Classic Albums: Trailer Park by Beth Orton

OK, back to another one of my Classic Albums post today with Beth Orton‘s debut album for my Wednesday’s post. I’m well over sixty of these CA posts and it’s amazing Beth only now showing up here. Anyway it was year 1996 for Trailer Park album, it’s really her second album after Superpinkymandy but that one was only released limited, independently and in Japan for some reason, you can find it on YouTube now.

I totally loved Beth in the mid-90’s, most likely it’s her next album called Central Reservation from 1999 is the most popular of all her albums but I always go back to this one every time. I guess she’s got that folk singer thing going on but there’s a trippy thing too, which is labeled Folktronica if you wanna a name or something? Really it was just among the very first album to fuse elements of 60s/70s folk with modern electronica and trip hop of the 90’s. For me in mid-90’s I was finally mellowing out and wanted something a bit more chili so it was just perfect timing really, you couldn’t get anything better.

I love the fact those two videos She Cries Your Name and Someone’s Daughterused the same footage like she couldn’t give a stuff about having something different for both the promo video clips. Nobody does that anymore but in the 90’s she wasn’t the only artist to do this at the time. It’s very American looking videos but at the time everyone, I mean reviews/reviewers called her so very English and this album was just too English but I don’t even know what that means really? Is that like some kind-of reverse racism thing to say? I guess it was all Britpop at the time, not that she was a part of that scene so that’s a critic’s way of saying something nice/nasty or something.  To me you could not find an album more beautiful and wonderful in the mid-90’s.

The last time Beth played Perth or well the whole tour, she did this request thing on her website. It was her first totally solo shows in Australia then and everyone in this town wanted to hear I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine. That’s an cover, I think she’s sparse the Phil Spector composition originally by The Ronettes. I wanted and I think my totally fave from the album would be the epic over ten minute long closing track Galaxy Of Emptinessbut I’ve found a shorter and strip back to just stand-up bass version of the same track just below too.

Beth just had a new album last year which I really digged, she just announced she playing a show at the Sydney Opera House but no other dates yet so another show I want to go too. I think I should move over east and be done with it, I better start to save up or should I just go totally broke? I’m getting sided now but it’s getting pretty close to my word limited so I should edit it and write something a bit better about Orton, it’s getting late and what more other than I love her and this is my fave album of her’s do I need to say?

Please have a listen if you’ve not her before. So who else love her? Is it this album or other one for you?

Trailer Park track listing and times:

1. She Cries Your Name – 4:47
2. Tangent – 7:29
3. Don’t Need A Reason – 5:04
4. Live As You Dream – 2:59
5. Sugar Boy – 4:21
6. Touch Me With Your Love – 7:27
7. How Far – 4:27
8. Someone’s Daughter – 4:16
9. I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine – 4:43
10. Galaxy Of Emptiness – 10:07

All my Classic Albums posts are in that link or they’re all linked below too!

• Tales From The Australian Underground – Volume 1 & 2 by Various Artists
• Station To Station by David Bowie
• Unplugged In New York by Nirvana
• Rust In Peace by Megadeth
• Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs by Marty Robbins
• Henry’s Dream by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
• Whatever You Love, You Are by Dirty Three
• Gala Mill by The Drones
• Black Monk Time by The Monks
• Ex Tropical by Lost Animal
• Work (Work, Work) by HTRK
• In The Wee Small Hours by Frank Sinatra
• The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn by Pink Floyd
• Songs Of Love And Hate by Leonard Cohen
• Warm Leatherette by Grace Jones
• The White House by The Dead C
• Silence Is Sexy by Einstürzende Neubauten
• Lulu by Lou Reed & Metallica
• Kaira by Toumani Diabaté
• Kings Of The Wild Frontier by Adam And The Ants
• Drowning In The Fountain Of Youth by Dan Kelly And The Alpha Males
• Aerial by Kate Bush
• The Future by Leonard Cohen
• Rock For Light by Bad Brains
• Last Splash by The Breeders
• Sex by The Necks
• Emergency Ward by Nina Simone
• Paradise by My Disco
• Batman by Prince
• Sings Christmas Carols by Mark Kozelek
• What Are Rock Stars Doing Today by Magic Dirt
• Love Of Life by Swans
• Big Name, No Blankets by Warumpi Band
• Blue Valentine by Tom Waits
• In The Pines by The Triffids
• Where Joy Kills Sorrow by Various Artists
• TV Sky by The Young Gods
• King For A Day, Fool For A Lifetime by Faith No More
• Jean Lee And The Yellow Dog by Ed Kuepper
• Law Of Nature by Laughing Clowns
• (I’m) Stranded by The Saints
• Super Ape by Lee “Scratch” Perry & The Upsetters
• The Soft ‘N’ Sexy Sound by Dave Graney ‘N’ The Coral Snakes
• Mutiny/The Bad Seed by The Birthday Party
• Bahdeni Nami by Omar Souleyman
• Ascension by John Coltrane
• The Definitive by Blind Willie McTell
• Rid Of Me by PJ Harvey
• Horses by Patti Smith
• Vespertine by Björk
• Hex Enduction Hour by The Fall
• Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood by DMX
• I’m New Here by Gil Scott-Heron
• Charcoal Lane by Archie Roach
• In My Own Time by Karen Dalton
• Stay Sick! by The Cramps
• Primary Colours by Eddy Current Suppression Ring
• Veedon Fleece by Van Morrison
• Trainspotting by Various Artists
• After School Session by Chuck Berry
• Body Language by Kylie Minogue
• Bricks Are Heavy by L7

So the idea here is simply for me to write a post about each of my favourite albums that I consider total stone cold classics!

Please do leave a reply below and tell me what you think about this album and/or artist or whatever you’d like to say about it?

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