with a worldwide release in 2005. It was produced by Tony Visconti and Danny Kadar.
The album title refers to Elysian Fields Avenue in New Orleans.
Critical reception
Adam Morton of The Age 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 described the album as "something like a cross between [Bob] Dylan and Dire Straits at their best ... with a dash of the Traveling Wilburys for good measure." Wright also cautioned, "If you preferred the early Stranglers you'll probably hate this album."
Graham Rockingham The Hamilton Spectator wrote, "Beyond Elysian Fields doesn't contain the in-your-face attitude of Stranglers' songs like "Peaches", "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.
Hugh Cornwell - 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
Tony Visconti - 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 - 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.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Beyond Elysian Fields” as album by Hugh Cornwell. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as album by Hugh Cornwell. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 28, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q2900466. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2003.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Beyond Elysian Fields”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Beyond Elysian Fields primary sources, Beyond Elysian Fields archive and Beyond research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Beyond Elysian Fields”?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Beyond Elysian Fields” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.