Superpinkymandy - The Super CD That No One Knows

In 1993, 3 years before she released her first EP and 4 years before her first full album, Beth Orton collaborated with William Orbit as part of a duo called Spill. They released a cover version of a John Martyn song, “Don’t Wanna Know About Evil,” that led to an appearance by Beth on Orbit’s “Strange Cargo III” album, which led in turn to a album they did together featuring Beth’s vocals. They called it “Superpinkymandy.” The album had 10 tracks and was released in Japan only, with a very limited pressing of 5,000 copies. Amazingly, even though Beth has gone on to great international success and is a much beloved recording artist, “Superpinkymandy” has never been released and, were it not for the inclusion of 2 songs from the album in “Pass in Time: The Definitive Collection” in 2003, “Superpinkymandy” would have remained in complete obscurity. The last song on the CD, “Release Me,” is a good example of the album’s sound, but every song on the album is terrific and it makes you wonder why in the world it has never seen the light of day. BETH! Please listen to the plea of your album: RELEASE ME! By the way, “Superpinkymandy” also contains a completely different take on the song “She Cries Your Name,” which became a hit for Beth when it was included on her “Trailer Park” album.

Beth Orton: “Release Me”

Next time: Leslie Feist does Ron Sexsmith (musically, of course) and Everything But The Girl sings about Bruce’s Hometown.