Element of Light is the sixth album by singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

 Robyn Hitchcock

Robyn Hitchcock

Robyn Rowan Hitchcock is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano and bass guitar....

 and his third with his backing band, the Egyptians.

Most of the album was recorded at Alaska Studios and Berry Street, but two tracks, "The President" and "Lady Waters & The Hooded One", were live recordings made for the BBC, with overdubs recorded on BBC Mobile and at Alaska.

The overriding flavour of the album is dominated by the song "Airscape", which provides in its lyric the album title. "Airscape" has been cited several times by Hitchcock as a favourite amongst his own compositions, and a live rendition was tagged on to later CD editions. "Airscape" concerns his 'favourite beach' located on the Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...

, and provided a backdrop for the cover shots.

The other songs encompass a variety of lyrical themes: the piscine "Bass" turning inventively through a litany of fish and sea birds, "Ted, Woody & Junior" mocking the homoeroticism of body building magazines, and "Winchester" paying a surreal tribute to the English town that lies on the main train line between London and the Lymington terminus, which connects to the Isle of Wight.

The song "The President" makes reference to Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

's visit to Bitburg, where members of the Waffen-SS

Waffen-SS

The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...

 were buried.

Originally running to ten songs, the first CD edition included extra bonus tracks, all taken from singles, whilst later pressings have added a further six, including the comedic spoken number "The Can Opener".

The album was self-produced with input from long-time colleague Pat Collier.

Side one

1. "If You Were a Priest"
2. "Winchester"
3. "Somewhere Apart"
4. "Ted, Woody and Junior"
5. "The President"

Side two

1. "Raymond Chandler Evening"
2. "Bass"
3. "Airscape"
4. "Never Stop Bleeding"
5. "Lady Waters & the Hooded One"

Midnight CD bonus tracks

1. "The Black Crow Knows"
2. "The Crawling"
3. "The Leopard"
4. "Tell Me About Your Drugs"

Rhino CD Reissue Bonus Tracks

1. "The Black Crow Knows"
2. "The Crawling"
3. "The Leopard"
4. "Tell Me About Your Drugs"
5. "The Can Opener"
6. "Raymond Chandler Evening (Demo)"
7. "The President (Demo)"
8. "If You Were a Priest (Demo)"
9. "Airscape (Live)"
10. "The Leopard (Demo)"

YepRoc CD Reissue Bonus Tracks

1. "The Black Crow Knows"
2. "The Crawling"
3. "The Leopard"
4. "Tell Me About Your Drugs"
5. "Sprinkling Dots"
6. "Upside Down Church Blues"
7. "Into It"
8. "Neck"
9. "Bass (Demo)"
10. "Lady Waters Mix 1 ("Lady Waters & The Hooded One" demo)"

Personnel

• Robyn Hitchcock
  Robyn Hitchcock
  Robyn Rowan Hitchcock is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano and bass guitar....
  
   - Guitar, vocals, upright piano on "Somewhere Apart"
• Andy Metcalfe - Bass. vocals on "Winchester", "Ted, Woody and Junior", "Bass", "Lady Waters & the Hooded One", piano on "Ted, Woody and Junior", bass keyboard
  Keyboard bass
  The keyboard bass is the use of a low-pitched keyboard or pedal keyboard to substitute for the bass guitar or double bass in popular music.-1960s:The earliest keyboard bass instrument was the 1960 Fender Rhodes piano bass, pictured above...
  
   on "Raymond Chandler Evening", keyboard on "Never Stop Bleeding"
• Morris Windsor - Drums, vocals on "Ted, Woody and Junior", "Bass", "Airscape","Lady Waters & the Hooded One"
• Roger Jackson - Keyboards, glass armonica on "Airscape", vocals on "Lady Waters & the Hooded One"