888. Beth Orton - Central Reservation (1999)

Track Listing

1. Stolen Car
2. Sweetest Decline
3. Couldn't Cause Me Harm
4. So Much More
5. Pass In Time
6. Central Reservation (Original Version)
7. Stars All Seem To Weep
8. Love Like Laughter
9. Blood Red River
10. Devil Song
11. Feel To Believe
12. Central Reservation (The Then Again Version)

Review

Beth Orton gives us a folksier fare with this, her second album. Primarily known for her collaborations with plenty of trip-hoppers, her voice always had the right timbre for folk music.

The fact that her voice is so reminiscent of people like Sandy Denny makes for both the greatness and the downfall of the album. Orton is at her best when the song is at its simplest and she can shine through. When you get some late 90s beats it all sounds dated.

A prime example of this can be seen in the two versions of the title track, one being mostly acoustic and the one that closes the album being more "chart friendly", which means tackier and now considerably more dated. The mix of these two kinds of music in the album is what makes it considerably less than perfect, but she has a great voice.

Track Highlights

1. Pass In Time
2. Stolen Car
3. Love Like Laughter
4. Blood Red River

Final Grade

8/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

The album also featured notable contributions from folk musician Terry Callier (with whom she also recorded the b-side "Lean On Me"), Dr Robert and Ben Harper. Several tracks were also produced by Ben Watt of Everything But The Girl.

Stolen Car: