Remix Me. I'm Going In...#4: Beth Orton
A while ago I was given a duplicate Beth Orton album when my sister got married. I've listened to it once. In the background. At work, where blandness is appreciated. You see, Beth Orton kind of gives the impression that she's going to be as bland as, say, Dido, and while this may or may not be justified, I just don't see it's worth the effort.
It wasn't always like this, you know. In 1997, Trailer Park was a Mercury-nominated debut with big prospects. Being the Mercury Prize, Roni Size's fairly-decent drum'n'bass beat off competition from The Prodigy, the Spice Girls... oh yes, and a best-album-of-all-time contender in OK Computer. Anyway, also up there was Beth Orton's debut-proper, Trailer Park, an album of stark, country-tinged simplicity, vastly toning down the electronic leanings of her early work.
I was perhaps a bit hard on Dido earlier. Dido's first album is not that bad, and contains some of the electronica/pop crossover style that Orton does a bit better. Orton managed to retain her credibility a bit though, and although her latest stuff isn't really to my taste, it doesn't completely suck.
I've been babbling. What I wanted to talk about was She Cries Your Name. This was the song on the 1997 Mercury CD sampler, which has been hanging around my bedroom for, well, about 9 years. It's a cracker: a real twangy, slidey, atmospheric number with Orton's heartbreaking vocals. That's what makes this track: the way her voice cracks and swells with the song. It's resonant and beautiful; not cheery at all, but it suits the lyrics perfectly. Although it's really not what I usually listen to at all, this comes highly recommended.
Beth Orton's Carmella is remixed by Four Tet.
PS - check out some of my newer reviews, including:
Arab Strap - Ten Years Of Tears (9/10)
Band Of Horses - Everything All The Time (6/10)
Steve Adey - All Things Real (8/10)
and Four Tet live in this month's Record Collector.
The Music
Beth Orton - She Cries Your Name
The 'fo
Artist: Beth Orton
Website: bethorton.mu
Recommended: Trailer Park
Label: Heavenly
Buy: Amazon
More: Hype Machine; elbo.ws
If you like this you might like: Tanya Donnelly - Whiskey Tango Ghost
Tags: remix; Four Tet; Beth Orton; pop; country; Mercury prize
It wasn't always like this, you know. In 1997, Trailer Park was a Mercury-nominated debut with big prospects. Being the Mercury Prize, Roni Size's fairly-decent drum'n'bass beat off competition from The Prodigy, the Spice Girls... oh yes, and a best-album-of-all-time contender in OK Computer. Anyway, also up there was Beth Orton's debut-proper, Trailer Park, an album of stark, country-tinged simplicity, vastly toning down the electronic leanings of her early work.
I was perhaps a bit hard on Dido earlier. Dido's first album is not that bad, and contains some of the electronica/pop crossover style that Orton does a bit better. Orton managed to retain her credibility a bit though, and although her latest stuff isn't really to my taste, it doesn't completely suck.
I've been babbling. What I wanted to talk about was She Cries Your Name. This was the song on the 1997 Mercury CD sampler, which has been hanging around my bedroom for, well, about 9 years. It's a cracker: a real twangy, slidey, atmospheric number with Orton's heartbreaking vocals. That's what makes this track: the way her voice cracks and swells with the song. It's resonant and beautiful; not cheery at all, but it suits the lyrics perfectly. Although it's really not what I usually listen to at all, this comes highly recommended.
Beth Orton's Carmella is remixed by Four Tet.
PS - check out some of my newer reviews, including:
Arab Strap - Ten Years Of Tears (9/10)
Band Of Horses - Everything All The Time (6/10)
Steve Adey - All Things Real (8/10)
and Four Tet live in this month's Record Collector.
The Music
Beth Orton - She Cries Your Name
The 'fo
Artist: Beth Orton
Website: bethorton.mu
Recommended: Trailer Park
Label: Heavenly
Buy: Amazon
More: Hype Machine; elbo.ws
If you like this you might like: Tanya Donnelly - Whiskey Tango Ghost
Tags: remix; Four Tet; Beth Orton; pop; country; Mercury prize
1 comment:
I totally agree with you on Orton and Dido...Dido's follow up album was such a disappointment. And I really have had no desire to include Orton into my life.
And thanks for the tip on your reviews and the site, I am looking forward to reading all three...Especially the Arab Strap one...9/10?
You are awesome by the way, such a wealth of information.:)
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