Central Reservation (album)

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

1999 studio album by Beth Orton

Central Reservation

Studio album by

Beth Orton

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
| 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 Best British Female at the 2000 BRIT Music Awards.

## 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 2CD Expanded Edition which included b-sides, original demos and live recordings.[9]

## Reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsAggregate 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

[edit]

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

Standard editionNo.| 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

Japanese edition (bonus track)No.| Title| Producer(s)| Length

|
|
|

13.| "Precious Maybe"| Orton| 4:02

Australian edition (bonus tracks)No.| Title| Producer(s)| Length

|
|
|

14.| "Best Bit"| Youth| 4:03
15.| "Central Reservation" (Spiritual Life/Ibadan edit)|

* Orton
* Jerome Sydenham[a]
* Joe Claussell[a]

| 4:04
16.| "Central Reservation" (William Orbit remix)|

* Orton
* Orbit[a]

| 4:43

Cherry Red Records expanded edition – Disc twoNo.| 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]

Music[24]

* Ted Barnes — acoustic guitar, bouzouki, guitar, slide guitar
* Will Blanchard — drums
* Terry Callier — background vocals
* Calina de la Mare — violin
* Dr. Robert — guitar
* Beki Doe — violin
* Dr. John — piano
* David Friedman — vibraphone
* Ali Friend — bass
* Lascelles Gordon — percussion
* Howard Gott — violin
* Ruth Gottlieb — violin
* Ben Harper — electric guitar
* Oliver Kraus — cello
* Henry Olsen — bass
* Beth Orton — acoustic guitar, guitar, vocals
* Sean Read — piano, keyboards
* Becca Ware — viola
* Andy Waterworth — double bass
* Ben Watt — guitar, keyboards
* Lucy Wilkins — violin
* Sara Wilson — cello

Production[24]

* Andy Bradfield — mixing
* Dr. Robert — producer, mixing
* Beki Doe — mixing
* Giles Hall — engineer
* Peter Hill — assistant engineer
* Oliver Kraus — mixing
* Dick Meaney — engineer
* Beth Orton — producer
* David Roback — producer, mixing
* Trevor Smith — engineer
* Mark "Spike" Stent — producer
* Victor Van Vugt — producer, engineer
* Paul Walton — mixing assistant
* Ben Watt — programming, noise, producer, engineer, mixing
* John Wood — engineer
* Tim Young — mastering

Design[24]

* Sam Harris — photography

|

## 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]

1. ^ Lanham, Tom (6 June 2016). "Beth Orton: Kidsticks and California Dreaming". Paste. 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 d "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 "Beth Orton Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
7. ^ "Central Reservation – Beth Orton (Awards)". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
8. ^ "Billboard Bits: Gorillaz/D12, Beth Orton, Mudhoney". Billboard. March 2002.
9. ^ "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)
10. ^ "Reviews for Central Reservation by Beth Orton". Metacritic. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
11. ^ a b c Ankeny, Jason. "Central Reservation – Beth Orton". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
12. ^ Brunner, Rob (26 March 1999). "Central Reservation". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
13. ^ Chonin, Neva (28 March 1999). "Beth Orton Still Suffering, But With a Clearer Eye". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
14. ^ Hilburn, Robert (12 March 1999). "Record Rack: A Hesitant Beth Orton Is Pulled in Two Directions". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
15. ^ Stubbs, David (10 March 1999). "Beth Orton – Central Reservation". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
16. ^ Fowler, Shan. "Beth Orton: Central Reservation". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 11 October 2000. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
17. ^ Sheffield, Rob (18 March 1999). "Beth Orton: Central Reservation". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 30 April 2008. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
18. ^ 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.
19. ^ Clover, Joshua (March 1999). "All Folked-Up". Spin. 15 (3): 139–40. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
20. ^ "Beth Orton: Central Reservation". Uncut (22). March 1999.
21. ^ Sturges, Fiona (28 March 2003). "Beth Orton: No More Reservations". The Independent. Retrieved 7 September 2010.[dead link]
22. ^ Dimery, Robert, ed. (2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
23. ^ "Rocklist". Retrieved 22 July 2018.
24. ^ a b c "Central Reservation – Beth Orton (Credits)". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
25. ^ "British album certifications – Beth Orton – Central reservation". British Phonographic Industry.
26. ^ iegler, Dylan (1 March 2002). "Billboard Bits: Gorillaz/D12, Beth Orton, Mudhoney". Billboard. p. 20. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
27. ^ "Brit Awards: Controversial As Ever". Billboard. 18 March 2000. p. 85. Retrieved 24 April 2019.

* v
* t
* e

Beth Orton

Discography

Studio albums|

* Superpinkymandy
* Trailer Park
* Central Reservation
* Daybreaker
* Comfort of Strangers
* Sugaring Season
* Kidsticks
* Weather Alive

Compilations|

* Pass in Time
* The Other Side of Daybreak

EPs|

* Best Bit
* Concrete Sky

Singles|

* "She Cries Your Name"
* "Touch Me with Your Love"
* "Someone's Daughter"
* "Stolen Car"
* "Central Reservation"
* "Anywhere"
* "Thinking About Tomorrow"
* "Conceived"
* "Shopping Trolley"

Collaborations|

* "Sing"

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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