I absolutely love Elliott Smith. He is one the most influential, beautifully talented acoustic artist around, and as a musician myself his songs have true meaning and inspriation. This self-titled album is soothing, and a great pleasure to listen to. It's less polished and commercial than his ... Read review
Recorded mildly better than his debut (Roman Candle), the self-titled second solo album is ... more
one of the most understated and incredible albums to emerge from the American indie-rock scene in the 1990s. With his nimble picking fingers behind him, Smith wr...
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Recorded mildly better than his debut (Roman Candle), the self-titled second solo album is ... more
one of the most understated and incredible albums to emerge from the American indie-rock scene in the 1990s. With his nimble picking fingers behind him, Smith writes sad, little songs about drugs and romantic co-dependence that border on the obsessed. "Needle in the Hay" and "The White Lady Loves You More" are exemplary tunes that fuse the Beatles' pop sense with Neil Young's sense of doom. Lying in his own burned out basement, Smith can rough up the gentlest love song with a few salty words of choice. --Rob O'Connor
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On XO, Elliott Smith leaves the indie doldrums behind and takes wing to new, lush ... more
surroundings. By adding full instrumentation to his acoustic reveries, Smith has ascended to a new level of song-writing that shores up his gentle voice and country-tinged guitar playing with extra layers of vocal arrangements and charming piano vamps. Strains of classic rock filter into the Beatlesque "Baby Britain" and the Beach Boys-inspired "I Didn't Understand"- but Smith succeeds in adapting them to his style rather than the other way around. A foot soldier in DreamWorks' war on standard-issue rock & roll, Smith joins new label mates Rufus Wainwright and Morphine as sophisticated interpreters of the new male psyche. XO is a stunning shadow print of a soul adrift in the music industry, a dark place indeed. --Lois Maffeo
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The death of the singer/songwriter (someone for whom an acoustic gig was an everyday ... more
event, not some MTV-style special occasion) has been inevitable for some time, so releases like Figure 8 should be cherished. With no obvious singles, no clear fashion statement and nothing but a handful of melodies, a paper-thin voice and a piano or guitar for protection, it's clear that Elliott Smith is living on borrowed time. This is a shame, because--like Bernard Butler--Dallas, Texas born Elliott, after four solo albums, is only just finding his feet. Mixing peace loving folk ("Everything Reminds Me Of Her"), drugged up ramblings ("Everything Means Nothing To Me") and honky-tonk tales of serial killers ("Son Of Sam"), this makes for some pretty special listening. Figure 8, like his much acclaimed album XO before it, is a mess of beauty, ingenuity and slight insanity. If the days of the singer/songwriter are drawing to a close, this album is one hell of a way to remember them. --Dan Gennoe
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A member of the band Heatmiser, Elliot Smith recorded home demos on any equipment he could ... more
get his hands on. His first "solo" album is a cheap, four-track home recording that hints at the melodic possibilities Smith would explore in greater detail on subsequent releases. The title track is remarkable but with four songs referred to in sequential order as "No Name #1", "No Name #2", etc. , the inspiration isn't always fully firing. Blessed with a quiet, angelic voice and a lyrical mind that easily transforms the squalid details of everyday life into something worth hearing about twice, Smith stood on the verge of getting it on. With his next, self-titled release, he did. --Rob O'Connor
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Advantages: beautiful melodies, great guitarist, vocalist, acoustic Disadvantages: if you are into dance, very upbeat music then this isn't for you.
I absolutely love Elliott Smith. He is one the most influential, beautifully talented acoustic artist around, and as a musician myself his songs have true meaning and inspriation. This self-titled album is soothing, and a great pleasure to listen to. It's less polished and commercial than his other albums, but still has some brilliant classics such as 'coming up roses' 'needle in the hay' 'clementine' 'southern belle' and so many more, I could go ... ...and touch your soul, they reveal and paint the picture of his hard, pained but interesting life.This low production album is mezmerizing, and although takes a few listens to appreciate each song individually, is truly worth buying and having in the collection. Especially if you like acoustic, guitar vocal, lovely melodies, great guitar playing songs. This is the one for you. ... more
I absolutely love Elliott Smith. He is one the most influential, beautifully talented acoustic artist around, and as a musician myself his songs have true meaning and inspriation. This self-titled album is soothing, and a great pleasure to listen to. It's less polished and commercial than his other albums, but still has some brilliant classics such as 'coming up roses' 'needle in the hay' 'clementine' 'southern belle' and so many more, I could go on. Ever single track (like his other albums) are beautiful, and touch your soul, they reveal and paint the picture of his hard, pained but interesting life.This low production album is mezmerizing, and although takes a few listens to appreciate each song individually, is truly worth buying and having in the collection. Especially if you like acoustic, guitar vocal, lovely melodies, great guitar playing songs. This is the one for you.
Advantages: Possibly the finest album of 2000 Disadvantages: The best is yet to come
It’s quite nice to be the first person to review an ElliottSmith CD and what a fine CD it is to review too. I was amazed to see that he hadn’t been categorised, but hopefully I can spread the word about just how good this singer / songwriter is. “Figure 8”, released in early 2000 is his fifth solo album and in my opinion, his finest yet.
It’s not as if his last album “XO” was average, it was brilliant, but the more beefed-up sound of that record has been added too on “Figure 8”. While earlier releases such as “Roman Candle” and “Either / Or” were much more basic in their arrangement and production, “Figure 8” has much more instrumental input and the songs are all the better for this.
It begins with a song about a mass murderer ...
Advantages: Excellent vocals, calm, reflective tracks, Something different to the majority of singer songwriters Disadvantages: He died shortly before his 7th album
It would seem that 2005 is going to be the year of the singer songwriter. With the likes of David Gray and Tom McRae leading the way in the last few years a number of other artists have sprung from nowhere. One artist who is now missing out on a movement I've no doubt he would have been at the forefront of, is ElliottSmith. Elliott committed suicide back in October 2003 at just 34 years of age and left behind a wealth of fantastic music.
My first introduction to Smith was on the Good Will Hunting soundtrack, where he featured a couple of times and it really stuck in my mind to find out who he was. After a few searches I came across a few more samples of his work and bought this album from Amazon to see just how good he actually was. Despite still having a lot of reservations when the album arrived I put it on and was instantly ...
Product Information for "Elliott Smith - Elliott Smith" »
Product details
Title
Elliott Smith
Performer
Elliott Smith
Genre
Rock & Pop
Sub Genre
Alternative
Release Date
06/12/2004
Original Release Year
1995
Label / Distributor
Domino / PIAS UK/Sony DADC
Pieces in Set
1
Studio / Live
Studio
Stereo
Stereo
Format
Performer
EAN
5034202200123
Additional notes
Album Notes
Personnel: Elliott Smith (vocals, acoustic guitar); Rebecca Gates (vocals); Neil Gust (guitar). Recorded at Leslie's and Tony's houses, Portland, Oregon in January and February 1995. Oregon-based Elliot Smith was a long shot underdog for commercial success. A decidedly grim-natured whisperer, Smith is the antithesis of Oregon's celebrated grunge scene. He eschews fuzz-laden power chords and rhythmic sludge for stark acoustics and hushed intensity. The quiet force of this release is deceptively low key. Underneath the stark and fragile beauty, Smith seethes with steely determination. The tightly wound claustrophobia is relieved by his unerring melodic sense. The album's best songs ("Needle in the Hay," "St. Ides Heaven," and "Killing the Southern Belle") are littered with addicts, drunks, bitterness, and isolation; but Smith's tunefulness lifts the album toward a disturbing beauty.
Titles on disc 1
1.
Needle In The Hay
2.
Christian Brothers
3.
Clementine
4.
Southern Belle
5.
Single File
6.
Coming Up Roses
7.
Satellite
8.
Alphebet Town
9.
St Ides Heaven
10.
Good To Go
11.
White Lady Loves You More
12.
Biggest Lie
Ciao
Listed on Ciao since
01/04/2005
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