For music fans who just plain missed Elliott Smith during his brief career, or were just a little too young at the time - now is your chance to see what all of the fuss was about. Kill Rock Stars, the record label home to all but two of Smith's albums, has just released a 14-song collection called An Introduction To Elliott Smith
.
Like creating a mix tape/CD for a friend, it is never easy - you only have room for so many songs, and you want it to be a good representation of the artist's complete body of work. The majority of the tracks are taken from two of his indie releases: Elliott Smith
(1995) and Either/Or
(1997), including the sly double entendres of 'Needle In The Hay'
and the tragic 'Alameda'
(nobody broke your heart / you broke your own). Only two tracks appear from his major label offerings: the outstanding Waltz #2 from XO
(1998) and Happiness from Figure 8
(2000).
. Like creating a mix tape/CD for a friend, it is never easy - you only have room for so many songs, and you want it to be a good representation of the artist's complete body of work. The majority of the tracks are taken from two of his indie releases: Elliott Smith
(1995) and Either/Or (1997), including the sly double entendres of 'Needle In The Hay' and the tragic 'Alameda' (nobody broke your heart / you broke your own). Only two tracks appear from his major label offerings: the outstanding Waltz #2 from XO (1998) and Happiness from Figure 8 (2000). While Elliott didn't have any mainstream hit singles, he did have his moment in the spotlight when Miss Misery (from the Good Will Hunting Soundtrack) was nominated for a Grammy in 1998. An early version of Miss Misery, taken from the double album of rarities - New Moon
- is here in its stunning, bare form with just acoustic guitar and voice. This collection would not be complete if it weren't for two of my favorites: 'Twilight'
and 'Pretty (Ugly Before)
' off Smith's final album, From A Basement On The Hill
. I was a little disappointed to not see St. Ides Heaven
and Say Yes
included, but that's okay - there are plenty of gems left for you to discover from each of his albums. I say fall in love with this one, then go back and get them all, beginning with From A Basement On The Hill.Elliott Smith was an amazing singer, guitarist and songwriter. Unfortunately we will never see the full extent of his talent, as his life came to a tragic end in 2003 at the age of 34.
, MP3
, Vinyl
Key Tracks: Twilight
, Pretty (Ugly Before), Waltz #2
, Needle In The HayRelease Date: November 2, 2010 on Kill Rock Stars
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