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Nothing can get in his way, not even death. A knife to the chest is how Steven Paul Smith aka Elliott Smith left us at the age of 34. The incident was concluded as a suicide without great conviction. But what all the world could agree on was his dazzling career which was firmly dubbed by the rock world as the exploits of a penniless genius who was caught in the wake of grunge which dominated the early 90s. After the post-punk explosions caused by his group Heatmiser, the still unknown icon from Portland very soon expressed his depression on the undisclosed solo album Roman Candle (1993) in which he touched upon the themes of predilection, abandon and disillusion. It was with this eponymous Elliott Smith that he started to experience tangible success, albeit moderate. The somewhat ironically named label Kill Rock Stars did well to promote him, putting Elliott’s face at the front window of record stores. Smith recorded it once again from home and the sound that remains is so intimate that it is easy to believe: on the sofa of his friend Tony Lash, fingers gliding and lips quietly whistling an array of folk ballads. From the opening Needle in the Hay to the closing The Biggest Lie passing through Satellite, he demonstrates the talents for writing melancholic songs with next to nothing. There are some rare touches of drums and a harmonica but all the rest is stripped of all excess. “I personally can’t get more dark than that”, he would later say on the matter, only to then say “I think I’m just about as happy as all the other people I know. Which is occasionally”. Following his worldwide recognition with the Oscar-nominated Miss Misery from Gus Van Sant’s Good Will Hunting then the excellent Either/Or. For the 25th anniversary of the release of Elliott Smith, Kill Rock Stars have released this remastered version which features some finds from producer and sound engineer Larry Crane, who, while looking through archives from the era, dug out the best mixings of the album. But the most intriguing thing about this anniversary edition is the presence of the first live solo performance recorded in Umbvra Penumbra, a cafe in Portland on the 17 of September 1994, where we can hear Smith collar a listener between two of the songs. A gem. © Charlotte Saintoin/Qobuz
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Elliott Smith, Composer, MainArtist - SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS, MusicPublisher
2020 Kill Rock Stars 2020 SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS
Elliott Smith, Composer, MainArtist - SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS, MusicPublisher
2020 Kill Rock Stars 2020 SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS
Elliott Smith, Composer, MainArtist - SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS, MusicPublisher
2020 Kill Rock Stars 2020 SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS
Elliott Smith, Composer, MainArtist - SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS, MusicPublisher
2020 Kill Rock Stars 2020 SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS
Elliott Smith, Composer, MainArtist - SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS, MusicPublisher
2020 Kill Rock Stars 2020 SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS
Elliott Smith, Composer, MainArtist - SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS, MusicPublisher
2020 Kill Rock Stars 2020 SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS
Elliott Smith, Composer, MainArtist - SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS, MusicPublisher
2020 Kill Rock Stars 2020 SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS
Elliott Smith, Composer, MainArtist - SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS, MusicPublisher
2020 Kill Rock Stars 2020 SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS
Elliott Smith, Composer, MainArtist - SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS, MusicPublisher
2020 Kill Rock Stars 2020 SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS
Elliott Smith, Composer, MainArtist - SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS, MusicPublisher
2020 Kill Rock Stars 2020 SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS
Elliott Smith, Composer, MainArtist - SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS, MusicPublisher
2020 Kill Rock Stars 2020 SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS
Elliott Smith, Composer, MainArtist - SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS, MusicPublisher
2020 Kill Rock Stars 2020 SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS
DISC 2
Elliott Smith, MainArtist - Steven Paul Smith, Composer - SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS, MusicPublisher
2020 Kill Rock Stars 2020 SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS
Elliott Smith, Composer, MainArtist - SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS, MusicPublisher
2020 Kill Rock Stars 2020 SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS
Elliott Smith, MainArtist - Steven Paul Smith, Composer - SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS, MusicPublisher
2020 Kill Rock Stars 2020 SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS
Elliott Smith, MainArtist - Steven Paul Smith, Composer - SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS, MusicPublisher
2020 Kill Rock Stars 2020 SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS
Elliott Smith, Composer, MainArtist - SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS, MusicPublisher
2020 Kill Rock Stars 2020 SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS
Elliott Smith, MainArtist - Steven Paul Smith, Composer - SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS, MusicPublisher
2020 Kill Rock Stars 2020 SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS
Elliott Smith, MainArtist - Steven Paul Smith, Composer - JJ Gonson, Composer - SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS, MusicPublisher
2020 Kill Rock Stars 2020 SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS
Elliott Smith, MainArtist - Steven Paul Smith, Composer - SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS, MusicPublisher
2020 Kill Rock Stars 2020 SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS
Elliott Smith, Composer, MainArtist - SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS, MusicPublisher
2020 Kill Rock Stars 2020 SPENT BULLETS MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAREERS
Elliott Smith, MainArtist - Steven Paul Smith, Composer - Mirabunda Music, MusicPublisher - Neil Jacob Gust, Composer
2020 Kill Rock Stars 2020 MIRABUNDA MUSIC
Album review
Nothing can get in his way, not even death. A knife to the chest is how Steven Paul Smith aka Elliott Smith left us at the age of 34. The incident was concluded as a suicide without great conviction. But what all the world could agree on was his dazzling career which was firmly dubbed by the rock world as the exploits of a penniless genius who was caught in the wake of grunge which dominated the early 90s. After the post-punk explosions caused by his group Heatmiser, the still unknown icon from Portland very soon expressed his depression on the undisclosed solo album Roman Candle (1993) in which he touched upon the themes of predilection, abandon and disillusion. It was with this eponymous Elliott Smith that he started to experience tangible success, albeit moderate. The somewhat ironically named label Kill Rock Stars did well to promote him, putting Elliott’s face at the front window of record stores. Smith recorded it once again from home and the sound that remains is so intimate that it is easy to believe: on the sofa of his friend Tony Lash, fingers gliding and lips quietly whistling an array of folk ballads. From the opening Needle in the Hay to the closing The Biggest Lie passing through Satellite, he demonstrates the talents for writing melancholic songs with next to nothing. There are some rare touches of drums and a harmonica but all the rest is stripped of all excess. “I personally can’t get more dark than that”, he would later say on the matter, only to then say “I think I’m just about as happy as all the other people I know. Which is occasionally”. Following his worldwide recognition with the Oscar-nominated Miss Misery from Gus Van Sant’s Good Will Hunting then the excellent Either/Or. For the 25th anniversary of the release of Elliott Smith, Kill Rock Stars have released this remastered version which features some finds from producer and sound engineer Larry Crane, who, while looking through archives from the era, dug out the best mixings of the album. But the most intriguing thing about this anniversary edition is the presence of the first live solo performance recorded in Umbvra Penumbra, a cafe in Portland on the 17 of September 1994, where we can hear Smith collar a listener between two of the songs. A gem. © Charlotte Saintoin/Qobuz
About the album
- 2 disc(s) - 22 track(s)
- Total length: 01:12:35
- Main artists: Elliott Smith
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Kill Rock Stars
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock Alternative & Indie
2020 Kill Rock Stars 2020 Kill Rock Stars
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