Beth Orton - 'Comfort Of Strangers' (EMI) Released 13/02/06

Norfolk's Beth Orton returns to the fray with a fabulous and engrossing album of reflections and ruminations, piano-led motifs that bring to mind Carole King. The comparisons are drawn with artists peaking at the 10 year mark, perhaps producing their finest work -  Dylan's 'Blood On The Tracks', The Rolling Stones with 'Exile On Main Street', Tom Waits with 'Swordfishtrombones'... It's a plausible theory that comes out in the wash given that this could well be Beth's finest moment despite the triumphs of 'Trailer Park' and 'Daybreaker'. 'Comfort Of Strangers' was recorded in New York with musician and composer Jim O'Rourke of Sonic Youth on production duties, piano, bass and marimba, U.S. percussionist Tim Barnes and Beth Orton with guitar, piano and harmonica. With minimal overdubs or mucking about, the album was recorded mostly as one take, two max, and has the freshness of a spring breeze - characterised by a spartan, stripped-back sound. 

The two opening tracks are natty, short 'n' sweet - 'Worms' tickles and rolls with piano, "I have waited forever to love someone, I swear I heard you think you've got the time for helping me come along...and an intimacy reduced to cruelty", while 'Countenance' is charmed with Dylanesque prophetics about the nature of the Universe, "For those who preach forgiveness while practising revenge, man will do to man but nature's got it all in hand", and the chorus "it ain't free, it ain't fooling me...", Beth showing  joy and maturity in her songs and arrangements. Rolling piano and lilting guitar on 'Rectify', the drumming tickly-light, Beth opening her voice with "Well love, love, love, is a one-way train, comes on gentle as a hurricane, got p.a.i.n. written all the way through...well love, love, love will make truth from a lie...so give me one kiss to build a dream...", Betheny  whistling the melody to close, a track ta take ya cycling down the summer's. 'Comfort Of Strangers' the title track is what we've come to know of Beth - restrained, declarative, heart laid bare, melodious, resilient... yet rests in the back seat of the numbers here splayed.  

There's tracks that take you to lolling by the Jacuzzi, resting up, little effort on the listeners behalf - Beth-lite. An ocean-breeze. Such is the lull on 'Absinthe' and 'A Place Aside', with Beth weaving a gossamer-thread that reveals personalised song, until the brash and open 'Shopping Trolley', a tin-can kicking song with Beth singing "I think I'm gonna cry, and I'm gonna laugh about it all in time.". 'Feral Children' is a poignant song about the margins and survival, yet remains affirmative in tone and timbre. 'Heart Of Soul' sings persuasively of "You gotta put a little love in your heart...", teasing like Janis Joplin - strident, even folky. The album closes with what is arguably it's finest track - 'Pieces Of Sky', laid bare - this is Beth Orton's sparring-partner to Neil Young's 'Heart Of Gold' or 'After The Goldrush'. Flawless and faultless, a track to whistle down the generations, punctuated-piano and Beth's whispery vocals like a fretting-sea, references to sky, yet  - "Well it's over, let's get busy living, been a long time gone...the way dreams evaporate as they come true...an invisible kite-string connects me to you...", Beth making no bones of that which is important in her life, and in deed, all our lives - memories and experience, delivered with breadth and fullness. 

It's a moot point longevity-wise where this album will stand in Beth's oeuvre - that technically, artistically, musically, and for sheer bloody joy - this could well be Beth's finest album to date, and one that stands proud on it's predecessors, with few let-ups, wonderful depth and yet simplicity of arrangement, songs that you want to carry in your heart. Songs that you'll carry despite yourself.