Beetroot is the fourth album by the English band Cast, released on 30 July 2001. From the album, a single was released, "Desert Drought", which reached #45 in the UK Singles Chart. Two further intended singles, "Kingdoms And Crowns" and "Giving It All Away" were cancelled due to the album and first single's poor sales.
Background In the run up to the album's release, the band ran a competition via their then-official website, appealing to fans to submit their own ideas for possible album titles, as the band proposed that they would choose a title from all of the entries received. However, despite the many suggestions, John ultimately decided to stick with his own working title for the project, 'Beetroot'."ALBUM TITLE COMP NEWS", cast.co.uk, 1 June 2001
Although the band chose not to use any of the names suggested, they did make a Top 10 list of alternate album titles:
'4Cast' 'All of Us Are' 'Out From Within' 'Pyramid' 'Recreativity' 'Reflector' 'Sense & Sensemilia' 'So It Goes' 'Spirit Level' 'What Remains To Be Discovered?'
Reception
In a retrospective review, Jamie Atkins of Record Collector said the album and its predecessor showcase a band attempting to "break new ground," while Beetroot "in particular containing their most adventurous work [...] It all just lacks wit, imagination and conviction".
Track listing All songs written by John Power. "Desert Drought" – 2:47 "Heal Me" – 1:36 "Curtains" – 3:25 "Kingdoms and Crowns" – 3:41 "Giving It All Away" – 4:17 "Lose Myself" – 4:09 "I Never Can Say" – 4:31 "High Wire" – 3:56 "Meditations" – 3:49 "JetSteam" – 4:32 "U-Turn" – 3:12 "Universal Grinding Wheel" – 3:59
Personnel Cast John Power – vocals, guitar, backing vocals, producer, mixing, arrangements Peter Wilkinson – bass, backing vocals Liam "Skin" Tyson – guitar, backing vocals Keith O'Neill – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Production Tristin Norwell – producer, engineer, mixing, arrangements Simon B. Sheridan – engineer Claire Lewis – assistant engineer Damon Iddins – assistant engineer Adrian Hall – assistant engineer The Weathermen – Pro Tools operator Lawrence Johnson – additional vocal arrangements Kevin Metcalfe – mastering
Additional musicians Lurine Cato – backing vocals Michelle John – backing vocals Rachel McFarlane – backing vocals David Farmer – brass David Vines – brass David Williamson – brass James Watson – brass Richard Brown – brass Tom Edwards – brass Tom Watson – brass William Watson – brass Paul Ellison – piano, flute
Additional personnel Matthew Sankey – design Barry Dawson – photography Martyn Goodacre – photography Brian Cannon – photography
Chart performance Chart (2001) Peak position UK Albums Chart 78
References
External links Beetroot at Billboard