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List Price: $15.93 | | Label: Sony Legacy
Salesrank: 22657
Released: March 10, 2009 |
| Our Price: $13.12 |
| Used Price: $9.93 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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Editorial Review:
Digitally re-mastered 2 CD 'Legacy Edition'. 1996 saw the release of Beth Orton's acclaimed debut album 'Trailer Park'. With its fusion of folk, 60's girl group harmonies and electronica, it encompassed the sounds of the late 1990s. This special edition features live versions of 'Galaxy Of Emptiness', 'Touch Me With Your Love', as well as early versions of 'Demons' and 'Best Bits'. It also includes collaborations with the legendary Terry Callier on tracks such as 'Dolphins' and 'Lean On Me', making this collection the ultimate must-have for fans. Sony/BMG. 2008.
Description of Trailer Park (Legacy Edition):
Beth Orton is the rare vocalist who exists between disparate worlds; she is a singer with a folkie soul who is as comfortable accompanied by an acoustic guitar as by electronic rhythms. Indeed, most people first heard her on William Orbit's Hinterland album and on the Chemical Brothers' Exit Planet Dust. Likewise, her slightly askance vocal style seems to betray naiveté, while lyrically there is a world-weary depth that the latest spate of tough-talking Lolitas cannot muster. Each song's closely observed details create small ripples that grow to substantial emotional waves by album's end; this very promising debut should be the harbinger of great things to come from Orton, with or without the help of a Lilith Fair or anything beyond the integrity of her songs and the wise lilt of her voice. --Alan E. Rapp
Trailer Park (Legacy Edition) Reviews:
"...Sometimes I Wonder...Do You Ever Think Of Me..." 
2009-12-06 - *** THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE 2CD LEGACY EDITION from 2009 ***
This 2009 2CD remaster (HVNLP17CD-LE) of Beth Orton's lovely 1996 debut album is a clever choice for a LEGACY EDITION. And as an import, the musical revelations on Disc 2 will be a huge draw.
But here's a detailed breakdown first... (UK releases)
Disc 1 (59:41 minutes):
Tracks 1 to 11 are her debut album "Trailer Park" issued October 1996 on Heavenly Recordings on LP, Cassette and CD (HVNLP 17, HMVMC 17 and HVNCD 17).
Disc 2 (57:49 minutes):
1. Safety
2. It's Not The Spotlight
1 and 2 are on the CD single of "She Calls Your Name" issued May 1977 on Heavenly HVN60CD. 1 is an Orton original, while 2 is a cover version of a song written by BARRY GOLDBERG with lyrics by GERRY GOFFIN (of Goffin & King fame). It turned up as a cover on Bobby Bland's 1973 album "Dreamer" and then two years later Rod Stewart more famously covered it on his "Atlantic Crossing" album.
3. Galaxy Of Emptiness [Live at the Sheppard's Bush Empire, 26 Nov 1996]
4. Pedestal
5. Touch Me With Your Love [Instrumental]
3 to 5 are non-album tracks on the CD single of "Touch Me With Your Love" issued January 1997 on Heaven HVN64CD.
6. It's This I Am Find
6 is a non-album track on the CD single of "Someone's Daughter" issued March 1997 on Heaven HVN65CD.
7. Bullet
8. Best Bit (Early Version)
7 and 8 are non-album tracks on the reissued CD single of "She Calls Your Name" issued June 1997 on Heavenly HVN68CD.
9. Best Bit
10. Skimming Stone
11. Dolphins
12. Lean On Me
Tracks 9 to 12 are the "Best Bit EP" issued in December 1997 on Heavenly HVN72CD. All songs were non-album. "Dolphins" is a FRED NEIL cover (lyrics above), while "Lean On Me" first appeared on an album called "Occasional Rain" from 1972 on Cadet Records. 11 and 12 features American soul icon TERRY CALLIER on duet vocals - 12 is Callier doing his own song.
13. I Love How You Love Me
13 is a cover version of a PARIS SISTERS song from 1961 written by BARRY MANN and LARRY KOLBER (produced by Phil Spector).
MILES SHOWELL at METROPOLIS did the remaster in August 2008 and it's a beautiful job. If I was to say what's better - it's the rhythm section - suddenly the bass and drums are there - and with more muscle than before. This isn't a loud remaster for the sake of it because when I play the old version against this, the difference is much more subtle than that - but it is better. Highlights for me are "Don't Need A Reason" and the wonderful clarity of "Sugar Boy".
But the real shock is the quality of Disc 2. Putting all the non-album sides and EP tracks together on one disc is an obvious approach for a reissue, but man - the results! Played all the way through, the coherence of the tracks makes it sound some long lost beautiful album - it just 'so' works. The "Best Bit EP" with the two TERRY CALLIER duets have long been fan favourites. "Lean On Me" is more soul-bliss than an average soul can stand - and it still floors me as to how beautifully matched their two different voices are. I might risk an assassination attempt on my life here (such is the affection the album is held in), but I'm tempted to say that Disc 2 is arguably far better than Disc 1? Whatever way you look at it, the listener is on a musical winner here.
So there you have it - for fans there's the beautiful new sound quality - and for newcomers there's a superb debut on Disc 1 with a fantastically complimentary album's worth on Disc 2.
A great little reissue then - and stunning value for money.
PS: for musical influences on Beth Orton, see my three reviews of Terry Callier albums she has name checked - "New Folk Sound Of..." (1965), "Occasional Rain" (1972) and "What Color Is Love" (1973)
Sweet Spot
2009-11-24 - I got snagged by Beth Orton after hearing a cut from Trailer Park. Her music is original and her voice, though vulnerable, has an attractive bite. The quality of the songs and the eclectic nature of their accompanying backgrounds creates a time tested durability. What makes Beth Orton "sing" for me is her inate ability to combine melacholia with a sexy vitality. She finds that real, life conveying sweet spot, a human twangy pathos that gets you choked up with each listen. Her talent deserves a broader audience.
Outstanding 'legacy' treatment
2009-06-29 - Beth Orton blew onto the music scene with her incredible 1996 debut album "Trailer Park", and this legacy edition does one better with a remastered and expanded version of it. I'm not going to review the original album (11 tracks; 60 min.) as there are plenty of reviews out there of it, although after 13 years it is remarkable to hear those songs, and how well they've aged with time, check out the opener "She Cries Out Your Name", or "Touch Me With Your Love" and of course the 10+ min. closer "Galaxy of Emptiness".
The newly added second CD (13 tracks; 58 min. ) brings a fantastic mix of demos, unreleased songs, live songs, and other assorted stuff. The CD starts off with Beth just with guitar on "Safety" and "It's Not the Spotlight", then followed by a great live version of "Galaxy of Emptiness", sounding quite different (and much shorter) than the studio version. The instrumental version of "Touch Me With Your Love" sounds like a movie-made mood piece, just beautiful. Then there is the unreleased "Best Bit" (both in an early version and a fully fleshed-out one), just great. There are also 2 great songs featuring Terry Callier on "Dolphins" and "Lean On Me". The last track "I Love How You Love Me" is a delicious throw-back to the 60s sound.
In all, this is a reissue/legacy edition well done, even though the credit notes are somewhat skimpy. "Trailer Park" was/is a monumental album, deserving the legacy issue. I've been a Beth Orton fan from the early days, and would also recommend her 2002 album "Daybreaker" in a heartbeat. She has only released 4 albums in her career so far, and I can only hope we are in for more music from her soon. Meanwhile, the legacy edition of "Trailer Park" is worth very penny, even if you have the original album.
Where it all begins... 
2009-04-03 - I don't think this is the best Beth Orton album like other people do, probably because I didn't hear it all at the time it came out. I do remember seeing "She Cries Your Name" on 120 Minutes back in 1997 and being struck by the bleakness and originality of the song and video. The rest of the album is good, but a bit dated, and the songs don't gel as easily as they might have in 1996. That being said, she easily deserved all the critical acclaim for her lyrics and vocal abilities, and only just hinted at what was to come.
Fans can never be objective...
2006-04-25 - From the OBJECTIVE reviewer...Beth has a unique voice...kudos...and this album highlights perfectly her folk sensibility with the touch of electronic influence she probably picked up from William Orbit.
