Beth Orton - Comfort of Strangers (with Bonus Disc)

bonus disc = worth the extra dollars

if you're trying to decide whether to shell out the extra five dollars for the bonus cd, i'd like to convince you that it is worth it.

argument #1 = the tracks on the bonus cd are just as strong as the rest of the cd, not an afterthought. no crappy remixes to be found here.
argument #2 = if two years ago beth orton put out a cd with five new songs on it for $5, you would have bought it without hesitation.
argument #3 = title track comfort of strangers #9 is particularly good, with a duet with m ward (who co-wrote the song with beth orton).

similar to pass in time, the comfort of strangers bonus disc is quality material, and well worth the extra dollars. June 5, 2006

the best unknown artist you will find

Beth Orton has a quality to her music that is not always immediately apparent upon first listening. Her songs, if given the chance, get inside of you and almost always find a permenant place there. Her voice, both in her vocal delivery and in her lyrics, have a beautiful, incomparable quality, wonderfully musical and poetic, if often difficult to understand -- obviously, deeply personal, yet ambiguous enough that the listener (as with any great art) can find their own personal meaning therewithin.

With this album, "The Comfort of Strangers", Beth Orton brings her acoustic sensibilities, so prevalent from her live perfomances, more fully into the studio, creating her softest and most hauntingly beautiful album to date. I will leave it to others to expound on each particular track, but I would be remiss if I didn't point out that the "Limited Edition" disk contains (among others) two of the most beauiful songs ever recorded by any artist: "What We Begin", and "On My Way Home" -- each of which, like many of Ms. Orton's songs, draws you back time and again almost like an addiction you can't live without.

Of all the little-known performers I've stumbled across in my years of musical exploration, Beth Orton has been, and remains, an absolute favorite. May 6, 2006

Beth Goes Retro

Having loved the bassy beat-driven Daybreaker, Beth goes back to her Central Reservation roots with a more acoustic and "earthy" sounding album. Her voice still plays wonderfully amidst the poppy, Carole King-esque, guitar tunes. I have yet to find a heartstring tugger on this album, but I am sure in time one will emerge. Check out the music video for the first single as well. It is a good summarization of what you can expect on the album. March 20, 2006

Beth's best...

I have all of Beth's previous releases, and I think she's given us her best work yet! It was worth the long wait! March 10, 2006

Rips just fine on a Mac

I was able to rip/import/download/whatever both discs without incident under OS X. Transferred to and plays on my iPod, as well. February 8, 2006

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