Shuffling back to Beth Orton

One of the truly great things about an iPod is shuffling. For those of us with large music collections, it can be difficult to revisit our back catalogs. There is, after all, always something new to listen to. But iPod shuffling can help.

Such was the case as I rode the bus home from work the other night. Beth Orton’s song, “Live as you Dream” cycled on and I thought, “Beth Orton, I’ve missed you.” I hadn’t listed to her in a really long time. So off with shuffle, and on with Beth.

There are a lot of things that I like about Beth Orton’s music. She has such a great voice. It truly works with the words she writes. The imagery in her songs is really evocative.

Also, when she collaborates, she picks amazing people to work with. She has co-written with Johnny Marr (Concrete Sky), Ben Watt (Ali’s Waltz) for example. And the musicians she has recorded with Include Ben Harper, Dr. John, and Ryan Adams. She, of course, got her start by working with William Orbit and the Chemical Brothers.

So in honor of my shuffling back to Beth Orton and the fact that she should have a new record out this year, here are some great things of hers to check out.

Here is an interview and performance from KCRW from 1997.

A performance on Jools Holland with Terry Callier.

Central Reservation live and acoustic.

Lastly, Conceived live on David Letterman.