Beth Orton - Central Reservation
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Free Music Notes for Central Reservation
Free Music Review: Good CD that should appeal to a mass diversity of music tastes
Hit: 4 Stars
I have no idea how I heard about Beth Orton. Actually, check that... I heard "Central Reservation [Ben Watts Mix]" on a chillout dj mix and was just begging for more of her work. So based on the reviews here, I made a purchase on a whim. I've been pretty happy about the purchase.
Her voice, as many have already said, is quite distinctive. It's uniquely beautiful in that I don't think she has the most beautiful voice in the world, and she certainly could benefit from voice lessons, but what is most profound is the reach she has to the listener in the strength of her voice. That's where her strenght lies in this CD.
The problem is that her voice can also drain some of the energy out of your body when you listen to her because her voice has the capacity to convey lots of emotion. It's been difficult to listen to the CD in full.
Another problem I have. I love Stolen Car. But none of the other tracks sound like it. I love Sweetest Decline. But, again, it's a bit different than some of the other tracks here. Same goes for Stars All Seem to Wheep.
Some of my favorite tracks on the cd are:
Stolen Car
Sweetest Decline (probably my favorite track)
Stars All Seem to Weep
Central Reservation [Ben Watt Mix]
Initially, I bought the CD for the Central Reservation [ben watt mix] track. But after repeated listens, I've found it to be an above-average track, while Stolen Car and Sweetest Decline are my two, absolute favorites here.
Reviewed by a GUY who mainly listens to electronic music (trance and house) and alternative rock (Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, Counting Crows) this is a real nice escape into something different.
I like the CD so much, I'm ready to purchase Trailer Park.
Free Music Review: Definitely, Her Masterpiece
Hit: 4 Stars
I often get asked "...where did you hear of this musician?". Sometimes, the answer is easy, as I'll remember how, or who turned me on to him/her.
In Beth Orton's case, I don't recall, but this was the first of her records that I purchased. I've since bought a couple more, but none compares to this.
Orton shows up in the least expected places (maybe showing up on Beck's albums should be expected), and is well connected and respected among fellow musicians.
If you don't yet have any of her records, and you're looking for a place to explore Beth Orton, this is the one to get. Great blend of spacy folk rock.
Free Music Review: Shadow of a Doubt
Hit: 4 Stars
Right now, early in my listening to Central Reservation (took me eight years, but finally there), it feels like a 5 star work. But I'm not sure it will be that eight months from now after I've spent a lot of time with it. It may be one of those CDs that grabs at first and then slowly or rapidly loses its grip, e.g. -- for me -- almost anything by the alt country group Son Volt.
Time, as it always does, will tell.
Meanwhile, things I like a lot about Central Reservation: Beth Orton's quirky voice, melancholy, flinty, little girl-like but a bit grating all at once. Like, to wander to another distant corner of the female singer-songwriter universe, Mary Gauthier, Orton's distinctive vocals are a perfect match for her frequently off kilter lyrics. And that's the second big thing to like about this CD -- those lyrics, not so much taken as a whole, but in the occasional sudden line or two that make you sit up and say, "Hey, I never thought of it that way, but that's RIGHT." Examples: in Stolen Car, in singing of the enduring energy of a love thought gone, "your fingers like fuses." Or, in Couldn't Cause Me Harm, on a sometimes scary relationship, "I can feel your heart/especially when it's on the roof of my mouth." Or, on Love Like Laughter, the opening line that captures what good music can always do, "Some of the worst wrongs get righted on three chords."
What I don't like about Central Reservation is that these good things happen in a dozen acoustical songs, including two takes of the title cut (the second is better), whose arrangements are often almost indistinguishable from one another, varied only by a slightly more uptempo beat, a drum set here and there, a tambourine shake. Orton's lyrics reward careful listening, but the problem for me -- why in eight months this may be 4 stars rather than 5-- is that the music doesn't invite the listener into those lyrics; at its worst, it's lulling to the point of drowsiness. It also doesn't help that half the songs go on for more than five minutes. A "Concrete Sky" or two, dropped into this mix, would have done wonders.
Best cuts: Stolen Car, Couldn't Cause Me Harm, Pass in Time, Feel to Believe.
Free Music Review: file next to nick drake.
Hit: 5 Stars
this is a stunning piece of work that sits comfortably next to the recordings of nick drake. each artist conveys a beautiful spirit of wistfulness, melancholy, and joy at any given turn. beth orton has the voice of an angel and to me this is her strongest set of songs, so far. I almost alway listen to this cd late in the evening because it seems to demand a quiet setting to bring out its riches in their fullest. i highly highly recommend that you get this.Free Music Review: Good selection of songs
Hit: 5 Stars
I am working my way backward with Beth Orton, I started with "Comfort of Strangers" and now "Central Reservation". Her work comes from so many different places, folk, rock, country, some electronic. I like it all so far, but am a bit partial to the folky stuff. I like the lyrics on this album, I find them poetic and moving at times. Most of her music does take a while to get into, but most challenging music does. I think her voice is in good spirits on "Central Reservation". I like all the songs on this CD, but "Sweetest Decline" and "Blood Red River" are the ones that move me the most.