| Beth Orton |
| Central Reservation [2 CD, Expanded Edition] |
* Singer–songwriter turned critics' and fans' ears in the 1990s with her electronica–infused folk–rock.
Born: December, 1970 in Norwich, England
Location: London, UK
Album release: March 9, 1999/July 15, 2014
Record Label: 3 Loop Music
Duration: 60:11 + 71:06 => 131:17
Tracks:
CD1
01. Stolen Car 5:28
02. Sweetest Decline 5:41
03. Couldn’t Cause Me Harm 4:49
04. So Much More 5:43
05. Pass in Time 7:19
06. Central Reservation (Original Version) 4:52
07. Stars All Seem to Weep 4:41
08. Love Like Laughter 3:09
09. Blood Red River 4:17
10. Devil Song 5:06
11. Feel to Believe 4:04
12. Central Reservation (The Then Again Version) 4:02
CD2
(Sessions at West 54th Street): 1 — 8
01. Someone’s Daughter 4:01
02. Sweetest Decline 4:35
03. Blood Red River 5:01
04. Pass in Time 7:20
05. She Cries Your Name 4:11
06. Devil Song 5:31
07. I Wish I’d Never Seen the Sunshine 4:50
08. Stars All Seem to Weep 2:22
09. I Love How You Love Me 2:39
10. Precious Maybe 4:06
11. Stars All Seem to Weep (Shed Version) 3:01
12. Central Reservation (Spiritual Life Ibadon Remix) 8:51
13. Love Like Laughter (Demo) 2:00
14. So Much More (Demo) 1:38
15. Central Reservation (Band Demo) 4:26
16. Couldn’t Cause Me Harm (Demo) 6:34
℗ 1999 Deconstruction Limited
* Written by Beth Orton all
* Ted Barnes / Beth Orton 8
REVIEW
By Robert Ham | July 8, 2014 | 12:34pm | Score: 9.2
* Beth Orton’s second album, Trailer Park, was a statement of purpose into a UK music scene that was still feeling the last waves of Britpop and was quickly getting ensconced in various strains of dance music. Her association with electronic artists and producers like the Chemical Brothers and Andrew Weatherall certainly helped draw some necessary attention to her work. But her meshing of folk–pop with trip–hop only worked in small moments. The gentle colliding of worlds felt much more solid and purposeful on her follow–up, 1999’s Central Reservation, which is being re–released this week with an added disc of live sessions, remixes and b–sides.
* Orton seemed at this time to have worked out the kinks of this new sound she was helping shepherd into being. The songs on this album felt much more mature, free of the cute, but lightweight sentiment of a song like “Someone’s Daughter” (featured here on disc 2 in acoustic form). In its place is a much more sensual side (“I can still smell you on my fingers and taste you on my breath,” she sings on the title track) as well as an unusual facility for blues songwriting (see the ominous “Devil Song”). No matter what it all seems to come out in breathy Sandy Denny–like tones, but she can’t fight who she is.
* Another key to the success of this album are the producers who helped Orton tap into the varying sides of her musical personality. Mazzy Star songwriter David Roback taps into the dark shades of violet and midnight that curl around the outside of her voice by keeping the music acoustic and sparse. Victor Van Vugt, who worked on Trailer Park, maintains her then–modern pop sound with downtempo beats and lucid bass tones. And Everything But the Girl member/house producer Ben Watt aimed to do as he did for his wife Tracey Thorn: turning Orton into a dance floor diva. He came damn close to succeeding.
* The second disc does as all these deluxe reissues do, filling in the gaps in and around the recording of the main album. There is some context here with a handful of demos, including versions of the title track and “Couldn’t Cause Me Harm” that show how complete Orton’s vision for this album really was. The “Sessions at West 54th” material is nice to have, especially to hear how she adapted many of these songs for acoustic guitars, even if the recording quality feels a little tinny in comparison to the rest of the LP. The only unnecessary addition was the Latin house remix of “Central Reservation” tacked on for the fans who must have everything.
* As nice as this package is, the only thing that really makes this reissue worth picking up is the interview with Orton in the booklet, where she goes over her changing relationship with the album and these songs. Otherwise, this set feels like an odd choice considering there wasn’t any remastering involved and therefore how close it sounds to the original CD issue (which can likely be picked up used at your local record shop). But if it is keeping this fine album in circulation, and hopefully getting some money to Orton so she can keep making music (her most recent LP Sugaring Season was one of the best albums of 2012), we should welcome this with open arms.
Fortaken: http://www.pastemagazine.com/
Review by Jason Ankeny; Score: ****½
* On her stunning sophomore album, Central Reservation, Beth Orton slips free of the electronic textures that colored her acclaimed 1996 debut, Trailer Park, stripping her music down to its raw essentials to produce a work of stark simplicity and rare poignancy. With the exception of a pair of Ben Watt–produced tracks ("Stars All Seem to Weep" and a remix of the title cut), Central Reservation rejects synthetic sounds and beats altogether in favor of an organic atmosphere somewhere between folk, jazz, and the blues; the focal point is instead Orton's evocatively soulful voice, which invests songs like "Sweetest Decline" and "Feel to Believe" with remarkable warmth and honesty. It's a risky move creatively as well as commercially — after all, the club culture was the first to champion Orton's talents — but it pays off handsomely; for all its brilliance, elements of Trailer Park already feel dated, but the new material possesses a timelessness that recalls the best of Nick Drake or Sandy Denny, with a haunting beauty to match. And while much has been made of the melancholy that pervades her music, ultimately Central Reservation is first and foremost a record about hope and survival; its emotional centerpiece, the seven–minute "Pass in Time" (a spine–tingling duet with legendary folk–jazz mystic Terry Callier), grapples with the death of Orton's mother, but its underlying message of healing and perseverance is powerfully life–affirming — her music hasn't merely discovered the light at the end of the tunnel, it's now bathing in it. :: http://www.allmusic.com/
Credits:
* Ted Barnes Bouzouki, Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Slide Guitar
* Will Blanchard Drums
* Andy Bradfield Mixing
* Terry Callier Guest Artist, Vocals (Background)
* Calina de la Mare Violin
* Dr. Robert Guitar, Mixing, Producer
* Beki Doe Mixing, Violin
* Dr. John Guest Artist, Piano
* David Friedman Vibraphone
* Ali Friend Bass
* Lascelles Gordon Percussion
* Howard Gott Violin
* Ruth Gottlieb Violin
* Giles Hall Engineer
* Ben Harper Guest Artist, Guitar (Electric)
* Sam Harris Photography
* Peter Hill Assistant Engineer
* Oliver Kraus Cello, Mixing
* Dick Meaney Engineer
* Henry Olsen Bass
* Beth Orton Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Producer, Vocals
* Sean Read Keyboards, Piano
* David Roback Mixing, Producer
* Trevor Smith Engineer
* Mark "Spike" Stent Producer
* Victor Van Vugt Engineer, Producer
* Paul Walton Mixing Assistant
* Becca Ware Viola
* Andy Waterworth Double Bass
* Ben Watt Engineer, Guest Artist, Guitar, Keyboards, Mixing, Noise, Producer, Programming
* Lucy Wilkins Violin
* Sara Wilson Cello
* John Wood Engineer
* Tim Young Mastering
* 3 Loop Music Record Label
* Ted Barnes Composer
* Jeff Barry Composer
* Will Blanchard Composer
* Joaquin "Joe" Claussell Producer
* Ali Friend Composer
* Ellie Greenwich Composer
* Sam Harris Photography
* Larry Kolber Composer
* Barry Mann Composer
* William Orbit Composer
* Federico Panero Engineer
* Sean Read Composer
* David Roback Producer
* Phil Spector Composer
* Jerome Sydenham Producer
* Victor Van Vugt Producer
Awards:
Billboard Albums:
* 1999 Heatseekers #2
* 1999 The Billboard 200 #110
Billboard Singles:
* 1999 Central Reservation Dance Music/Club Play Singles #43
* 1999 Stolen Car Modern Rock Tracks #32
Website: http://www.bethortonofficial.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/beth_orton
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BethOrtonOfficial
Tumblr: http://bethortonofficial.tumblr.com/
© Sam Harris
____________________________________________________________
| Beth Orton |
| Central Reservation [2 CD, Expanded Edition] |
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