Review: Beth Orton, The Other Side of Daybreak

The Other Side of Daybreak takes Orton’s customary mixing of folk-rock songwriting and electronic studio wizardry to a literal level.

Beth Orton, The Other Side of DaybreakGifted with one of the richest, most distinctive voices of her generation, Beth Orton has managed to tap audiences across continents and musical genres. Hers is a refined yet striking blend of folk-rock songwriting and electronic studio wizardry, and her latest release, The Other Side of Daybreak (a companion piece to last year’s Daybreaker), takes the mixing of these elements to a literal level. The disc presents electronic remixes of Daybreaker tunes side-by-side with folky studio outtakes (like a somber, heart-wrenching rendition of “Ooh Child”) as well as an alternate version of the “Concrete Sky” video. Orton explores the woody lower register of her voice on the string-filled “Bobby Gentry,” a new track that ranks among her best. The more electronic fare is largely hit or miss: the previously unreleased “Beautiful World” is a rather drab slice of trip-hop, while the International Peoples Gang remix of “Thinking About Tomorrow” is dub chill-out worthy of William Orbit, who co-produced the original mix. Meanwhile, two serviceable reinterpretations of the flawless “Daybreaker”—originally co-produced by the Chemical Brothers—prove that sometimes there’s really no need to mess with perfection.

Score: 
 Label: Astralwerks  Release Date: September 2, 2003  Buy: Amazon

Sal Cinquemani

Sal Cinquemani is the co-founder and co-editor of Slant Magazine. His writing has appeared in Rolling Stone, Billboard, The Village Voice, and others. He is also an award-winning screenwriter/director and festival programmer.

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