Central Reservation (album)

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Not to be confused with the Grand Central Records album Central Reservations.
Central Reservation
Central Reservation cover
Studio album by Beth Orton
Released March 9, 1999
Recorded ?
Genre Rock
Length 58:50
Label Arista Records
Producer Victor Van Vugt, Ben Watt, Mark Stent
Professional reviews
Beth Orton chronology
Trailer Park
(1996)		 Central Reservation
(1999)		 Daybreaker
(2002)

The second proper album of Beth Orton, Central Reservation helped Orton build on the success of her debut, Trailer Park. Although retaining the electronic edge of the former, this record showed a notably more acoustic side with several tracks consisting purely of Beth's vocal accompanied by a solitary acoustic guitar, with subject matters becoming more introspective.

Despite this style, the album still provided more polished moments such as lead single "Stolen Car" and the electro melancholy of "Stars All Seem To Weep" or the jazz-tinged "Sweetest Decline," songs which cut a much deeper mark than the more glossy feel of her debut.

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.

The album gave Orton a second Mercury Music Prize nomination, and won her Best Female at the BRIT Awards.

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Stolen Car" – 5:25
  2. "Sweetest Decline" – 5:39
  3. "Couldn't Cause Me Harm" – 4:48
  4. "So Much More" – 5:41
  5. "Pass in Time" – 7:17
  6. "Central Reservation" (Original version) – 4:50
  7. "Stars All Seem to Weep" – 4:39
  8. "Love Like Laughter" – 3:07
  9. "Blood Red River" – 4:15
  10. "Devil Song" – 5:04
  11. "Feel To Believe" – 4:04
  12. "Central Reservation" (The Then Again version) – 4:01
  • The Japanese version of the album included an extra track - "Precious Maybe", released as a b-side in other parts of the world.

[edit] Miscellanea

  • The song "Sweetest Decline" was theme to the Noel and Felicity affair on the TV series Felicity, but the song isn't in the soundtrack CD from the series.