Central Reservation is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter Beth Orton, released on 9 March 1999. The album featured 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.
| Central Reservation | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 9 March 1999 | |||
| Studio | The Church · September Sound · RAK · Olympic · Little Joey's · The Garden Shed | |||
| Genre | Folktronica[1][2] | |||
| Length | 58:50 | |||
| Label | Heavenly Records – HVNLP 22 | |||
| Producer | Victor Van Vugt, Ben Watt, Mark Stent, Beth Orton, Dr. Robert, David Roback | |||
| Beth Orton chronology | ||||
| ||||
Central Reservation received critical acclaim and garnered Orton a second Mercury Music Prize nomination, and won her Best British Female at the 2000 BRIT Music Awards.
Release
editCentral Reservation was released on 9 March 1999 on Heavenly Records. It reached number 17 on the UK Albums Chart and stayed on the chart for eight weeks.[3] It went to number 34 on the ARIA albums chart in Australia,[4] number 35 on the RIANZ albums chart in New Zealand[5] and number 110 on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States.[6] It also went to number two on the US Heatseekers albums chart.[7] By 2002 it had sold 244,000 copies in United States.[8] The first single from the album was "Stolen Car", which was released on 13 March 1999 and peaked at number 34 on the UK Singles Chart.[3] "Central Reservation", the second single, peaked at number 37 on the UK Singles Chart.[3]
On 30 June 2014, British independent record label 3 Loop Music re-released Central Reservation as a 2CD Expanded Edition which included b-sides, original demos and live recordings.[9]
Reception
edit| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 84/100[10] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [11] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A−[12] |
| Houston Chronicle |  [13] |
| Los Angeles Times | [14] |
| NME | 8/10[15] |
| Pitchfork | 8.9/10[16] |
| Rolling Stone | [17] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [18] |
| Spin | 7/10[19] |
| Uncut | [20] |
Central Reservation received generally positive reviews from critics. Jason Ankeny of AllMusic gave the album a rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 and called it "stunning".[11]
Orton won the award for British Female Solo at the 2000 BRIT Awards.[21] The album is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[22]
The album is ranked number 982 in All-Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd. edition, 2000).[23]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Beth Orton except "Love Like Laughter" by Orton and Ted Barnes[11]
| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Stolen Car" | Victor Van Vugt | 5:26 |
| 2. | "Sweetest Decline" | Van Vugt | 5:40 |
| 3. | "Couldn't Cause Me Harm" | Van Vugt | 4:48 |
| 4. | "So Much More" | Van Vugt | 5:41 |
| 5. | "Pass in Time" | Bruce Robert Howard | 7:17 |
| 6. | "Central Reservation" | Orton, Mark Stent | 4:50 |
| 7. | "Stars All Seem To Weep" | Ben Watt | 4:39 |
| 8. | "Love Like Laughter" | Van Vugt | 3:06 |
| 9. | "Blood Red River" | Orton, David Roback | 4:15 |
| 10. | "Devil Song" | Roback | 5:04 |
| 11. | "Feel to Believe" | Orton | 4:02 |
| 12. | "Central Reservation" (The Then Again Version) | Watt | 4:00 |
| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Precious Maybe" | Orton | 4:02 |
| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Best Bit" | Youth | 4:03 |
| 15. | "Central Reservation" (Spiritual Life/Ibadan edit) | 4:04 | |
| 16. | "Central Reservation" (William Orbit remix) |
| 4:43 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Someone's Daughter" | |
| 2. | "Sweetest Decline" | |
| 3. | "Blood Red River" | |
| 4. | "Pass in Time" | |
| 5. | "She Cries Your Name" | |
| 6. | "Devil Song" | |
| 7. | "I Wish I'd Never Seen the Sunshine" | |
| 8. | "Stars All Seem to Weep" | |
| 9. | "I Love How You Love Me" | |
| 10. | "Precious Maybe" | |
| 11. | "Stars All Seem to Weep" (shed version) | |
| 12. | "Central Reservation" (spiritual life ibadon remix) | |
| 13. | "Love Like Laughter" | |
| 14. | "So Much More" | |
| 15. | "Central Reservation" (band demo) | |
| 16. | "Couldn't Cause Me Harm" |
Notes
- ^a signifies remixer
Personnel
edit
|
|
Charts
edit| Chart (1999) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[4] | 37 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[5] | 35 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[3] | 17 |
| US Billboard 200[6] | 110 |
Certifications and sales
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[25] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| United States | — | 244,000[26] |
| Summaries | ||
| Worldwide | — | 478,000[27] |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ Lanham, Tom (6 June 2016). "Beth Orton: Kidsticks and California Dreaming". Paste. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
- ^ Walsh, Ben (6 December 2012). "Beth Orton, Union Chapel, London". The Independent. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Beth Orton". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
- ^ a b "Australiancharts.com – Beth Orton – Central Reservation". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
- ^ a b "Charts.nz – Beth Orton – Central Reservation". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
- ^ a b "Beth Orton Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
- ^ "Central Reservation – Beth Orton (Awards)". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
- ^ "Billboard Bits: Gorillaz/D12, Beth Orton, Mudhoney". Billboard. March 2002.
- ^ "Beth Orton announces reissue of her 1999 Heavenly album 'Central Reservation'". Heavenly Records. 6 June 2014. Archived from the original on 12 June 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Reviews for Central Reservation by Beth Orton". Metacritic. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
- ^ a b c Ankeny, Jason. "Central Reservation – Beth Orton". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
- ^ Brunner, Rob (26 March 1999). "Central Reservation". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
- ^ Chonin, Neva (28 March 1999). "Beth Orton Still Suffering, But With a Clearer Eye". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
- ^ Hilburn, Robert (12 March 1999). "Record Rack: A Hesitant Beth Orton Is Pulled in Two Directions". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
- ^ Stubbs, David (10 March 1999). "Beth Orton – Central Reservation". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
- ^ Fowler, Shan. "Beth Orton: Central Reservation". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 11 October 2000. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
- ^ Sheffield, Rob (18 March 1999). "Beth Orton: Central Reservation". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 30 April 2008. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
- ^ Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Beth Orton". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 608. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ Clover, Joshua (March 1999). "All Folked-Up". Spin. 15 (3): 139–40. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
- ^ "Beth Orton: Central Reservation". Uncut (22). March 1999.
- ^ Sturges, Fiona (28 March 2003). "Beth Orton: No More Reservations". The Independent. Retrieved 7 September 2010.[dead link]
- ^ Dimery, Robert, ed. (2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
- ^ "Rocklist". Retrieved 22 July 2018.
- ^ a b c "Central Reservation – Beth Orton (Credits)". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
- ^ "British album certifications – Beth Orton – Central reservation". British Phonographic Industry.
- ^ iegler, Dylan (1 March 2002). "Billboard Bits: Gorillaz/D12, Beth Orton, Mudhoney". Billboard. p. 20. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ^ "Brit Awards: Controversial As Ever". Billboard. 18 March 2000. p. 85. Retrieved 24 April 2019.