''Far Beyond These Castle Walls'' is the first

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by Chris de Burgh, released by

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

in 1974. The title refers to Bargy Castle, which is shown on the back of the album cover.

Reception

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' 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

will found "another deserving artist" in face of Chris De Burg. Mike DeGagne of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

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."

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 Brian John Cole is an English pedal steel guitarist, who has long been active as a session and solo musician. Coming to prominence in the early 1970s with the band Cochise, Cole has played in many styles, ranging from mainstream pop and rock t ...

–

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a Console steel guitar, console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all s ...

* Ray Jackson –

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

* Brian Odgers – bass guitar *

Chris Laurence Chris Laurence (born 6 January 1949) is an English musician. Born in London, he studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and primarily works with jazz and classical music. In the classical world he was principal double bass with th ...

–

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

Ronnie Leahy Ronald Leahy (born 4 October 1947 in Glasgow) is a Scottish keyboard player best known for his work with Jack Bruce, Jon Anderson, Steve Howe on his second solo album and Nazareth (1998–2002, when Leahy retired from touring). He first gained r ...

– keyboards * Ken Freeman – string synthesizer *

Phillip Goodhand-Tait Phillip Goodhand-Tait (born 3 January 1945, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England) is an English singer-songwriter, record producer and keyboard player. Life and career Goodhand-Tait was known as Phil Tait in his school years. His mother was a ...

–

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...

* 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 Associated Independent Recording (AIR) is an independent recording company founded in London in 1965 by record producer Sir George Martin and his business partner John Burgess, after their departure from Parlophone. The studio complex was founded ...

(London, UK). * Mixed at AIR Studios and

Trident Studios Trident Studios was a British recording facility, located at 17 St Anne's Court in London's Soho district between 1968 and 1981. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield, drummer of the 1960s group the Hunters, and his brother Barry. ...

(London, UK). * Art Direction – Fabio Nicoli * Design – Nick Marshall * Photography – Dave Morse

Notes

{{Authority control Chris de Burgh albums 1974 debut albums A&M Records albums Albums recorded at Trident Studios Albums recorded at AIR Studios