Universal Music Group International

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 explosion 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 in the front window of record stores. Smith recorded the album once again from home. The sound of this new version was so intimate that one could have imagined his friend Tony Lash, on the sofa, fingers gliding and lips quietly whistling the 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 Elliott Smith's 25th anniversary, Kill Rock Stars has published this new remastered version that benefits from tracks recovered by recording engineer and producer Larry Crane, who uncovered these tracks in the label's archives. But the highlight of this re-edition is the first live solo performance, recorded in Umbra Penumbra, a cafe in Portland on the 17th September 1994. A true gem of a record! © Charlotte Saintoin/Qobuz

Frankie Miller is one of the great unsung rockers of the '70s, a blue-eyed soul singer on par with Rod Stewart and Joe Cocker who could also rock as hard as Bob Seger. All three of these artists recognized a kindred spirit in Miller, with all three covering his songs in the '70s and '80s. Like all hard-working rockers, Miller kept working right into the '90s, when he tragically suffered a brain hemorrhage while woodshedding a new band with Joe Walsh. After five months, he emerged from a coma but was paralyzed and lost his speech. His friends did their best to keep his legacy alive, a mission that peaks with 2016's Frankie Miller's Double Take. Instigated by the curiosity of Rod Stewart, producer David Mackay asked Miller's wife if there were any unreleased songs, and she sent him a bunch of tapes, which he then polished and refurbished into Double Take. Figuring that the best way to garner attention for the album was to get his friends and fans aboard, he constructed the album as set of duets, adding some additional instrumentation along the way. He got a bunch of heavy hitters: Stewart, Walsh, Elton John, Huey Lewis, Paul Carrack, Willie Nelson, and Kid Rock are all here, along with Bonnie Tyler and Kim Carnes -- two raspy-voiced soul singers who are natural foils for Miller -- Delbert McClinton, Steve Cropper, and John Parr. All these superstars do attract headlines, but they don't quite attract attention on Double Take, as each of the performers chooses to keep the focus on Miller's songs and, to a lesser extent, his singing. While the production is just a tad too polished to feel as gritty as Miller's best '70s works, the music is nevertheless in that vein and many of the songs are quite good, particularly the gospel-drenched Elton John number "Where Do the Guilty Go?" and the swaggering "Way Past Midnight" (performed with Lewis). "Kiss Her for Me" (with Stewart) is a pretty ballad and "Jezebel Jones" (with Kid Rock) is a prime slice of soulful rock. While it's tempting for the Miller faithful to wish he was singing lead on every song, it's clear this is a labor of love and we're fortunate to have these fine songs resurrected in whatever fashion we can get. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Frankie Miller is one of the great unsung rockers of the '70s, a blue-eyed soul singer on par with Rod Stewart and Joe Cocker who could also rock as hard as Bob Seger. All three of these artists recognized a kindred spirit in Miller, with all three covering his songs in the '70s and '80s. Like all hard-working rockers, Miller kept working right into the '90s, when he tragically suffered a brain hemorrhage while woodshedding a new band with Joe Walsh. After five months, he emerged from a coma but was paralyzed and lost his speech. His friends did their best to keep his legacy alive, a mission that peaks with 2016's Frankie Miller's Double Take. Instigated by the curiosity of Rod Stewart, producer David Mackay asked Miller's wife if there were any unreleased songs, and she sent him a bunch of tapes, which he then polished and refurbished into Double Take. Figuring that the best way to garner attention for the album was to get his friends and fans aboard, he constructed the album as set of duets, adding some additional instrumentation along the way. He got a bunch of heavy hitters: Stewart, Walsh, Elton John, Huey Lewis, Paul Carrack, Willie Nelson, and Kid Rock are all here, along with Bonnie Tyler and Kim Carnes -- two raspy-voiced soul singers who are natural foils for Miller -- Delbert McClinton, Steve Cropper, and John Parr. All these superstars do attract headlines, but they don't quite attract attention on Double Take, as each of the performers chooses to keep the focus on Miller's songs and, to a lesser extent, his singing. While the production is just a tad too polished to feel as gritty as Miller's best '70s works, the music is nevertheless in that vein and many of the songs are quite good, particularly the gospel-drenched Elton John number "Where Do the Guilty Go?" and the swaggering "Way Past Midnight" (performed with Lewis). "Kiss Her for Me" (with Stewart) is a pretty ballad and "Jezebel Jones" (with Kid Rock) is a prime slice of soulful rock. While it's tempting for the Miller faithful to wish he was singing lead on every song, it's clear this is a labor of love and we're fortunate to have these fine songs resurrected in whatever fashion we can get. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Grace Jones teamed with the great reggae production duo of Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare on this 1980 album, and made the transition from straight dance and club act into quasi-pop star with reggae and urban contemporary leanings. The single "Private Life" was one of her best, and the overall album had more energy and production gloss than previous LPs that had been aimed completely at the club market. It helped that Jones seemed enthused about the session and really put herself into the songs. © Ron Wynn /TiVo