Personnel includes: Beth Orton (vocals, guitar); Ryan Adams (vocals, guitar,piano); Terry Callier (vocals); Ted Barnes (acoustic & electric guitars, mandolin); William Orbit, Ben Watt (guitar, keyboards, programming); Sean Read (piano, keyboards); David Boulter (harmonium, organ); Ali Friend (double bass); Henry Olsen (electric bass); Will Blanchard (drums, tambourine); The Chemical Brothers.
Producers include: Victor Van Vugt, Dr. Robert, Ben Watt, William Orbit, The Chemical Brothers.
Recorded between 1993 & 2002. Includes liner notes by Sean O'Hagan.
As the original boundary-breaker between British folk and electronica, Beth Orton brought coffee and sunshine down to the still-awake-at-seven-A.M. crowd with her guest shot on early William Orbit and Chemical Brothers albums, warming things up with her honeyed vocals. The rest is the history, as collected on this two-disc set of hits, guest appearances, b-sides, remixes, singles, and rarities. Disc One picks the gems off Orton's first three albums, including "She Cries Your Name" and the comforting title track (guest vocal by Terry Callier).
The second disc, however, gets deep and diverse, with two tracks from a rare, Japanese-only release called SUPERPINKYMANDY (the weepy "Where Do You Go" could be at home on an Enya or Cowboy Junkies disc). A dance remix of "Central Reservation" rocks out in spirited style, while "Pedestal" warrants Orton's frequent Sandy Denny comparisons with its sublime folksy grace. There's another nod to '60s folk-rock with Fred Neil's "Dolphins," also with Callier, and Orbit returns for "Water from a Vine Leaf"--recorded expressly for this compilation--a dose of moving, late-night electronica that brings the proceedings full circle.
What the critics say...
Q (12/03, p.155) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...This best of peaks with 'Best Bit' a song that manages to be both breezy and disquieting..."
Uncut (11/03, p.136) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...'Galaxy of Emptiness' is a highlight, the perfect expression of Orton's conflation of folk-inflection and post-dance electronics..."
