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London-based singer songwriter
Beth Orton,
having learned the trade
from William Orbit and the
Chemical Brothers, spiced her pensive folk ballads
with electronic sounds on
Superpinkymandy (EMI, 1993), recorded under the supervision of her
mentor William Orbit and at times evoking
Lida Husik's ethereal early work.
As a cross between
Joni Mitchell
and Bjork, Orton
penned several gems on Trailer Park (Dedicated, 1997):
She Cries Your Name,
Touch Me With Your Love and Someone's Daughter.
The ten-minute Galaxy Of Emptiness attempts an ambitious fusion of
folk and trip-hop.
Best Bit announced the folkish style of
Central Reservation (Arista, 1999), whose standout ballads include
Blood Red River,
Central Reservation,
Devil's Song
and the single Stolen Car.
Except for Stars All Seem To Weep, Orton decided to focus on a
more immediate and less cerebral style.
As an old-fashioned folksinger, Orton prefers the waltzing tempo
(Sweetest Decline, So Much More", Pass In Time)
and the Joni Mitchell-esque hymn-like contralto.
A chronic illness (Crohn’s Disease), that she had contracted when she was 17, began to take a toll on her.
Three or four gems (the orchestral Paris Train, the
frenzy Daybreaker, the country ballad Concrete Sky, the
metaphysical ode God Song) rescue
Daybreaker (Heavenly, 2002),
an album that tends to repeat
itself and to repeat the previous one.
The Other Side of Daybreak (Astralwerks, 2003)
contains the leftovers of the album's sessions and a few rarities.
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(Translation by/ Tradotto da Paolo Latini)
Beth Orton e' una cantante-cantautrice
londinese, che imparando le lezioni di
William Orbit e dei
Chemical
Brothers, condisce le sue pensose ballate folk con suoni
elettronici. Superpinkymandy (EMI, 1993) fu registrato sotto
l'egida del suo mentore William Orbit.
Ideale congiunzione tra Joni Mitchell e Bjork,
la Orton cesella un pugno di gemme su Trailer Park (Dedicated,
1997): She
Cries Your Name, Galaxy Of Emptiness, Touch Me
With
Your Love e Someone's Daughter.
Best Bit preannuncia lo stile folk di Central
Reservation (Arista, 1999), le cui ballate includono
Blood Red River, Central Reservation,
Devil's
Song ed il singolo Stolen Car. Tranne che per
Stars All
Seem To Weep, la Orton sembra voler mettere a fuoco uno
stile piu' immediato e meno cerebrale. Da folksinger "vecchia maniera"
qual e', la Orton preferisce i tempi "saltellati" (Sweetest
Decline, So Much More", Pass In Time) e i contralti
pseudo-inno Joni Mitchell-eschi.
Tre o quattro gemme (l'orchestrale Paris Train, la frenetica
Daybreaker, la ballata country Concrete Sky, l'ode
metafisica God Song) risollevano Daybreaker (Heavenly,
2002), un album che rischia di citare se stesso e quelli precedenti.
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