Sugaring Season

Beth Orton | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 2, 2012)
• Original Release Date: 2012
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: ANTI Records
• ASIN: B008J9EYFG
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,220 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Candles

2. Dawn Chorus

3. Something more Beautiful

4. Magpie

5. Poison Tree

6. Call me the Breeze

7. See through Blue

8. State of Grace

9. Last Leaves of Autumn

10. Mystery

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Beth's masterpiece" --Mojo Magazine

"A quietly spellbinding album" --New York Times

"Folk music for those who think they're tired of folk music" --Q Magazine

Product Description

Beth Orton's Anti debut captures the classic hypnotic sound that won her prominence, at the same time as it shows a singer at the full maturity of her instrument, with a new soulfulness that can recall Roberta Flack or Nina Simone one moment, June Christy at the next. Sugaring Season is in many ways a culmination of Orton's art of contradictions, a full circle from that first John Martyn cover she recorded with William Orbit back in the day soulful and ambient, lush and bittersweet, starkly still and fiercely rhythmic.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 28 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Glad to See Her Back October 2, 2012

By T. A. Daniel TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Audio CD

A lot has changed since Beth Orton's last album six years ago: she's now a wife and a mother. For all that may have changed in her life, her music is as good as it has ever been on SUGARING SEASON. Orton has all but dropped the electronic influences of her past in favor for a more mystical, roots-based brand of trippy instrumentation. The production here works wonderfully, sometimes feeling loose and relaxed, at others tense and slightly paranoid; each song is able to create a nice landscape for Orton to wander in. Songs range from the childlike "See Through Blue," the melancholy and jazzy "Something More Beautiful," the skittering and beautiful "Dawn Chorus," and the elegaic closing track "State of Grace." What shines here though, is Orton's voice. Simultaneously captivating, soulful, and trancelike, her vocals fill up every song to the brim.

The closest point of comparison I can think of is Cat Power (circa her release of THE GREATEST). The weakest point of this album is that it starts off so strongly - the second half of the album doesn't quite live up to the first; it's not as adventurous or experimental, suggesting that Orton is best when she's pushing herself creatively. Essential tracks to sample/download: "Magpie," "Dawn Chorus," and "Candles." This is a great autumn/winter record - one that you can lose yourself in for a while.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Beth Orton - Remerges from "the sweetest decline" October 3, 2012

By Red on Black TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Audio CD

What is known as the Sugaring Season runs in Vermont from around March to mid-April. It is when producers all around the state collect maple sap and boil it down to the sweet sticky syrup. It is the same maple trees that lead to that stunning sweep of colour in the vibrant fall foliage. Beth Orton's new album seems to combines both events. It is very much a hymn to Autumnal and pastoral moods but combined with a lovely bruised fragility which makes this album such a real treat.

Gone is all the shimmering electronica and digital files of the dallainces with Andy Weatherall or the Chemical Brothers, indeed the template is much more in tune with her frequent collaborations with Ryan Adams. Following a lengthy hiatus to bring up her daughter this is her first album in six years that firmly sticks to the acoustic knitting and is all the better for it. In that time she built up a considerable backlog of songs and in the selections here has largely chosen wisely. Opener "Magpie" has a bluesy tint to the essential folk based melancholy. It builds to a big finish as Orton's vocals stretch and the intensity ratchets up. More gentle are the following tracks, the lifting pop of "Dawn chorus" and the almost Nick Drake sounding guitar backdrop to "Candles" where Orton's haunting vocals are at their very best. The slow piano ballad laden with violins "Something more beautiful" is an undoubted highlight and will replay repeated listens. One sour note comes in the form of the Weimar cabaret of "See Through Blue" where she tries to adopt a Dietrich style loftiness but it all feels rather contrived and breaks the flow of the album. Still it comes in under two minutes and is followed by "Last leaves of Autumn" which is one of the best things Beth Orton has ever done. This reviewers favourite however is the lovely closing track "Mystery" a wonderful haunting ballad that echoes the song writing skills of the great Sandy Denny. Orton's chalky voice has never been better employed and as it gently fades out you touch the repeat button and listen in rapture once more. For those wanting more you will wish to note that the deluxe edition also contains three extra tracks namely covers of "That Summer Feeling" by Jonathan Richman, a nice take on the Carole King standard "I Wasn't Born To Follow" made famous by the Byrds and a haunting version of Neil Young's "Goin Back" from the "Comes a time" album.

Orton has admitted in interviews that it was listening to Joni Mitchell's seminal album "Blue" that provided her musical coming of age. It has served her well since "Sugaring Season" has echoes of Mitchell, Sandy Denny, Cat Power and a host of others. There is nothing revolutionary or radical about this album but it makes up for this with moving honesty and fine melodies. More than that after six long years it signals a return to form by an artist who has built up an admirable and deserved reputation as a top notch songwriter with an album which will be ranked amongst her best. Its good to have her back.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Most mature work yet; different from the rest October 8, 2012

By M. Lavender

Format:MP3 Music

The songs on this album are different from most of her earlier work, with alternate tunings and different vocal registers on some of the songs. And there's no electronica here. You won't get as many catchy, "pop" songs, but you will get more mature songs. This is as good as anything else she's done, but in a different way.