some good elliott smith music

October 7, 2006 5:35 PM

is there a definitive elliott smith album/cd i should have in my collection?
posted by brandz to Grab Bag (21 answers total)

I'm not sure there's one album that could be called his definitive work. Do you prefer the more produced-sounding albums or less so? In my opinion, Either/Or has the best songwriting.
posted by rottytooth at 5:48 PM on October 7, 2006

Elliott Smith and XO are two of my favorites, that I wouldn't be without. Either/Or is a darned good album too.

I'm not sure if I can list one definitive album. They're all different, to an extent, and bring their own virtues to the table. I prefer his more sparse arrangements, but recognize the value of the more produced offerings as well (I think mine is just personal preference, not necessarily better).

I really miss that guy. What a great songwriter.
posted by Brak at 5:53 PM on October 7, 2006

Response by poster: i'm not really sure exactly what it is i'm looking for, hence the question. i do know i've heard bits and pieces of elliott smith, here and there, and i like what i hear. i guess i'm just looking for a good place to start, a solid album/cd. i do know he is a good song writer.
posted by brandz at 5:54 PM on October 7, 2006

Seconding Brak: XO and Elliot Smith are both solid albums. If I had to pick one, I'd go with XO, mostly because it's got a pretty flawless collection of tracks -- the type of album you can listen to without using the skip button. Elliot Smith, on the other hand, contains "Needle In The Hay" and "Alphabet Town" which are pretty much my favorite Elliot Smith songs ever.

Sadly, his discography is pretty limited, so it shouldn't be too hard to wade through the entire thing, but XO and Elliot Smith are good starts.
posted by fishfucker at 6:12 PM on October 7, 2006

Just buy them all, but if you have to choose, Either/or. It mixes his acoustic work with his more orchestrated work.
posted by Camel of Space at 6:42 PM on October 7, 2006

Either/Or is generally considered to be his peak, though I'm quite fond of Figure 8 as a suggestion of the lusher direction he might have taken.

In this modern age of iTunes, however, there's no reason you couldn't hand-pick a dozen tracks across all his releases to get a sense of his whole body of work. I'd start with:
- The aforementioned "Needle in the Hay" and "Alphabet Town" from Elliott Smith.
- "Ballad of Big Nothing" and "Say Yes" from Either/Or.
- "Waltz No. 2" and "Bottle Up and Explode" from XO.
- "Easy Way Out" and "Can't Make a Sound" from Figure 8.

I'm sure other folks can come up with some more.
posted by jjg at 6:53 PM on October 7, 2006

Oh yeah, and don't forget his big break, the Good Will Hunting soundtrack.
posted by jjg at 6:53 PM on October 7, 2006

download them all, when you find one that's worth keeping go buy it.
posted by bizwank at 8:29 PM on October 7, 2006

I would add "Fond Farewell" from his posthumous album to any list of definitive E.S. songs. It always gives me the chills.
posted by myeviltwin at 8:57 PM on October 7, 2006

Another vote for XO. It was the first CD of his I owned, and it's still my favourite.
posted by Robot Johnny at 9:15 PM on October 7, 2006

I vote "Figure 8" - it's one of my all time favorites, EVER.
posted by tristeza at 10:09 PM on October 7, 2006

As wonderful as XO and Either/Or are, I find myself listening a lot more these days to his posthumous "From a Basement on a Hill." It's heartbreaking, and myeviltwin is absolutely right about "Fond Farewell."

Hmm. Maybe you need them all.
posted by brina at 10:19 PM on October 7, 2006

I say Elliott Smith. Needle in the Hay, Alphabet Town, and (my fave) The White Lady Loves You More.

But really, yes, you need them all. Ha.
posted by lovecrafty at 1:15 AM on October 8, 2006

Elliott. Oh, how I miss him. Can I say all of them? No?

Either/Or and XO are my favourites. All of his albums will grow on you as you listen to them more, though, and Figure Eight is a lot better than I thought it was when I first bought it. Elliott Smith is lovely, and --
yeah, you should get all of them.

I've made Elliott samples for friends who hadn't heard of him before. I had to stop because I kept trying to stuff forty songs onto one cd.

Also there's archive.org's collection of live Elliott shows. I really recommend downloading a few.

(As for Basement my favourite track is King's Crossing.)
posted by aforambivalent at 2:09 AM on October 8, 2006

Seriously, has no one mentioned 'Angeles' from Either/Or?

You're all totally fired. You may pick up your checks on the way out. Sheila at reception will give them to you when you return your bathroom keys and your badges.
posted by incessant at 4:03 AM on October 8, 2006

I have to agree with incessant, "Angeles" is an amazing song. So are the rest that were mentioned, though, and I'd also have to tack on "Between the Bars."

Anyway, everybody prettty much covered all of my favorite stuff here, but I should mention to check out the Trash Treasury. Tons of live shows, demos, etc. collected from him.
posted by atomly at 5:51 AM on October 8, 2006 [1 favorite]

Echoing brina, lovecrafty and aforambivalent, Elliot's output is consistent--it doesn't have many low points or filler. Every record he made has amazing songs on it.

I wonder how often someone's favorite is the first one they've listened to--not always, of course, but I think it happens frequently.

For me it was Roman Candle, which no one has mentioned yet. It is four-tracked, and intimate, just him, taking certain stylistic elements from acoustic Rubber Soul-era Beatles (fingerpicking, careful songcraft, major/minor shifts and lots of dominant 7th chords) and filtering it through his perceptive but unforgiving take on things.

The song 'Last Call' still gives me chills, and I've listened to it who knows how many times.
posted by umbú at 8:23 AM on October 8, 2006

Response by poster: thank you all for your suggestions.
posted by brandz at 8:29 AM on October 8, 2006

I say start out with XO, then get everything else.
posted by ludwig_van at 11:21 AM on October 8, 2006

His insecurity frustrates me. I was listening to him play "Jealous Guy" in a live show from archive.org (linked above, and thank you so much) and it was just a beautiful version—solo guitar and vocals. And then that self-doubt kicked in, when he really should have just played right through.
posted by emelenjr at 3:30 PM on October 8, 2006

Indeed, folks - what an amazing musician and artist.

Re: the question, XO is my vote, but I also join the chorus (that I hope you will listen to) in favor of pursuing more, indeed, all his music. It somehow matters.

Peace,
gbinal
posted by gbinal at 6:07 AM on October 9, 2006