lambchops's Full Review: Trailer Park by Beth Orton
The level of Beth Orton’s talent was not immediately obvious with her first release, Trailer Park.
It was clear that her soulful, teary, unique vocals could carry her to a long career but at that time it was anybody’s guess as to how successful subsequent albums would be. Orton seems like the epitome of the coffee shop singer. She is of course melancholic and emotional but her real gift is how she manages to combine the most basic elements of folk with a darkly tinged, understated variety of trip-hop/electronica.
Orton, a native of England, tried her hand at many roles in the music industry before going solo in 1996 with Trailer Park. Her previous experience with the likes of William Orbit and The Chemical Brothers made for good business, and eventually combined to land the singer-songwriter a major label deal after proving her worth on Trailer Park.
While Trailer Park is a decent debut, it is by no means a tour de force. Orton oozes desire and commitment, but after the first few songs it seems as those she is stuck in a musical rut. Don’t get me wrong, these songs are overall good and the album is also decently impressive it just doesn’t scream “artistic opus” in the way I had hoped and been led to expect.
Of course there are high points, beginning with first song She Cries Your Name and continuing with Don’t Need a Reason, Live as You Dream, Sugar Boy, and Whenever most notably. Most of the rest lean plainly toward mediocrity with Tangent proving incredibly annoying, so annoying that it gets skipped on almost every listen.
Of those songs, the best is probably Live as You Dream. A jangle pop song performed with conviction and heart, it is catchy and fun. It resonates most perfectly even among the best of Trailer Park. The light percussion and acoustic guitar compliment Orton’s smoky, smooth, evocative vocals wonderfully. Orton seems most at home in the position as hip, happy, alt-pop maven. Even the lyrics are thoughtfully crafted:
Stop look listen I can find you,
I've been standing right beside you,
You don't have to remind me,
I know an' I won't let go.
She Cries Your Name is also particularly notable, though not in the same way as the effervescent Live as You Dream. She Cries Your Name is more typical of Orton in that it is haunting yet funky. With layers of electronic elements melded expertly with the acoustic, the overall effect is creatively free and unique to Orton. Despite the slight unevenness of Trailer Park, songs like this are the ones that proved that in 1996 she had the talent to have a real career in music.
With that said, there are also failures like the aforementioned Tangent. As a follow up to She Cries Your Name, it proves particularly disappointing. I harbor no ill will toward electronica and have in the past embraced its rhythm, but in this case the efforts of producers failed. Orton sounds slightly off-key, her usually confident vocals are at least partially obscured by weird sound effects and seemingly purposeless thumping beats. Fortunately for Trailer Park, this is the only real misfire with the rest of the album from the brilliant She Cries Your Name through Galaxy of Emptiness. Those songs not mentioned even in title are worth hearing, but probably won’t be personal favorites.
As mentioned Trailer Park is a respectable album. It gave Orton the boost to land a major label contract in addition to releasing the subsequently improved 1999 Arista release Central Reservation. Most recently, Orton returned to music shelves with the uncharacteristically disappointing 2002 release Daybreaker. But it all started with Trailer Park…
Rating: 4/5 stars
Track Listing:
01. She Cries Your Name | 02. Tangent | 3. Don’t Need a Reason | 04. Live as You Dream | 05. Sugar Boy | 06. Touch Me With Your Love | 07. Whenever | 08. How Far | 09. Someone’s Daughter | 10. I Wish I Never Saw the Sunshine | 11. Galaxy of Emptiness
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