cletta1201's Full Review: Daybreaker by Beth Orton
I discovered the music of Beth Orton quite by accident. One day while in my local music store (www.plan9music.com) her album ”Trailer Park” was playing and I was so taken with her style and vocals that I purchased the album and have considered myself a fan ever since. The English singer is most easily identified by her unique voice and combination of folk music elements with electronic beats.
Fans of “Trailer Park” or even Orton’s second album ”Central Reservation” may find that ”Daybreaker” isn’t the Orton that you might be familiar with. For the most part, gone are the really slick production and jazzy feel, which have been banished in favor of the more bare elements of vocals and music. Not that either of things are necessarily evil – but part of the appeal of Orton was that managed to wrap that production around her vocals in such a way that it really moved you as a listener and some of that appeal has been lost.
- Track Listing -
1. Paris Train
2. Concrete Sky featuring Ryan Adams
3. Mount Washington
4. Anywhere
5. Daybreaker
6. Carmella
7. God Song
8. This One’s Gonna Bruise featuring Emmylou Harris and Ryan Adams
9. Ted’s Waltz
10. Thinking About Tomorrow
Vocally, ”Paris Train” remains of Dido for some crazy reasons because their sounds are completely different – but I do hear some parallels. Musically I really like this one for its drama and layering of sound. If the liner notes weren’t so terribly thought out, I could tell you a little bit more about the music, but they’re really hard to read. Admittedly, I don’t know very much (if anything) at all about Ryan Adams, and ”Concrete Sky” leaves more to want. I really love the music behind the track, but the vocals that are shared between the two singers don’t really scream chemistry. Really, once the track is over you wonder why Adams was even there because his part is so minimal and doesn’t really add anything to the song.
”Mount Washington” is Daybreaker’s best offering. Profoundly sexy and very simple – it’s so melodious that it conjures up images of being in New York City on a the roof of some insanely tall building and watching the city “sleep”. For me that is the craft of any Orton album – that they are produced to the hilt but you wouldn’t even realize it because the songs are just that beautiful that they hit you in such a way that you don’t even care. ”Anywhere” is jazz-tinged and a bit more upbeat than most of the Daybreaker’s material and it’s very easy to listen to and likeable.
If you’re a fan of electronic Beth Orton, the title track ”Daybreaker” is right up your alley. Although the beat is funky, this one doesn’t really appeal to me. In some ways, the music is a bit too strong for Orton’s vocals which have a Suzanne Vega type of appeal to them. ”Carmella” is completely heinous. Orton sounds like she’s trying to pass gallstones the vocals sound so contrived – it’s like listening to two emus mating.
Lucky for Orton, the album does end on a good note with the bittersweet ”Thinking About Tomorrow”. Thinking has an island quality to it, picture watching the sun come up at daybreak (couldn’t help myself) and that’s what the song feels like as it washes over you.
- Final Thoughts -
I know from reading a few things on Orton that the Chemical Brothers are responsible for producing some of the albums songs, once again – if the liner notes were halfway decipherable I would be able to get that info, but alas I am not. Daybreaker is very nicely produced and features some quality material. Where it falters with a few poor track choices, it more than makes up for having the best music I’ve heard in a really long time.
Great Music to Play While: Lounging in your pj's anytime of the day.
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