Far Beyond These Castle Walls

1974 studio album by Chris de Burgh

Studio album by

Chris de Burgh

Released

1974

Genre

Rock

Length

44:26

Label

A&M

Producer

Robin Geoffrey Cable

Chris de Burgh chronology

Far Beyond These Castle Walls
(1974)

Spanish Train and Other Stories
(1975)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
allmusic	^[1]

Far Beyond These Castle Walls is the first album by Chris de Burgh, released by A&M Records in 1974. The title refers to Bargy Castle, which is shown on the back of the album cover.

Reception

Billboard in its review of 29 March 1975 considered the album's "sophisticated lyrics and production are good for college market" and expressed a hope that A&M Records will found "another deserving artist" in face of Chris De Burg.^[2] Mike DeGagne of AllMusic retrospectively praised the album, saying: "His gentle, beguiling vocal style is introduced, which instantly trademarks him as a genuine master of the soft ballad... What is most important about this album is the manner in which it reveals de Burgh as one of the finest mood-invoking artists ever."^[1]

Track listing

All compositions by Chris de Burgh

"Hold On" – 4:03
"The Key" – 4:08
"Windy Night" – 4:53
"Sin City" – 4:35
"New Moon" – 4:59
"Watching the World" – 3:32
"Lonesome Cowboy" – 4:23
"Satin Green Shutters" – 5:02
"Turning Round", released outside the UK and Ireland as "Flying" – 6:24
"Goodnight" – 2:07

Musicians

Chris de Burgh – lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitars, additional synthesizers
Ray Glynn – electric guitars
B.J. Cole – pedal steel guitar
Ray Jackson – harmonica, mandolin
Brian Odgers – bass guitar
Chris Laurence – double bass
Ronnie Leahy – keyboards
Ken Freeman – string synthesizer
Phillip Goodhand-Tait – harmonium
Barry De Souza – drums
Lennox Laington – percussion
Del Newman – arrangements (1, 8)
Richard Hewson – arrangements (2, 9)
Chris Hughes – brass arrangements
Madeleine Bell – backing vocals
Liza Strike – backing vocals
Joy Yates – backing vocals

Production

Produced and Engineered by Robin Geoffrey Cable
Assistant Engineers – Mark Dodson and Mike Stavrou
Recorded at Ramport Studios and AIR Studios (London, UK).
Mixed at AIR Studios and Trident Studios (London, UK).
Art Direction – Fabio Nicoli
Design – Nick Marshall
Photography – Dave Morse

Notes

^ ^a ^b DeGagne, Mike. "Far Beyond These Castle Walls". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
^ "Review: Chris De Burg – Far Beyond These Castle Walls" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 87, no. 13. New York: Billboard Publications Inc. 29 March 1975. p. 48. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022 – via World Radio History.