lambchops's Full Review: Central Reservation by Beth Orton
After three albums, it seems that Beth Orton might just have a shot at sticking around. As one of the most wonderful female vocalists today (did I just say that?), she has with seamless ease combined folk, alternative, and trip-hop. The resulting three albums have been testaments to her solo talent.
A native of Norwich, England, Orton worked with a number of artists before finally recording her own album. With credits linking her to William Orbit, the Chemical Brothers, and Red Snapper Orton obviously had a love for electronica. So when her 1996 full length debut Trailer Park was released it came as a pleasant surprise that she mixed these electronic elements with modern folk and distinctive vocals. Songs like Sugar Boy, She Cries Your Name, Whenever, and Someone’s Daughter were near masterpieces. With this innovative debut it was crystal clear that Orton had talent.
Three years later, Orton returned with Central Reservation. Her style is cool, calm, and free flowing and much less difficult on unaccustomed ears than equally brilliant bands like Massive Attack and Portishead. I can most easy relate her sound to that of Morcheeba featuring the vocals to Skye Edwards. Despite each having a distinct voice, their delivery styles are rather similar. Therefore, if you like one you’ll undoubtedly adore the other.
Central Reservation is a ridiculously perfect album. An album that expands the boundaries set throughout trip-hop. The fact that Orton so easily blends folk is refreshing. The fact that she does it so intelligently makes for a superb album. Orton manages on Central Reservation to strip electronica to it’s core and to reassemble the actual melodies and songs with brilliance and without synthesizers or electronic elements. She took a great risk in trying such a new approach, but the risk pays off. This is a flawless, emotional, haunting, and smart album; an album that belongs in rock, pop, electronica, and trip-hop collections alike.
Central Reservation consists of twelve tracks. All the songs were written by Orton. Orton plays the guitar, sings, writes, and even served in part as producer. She’s a talented woman. With the likes of Ben Harper, Ben Watt (Everything But The Girl), Dr. John, and producer Mark Stent (Oasis, New Order, Massive Attack, Madonna, Mansun, etc…) helping out on this outing it’s an all-star affair yet somehow still feels like a solo effort. And as with the vast majority of great albums today, no one song was a hit single. Central Reservation is best appreciated on the whole.
Glorious, thought-provoking, and fascinating, Stolen Car is unlike anything else ever presented on disc before. The fact that it’s the introductory track to Central Reservation serves to further highlight the importance of this album. The lightly plucked acoustic guitar, shimmering percussion, and most importantly Orton’s unique vocals breathe life into this captivatingly arranged song. The music is perfect, the words are lovingly assembled and sung:
One drink too many
And a joke gone too far
I see a face drive like a stolen car.
Gets harder to hide
When you're hitching a ride
Harder to hide what you really saw.
Continuing toward perfection, Sweetest Decline is a starkly beautiful ballad. A cross between cliché pop of the 1970’s with a bluesy piano, a variety of stringed instruments, and a light drum, this track could have been a stock failure. Instead, Orton pulls something new and different from an old musical equation. She’s freely creative, without fear, without boundaries. The words are poetic:
What are regrets?
What are regrets?
They're just lessons we haven't learned yet
It's like catching snow on your tongue
You can't pin this butterfly down
Can't pin this butterfly down
Couldn’t Cause Me Harm most interests me in arrangement. A brilliantly clean, catchy, and unique combination of strange percussion, low key guitars, and Orton’s lush vocals, the song resonates as one of the album’s most perfect. She sincerely insists that everything will be fine… But it's alright…you know that it's alright. She says it with such direction that I find myself believing her sentiments.
So Much More and Pass in Time. Are also lovely tracks, just not quite as unique as some of the other offerings. But then there is Central Reservation. A simple piano, acoustic guitar, and Orton’s voice highlight this…one of the most emotional songs on Central Reservation. Each track is unto itself lovely, but this one is universally appealing and timeless. Even the later remix is good, though I most appreciate the original.
Stars All Seem to Weep is more similar to the material on Trailer Park and trip-hop in general. The track begins with a whirring synthesizer. Layers of vocals, acoustic guitars, and drum machines are added until the vision becomes clear. Orton is more talented than this track would have you know. It’s unfortunately one of the least likable on this otherwise wonderful album.
The album picks back up with Love Like Laughter. Faintly country, faintly blues, and faintly pop, the melody is comforting and beautiful. Much the same can be said about the wistful Blood Red River. Orton’s voice is paramount, echoing gently barely in front of an acoustic guitar. Devil Song is equally gently, though something about it is uneasy and uncomfortable. Few artists today can with such apparent ease and stark emotion create music. Devil Song proves Orton’s worth. Wow.
Gonna take you back down
I won't feel no shame
Till my dreams
Are my own again
Gonna take you right down, and I'll take the blame
Till my dreams are my own again
Feel to Believe is the final original track. Once again, Orton sings with a confident yet quivering ease. The production probably isn’t as scant as it seems, but this deconstructed feel helps Feel to Believe to succeed. It’s one of the most lovely here…on an album full of surprising gems. Central Reservation is remixed at the very end by Ben Watt (Everything But The Girl). It’s pretty similar to the original with a little sped up pace and a ton more elements of electronica. In the context of the album, I prefer the original.
Beth Orton is an amazing singer-songwriter. It’s a real treat to have finally stumbled on her albums a few months ago. Both Trailer Park and Central Reservation have their merits. Trailer Park is more electronic and more trip-hop while Central Reservation explores Orton’s folky, thoughtful side. I love both, but the latter will surely appeals to a wider audience.
I highly recommend Central Reservation. It is, in my opinion, the most perfect of Orton’s three full length albums (including 2002’s somewhat disappointing Daybreaker). Central Reservation is a wonderful place to start when exploring Orton. It’s also a way in which people might just accidentally stumble upon the wonderful world of trip-hop. Absolute perfection.
Rating: 5/5 stars
Track Listing:
01. Stolen Car
02. Sweetest Decline
03. Couldn’t Cause Me Harm
04. So Much More
05. Pass in Time
06. Central Reservation
07. Stars All Seem to Weep
08. Love Like Laughter
09. Blood Red River
10. Devil Song
11. Feel to Believe
12. Central Reservation (remix)
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