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Central Reservation (album)

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Not to be confused with the Grand Central Records album Central Reservations.

Central Reservation
Studio album by
Beth Orton
Released9 March 1999
StudioThe Church · September Sound · RAK · Olympic · Little Joey's · The Garden Shed
GenreFolktronica[1][2]
Length58:50
LabelHeavenly Records – HVNLP 22
ProducerVictor Van Vugt, Ben Watt, Mark Stent, Beth Orton, Dr. Robert, David Roback
Beth Orton chronology
Best Bit
(1997) 		Central Reservation
(1999) 		Daybreaker
(2002)

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 received critical acclaim and garnered Orton a second Mercury Music Prize nomination, and won her the Brit Award for British Female Solo Artist in 2000.

Release

[edit]

Central 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 two-CD expanded edition which included B-sides, original demos and live recordings.[9]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic84/100[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[12]
The Guardian[13]
Los Angeles Times[14]
Melody Maker[15]
NME8/10[16]
Pitchfork8.9/10[17]
Rolling Stone[18]
Spin7/10[19]
Uncut[20]

Central Reservation received generally positive reviews from critics. Jason Ankeny of AllMusic lauded it as a "stunning" record which "slips free of the electronic textures" of Orton's previous album Trailer Park (1996), "stripping her music down to its raw essentials to produce a work of stark simplicity and rare poignancy."[11] Entertainment Weekly writer Rob Brunner deemed Central Reservation more cohesive than Trailer Park, saying that although Orton's move towards a more acoustic sound would likely "rankle her hipster champions", "sometimes it's enough just to let a great singer sing".[12] Melody Maker's Sharon O'Connell called it an album of "self-doubt, regret and philosophical resignation" anchored by Orton's "sweet, gorgeously roughened" vocals.[15] In NME, David Stubbs stated that "what's most compelling about Central Reservation is that it picks up a songwriting tradition harking back to the days of Tim Buckley, Terry Callier ... and, especially, John Martyn",[16] while Nigel Williamson of Uncut credited Orton for "lovingly shaping her influences into something that is fresh and original and entirely contemporary."[20]

Writing for Rolling Stone, Rob Sheffield found that Central Reservation, despite lacking the accessibility of Trailer Park, "generates a special buzz of its own, and whenever Orton opens her mouth, she's bitching and bewitching".[18] Joshua Clover commented in Spin that Orton's songs have "nothing to say", but are performed "with one of the most remarkable voices in creation ... so clear it renders the ideas of cred, edges, and great albums irrelevant; for a half-record, we'll settle for amazing grace."[19] In a less enthusiastic review for The Guardian, Caroline Sullivan described Orton as a "simultaneously frustrating and rewarding" vocalist, noting that "her tendency to drift leads to an occasional lack of focus".[13]

Orton won the Brit Award for British Female Solo Artist at the 2000 Brit Awards.[21] Central Reservation was ranked number 982 in the 2000 edition of All-Time Top 1000 Albums,[22] and it was later included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[23]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Beth Orton except "Love Like Laughter" by Orton and Ted Barnes[11]

Standard edition
No.TitleProducer(s)Length
1."Stolen Car"Victor Van Vugt5:26
2."Sweetest Decline"Van Vugt5:40
3."Couldn't Cause Me Harm"Van Vugt4:48
4."So Much More"Van Vugt5:41
5."Pass in Time"Bruce Robert Howard7:17
6."Central Reservation"Orton, Mark Stent4:50
7."Stars All Seem To Weep"Ben Watt4:39
8."Love Like Laughter"Van Vugt3:06
9."Blood Red River"Orton, David Roback4:15
10."Devil Song"Roback5:04
11."Feel to Believe"Orton4:02
12."Central Reservation" (The Then Again Version)Watt4:00
Japanese edition (bonus track)
No.TitleProducer(s)Length
13."Precious Maybe"Orton4:02
Australian edition (bonus tracks)
No.TitleProducer(s)Length
14."Best Bit"Youth4:03
15."Central Reservation" (Spiritual Life/Ibadan edit)
  • Orton
  • Jerome Sydenham[a]
  • Joe Claussell[a]
4:04
16."Central Reservation" (William Orbit remix)
4:43
Cherry Red Records expanded edition – Disc two
No.TitleLength
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
Scottish Albums (OCC)[25] 25
UK Albums (OCC)[26] 17
US Billboard 200[6] 110
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[7] 2

Certifications and sales

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[27] Gold 100,000^
United States — 244,000[8]
Summaries
Worldwide — 478,000[28]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Lanham, Tom (6 June 2016). "Beth Orton: Kidsticks and California Dreaming". Paste. Archived from the original on 3 October 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  2. ^ Walsh, Ben (6 December 2012). "Beth Orton, Union Chapel, London". The Independent. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  3. ^ a b c "Beth Orton". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  4. ^ a b "Australiancharts.com – Beth Orton – Central Reservation". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  5. ^ a b "Charts.nz – Beth Orton – Central Reservation". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  6. ^ a b "Billboard 200™". Billboard. 27 March 1999. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. 27 March 1999. Archived from the original on 28 March 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Billboard Bits: Gorillaz/D12, Beth Orton, Mudhoney". Billboard. 1 March 2002. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  9. ^ "Beth Orton announces reissue of her 1999 Heavenly album 'Central Reservation'". Heavenly Recordings. 6 June 2014. Archived from the original on 12 June 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  10. ^ "Central Reservation by Beth Orton Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  11. ^ a b c Ankeny, Jason. "Central Reservation – Beth Orton". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  12. ^ a b Brunner, Rob (26 March 1999). "Central Reservation". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 26 January 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  13. ^ a b Sullivan, Caroline (5 March 1999). "Sad but true". The Guardian.
  14. ^ Hilburn, Robert (12 March 1999). "A Hesitant Beth Orton Is Pulled in Two Directions". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  15. ^ a b O'Connell, Sharon (13 March 1999). "Goddess of the Highway". Melody Maker. Vol. 76, no. 10. p. 36.
  16. ^ a b Stubbs, David (10 March 1999). "Beth Orton – Central Reservation". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  17. ^ Fowler, Shan. "Beth Orton: Central Reservation". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 11 October 2000. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  18. ^ a b Sheffield, Rob (18 March 1999). "Beth Orton: Central Reservation". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 30 April 2008. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  19. ^ a b Clover, Joshua (March 1999). "All Folked-Up". Spin. Vol. 15, no. 3. pp. 139–140. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  20. ^ a b Williamson, Nigel (April 1999). "Strum'n'bass...". Uncut. No. 23. p. 82.
  21. ^ Sturges, Fiona (28 March 2003). "Beth Orton: No more reservations". The Independent. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
  22. ^ "Rocklist". Archived from the original on 11 August 2006. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  23. ^ MacQueen, Ali (2006). "Beth Orton: Central Reservation". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Universe Publishing. p. 846. ISBN 978-0-7893-1371-3.
  24. ^ a b c "Central Reservation – Beth Orton (Credits)". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  25. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  26. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  27. ^ "British album certifications – Beth Orton – Central Reservation". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  28. ^ Sexton, Paul (18 March 2000). "Brit Awards: Controversial As Ever". Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 12. p. 85. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
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