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1999 studio album by Beth Orton From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 | ||||
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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.
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 2CD Expanded Edition which included b-sides, original demos and live recordings.[9]
Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 84/100[10] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | A−[12] |
Houston Chronicle | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Los Angeles Times | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
NME | 8/10[15] |
Pitchfork | 8.9/10[16] |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Spin | 7/10[19] |
Uncut | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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]
No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
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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 |
All tracks are written by Beth Orton except "Love Like Laughter" by Orton and Ted Barnes[11]
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
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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. |
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