Track Listing

1. Stolen Car
2. Sweetest Decline
3. Couldn't Cause Me Harm
4. So Much More
5. Pass in Time
6. Central Reservation [Original Version]
7. Stars All Seem to Weep
8. Love Like Laughter
9. Blood Red River
10. Devil Song
11. Feel to Believe
12. Central Reservation [Ben Watt Mix]

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #51342 in Music
• Brand: Arista
• Released on: 1999-03-09
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com's Best of 1999
There's no way to offer a shortcut description of what Beth Orton sounds like. There are so many musical styles pulsing through Central Reservation--jazz, folk, pop, rock, and dance--that the album could easily have ended up an empty exercise in genre-hopping. Instead, it's a bracing example of mongrel music at its best as Orton carves out a new musical vocabulary with deep roots in familiar sounds. --Keith Moerer

Amazon.com
Is Beth Orton the folkie Beck? Or is Beck an Orton with beats? Since both graze from genre to genre like goats feasting on whatever strikes their fancy, drawing parallels is tempting...and perhaps pointless. After all, both artists were born in 1970 and emerged at a time when musical categorization became an exercise in futility. English thrush Orton's third album--like her critically hailed debut and the Best Bit EP--prompts one to flash on an ever-swelling range of influences. Since she's blessed with the rich, warm voice of a true pop singer, it's easy to imagine her sharing space on some out-of-time radio playlist with Dusty Springfield (listen to the elegant, string-laden "Sweetest Decline"), except Orton's music draws on '90s trip-hop elements as well the jazzy folk of Tim Buckley and vet Terry Callier (reprising his Best Bit cameo). Orchestration, upright bass, vibes, and Orton's own resolute guitar give long, languid tracks such as "So Much More" and "Pass in Time" an Astral Weeks-like feel. All those touchstones and no fewer than six producers might imply that Central Reservation is something of a mishmash. In truth, Orton's overriding vision is all that's needed to create cohesion. --Steven Stolder

People
[Beth Orton] coaxes smiles by focusing on life's more painful moments.... Her midtempo music is also filled with catchy dance beats, gorgeous folk guitars and haunting string sections.

Customer Reviews

Stunning followup; worthy of full price purchase
Amazing. The first time I heard this album, it was like a cliche you might see in a movie. An incredibly long, lonely drive down a deserted two lane highway from Albuquerque, NM to Durango, CO. Moonless night, clear sky, hundreds of miles from any major light source, I was listening to this album, looking at the night sky. This album sunk its teeth in, a haunting, bittersweet group of songs perfect for reflection, comptemplation. This album succeedes on so many different levels to become, in this humble reviewer's opinion, an instant, timeless classic.
Listen to the emotional/thematic changes between 'Stolen Car' and 'Sweetest Decline'. The stunning, shimmering, phenomenal 'Pass in Time'. The duo between her and Terry Callier has made it into the ist of my favorite songs - people hear this one and ask me 'Who IS this? WHAT album is this?' Any album that elicits such an emotional, immediate response from so many different people MUST be doing something right.
Buy this album, you will NOT be disappointed.

Unbelievable!!!!! You need this! Yes, you! YOU NEED THIS!
This is by far my favorite album of all time. Beth Orton somehow topped herself after the stunning "Trailer Park" and the great EP "Best Bit". I bought this album in September, and I can almost smell the autumn air when listen to this. This is the first album I bought by Beth Orton, and I wasn't sure if I'd like it, but did I! This is something I would rank with Nick Drake's "Five Leaves Left" and Belle and Sebastian's "If You're Feeling Sinister". The music is more folky than "Trailer Park", but electronica fans don't fret. There are some (great) techno moments like "Stars All Seem to Weep" and Central Reservation (The Then Again Version)", but for the most part the instruments are played by people. Ben Harper guests on "Stolen Car" and the beautiful "Love Like Laughter", and Doctor John sits in on piano in the flawless "Sweetest Decline". Beth's album recieved a lot of hype and critical praise last year, and if you're skeptical on whether or not to buy the hype, DO IT! You won't, can't, be let down.

Fingers Like Fuses, Your Eyes Like Cinnamon
I recommend this album to anyone who appreciates a beautiful female voice singing colorful and thoughtful lyrics with feeling. I am a big fan of 10,000 Maniacs, Natalie Merchant, Sarah McLachlan, and Indigo Girls. Central Reservation is a solid collection of thought and mood provoking songs. Recommended activities while listening to Central Reservation: Light a few candles and have a friend over for dinner or coffee, sit on your back porch and look out at the stars while having a beer, take an introspective drive through the countryside. I hope this was helpful and gives you a feel for this recording.