Hour To Hour, Note To Note / The Elliott Smith Thread

[nyquillyn]

Team Trag. "Elliott Smith" through "XO" are unfuckwithable. I like it a lot now, but I was pretty disappointed when "Figure 8" came out.

[chewm]

Basement remains my fave, but Either/Or is getting pretty close these days. You cant go wrong with any of these anyways.

[zeb]

Figure 8 is so very very good. Everything Means Nothing To Me, Happiness, Can't Make A Sound, L.A., Wouldn't Mama Be Proud...these songs are incredible pieces of art. I never tire of them.

[tragabigzanda]

[Zantac Junkie]

I love Elliott Smith, but rarely play his music these days. I go through phases with him, and it's been a long dry spell. I got to see him in Boston right before the Good Will Hunting explosion. I think he played Harvest Moon then too.

I've been really disappointed with all the post-From a Basement releases that his estate and Larry Crane have been releasing. Probably great for the diehard fan, but I don't find that it adds much to his legacy, and the tracking and sequencing feels a little clunky.

I'll rank 'em:

Either/Or
XO
S/T
Figure 8
From a Basement on a Hill
Roman Candle
New Moon

In Larry Cranes defence, the estate only had access to his KRS-era material for New Moon, and I thought they did a good job ensuring that all the essential "leftovers" from S/T and Either/Or were included. Though I agree that the sequencing could have been better. As for everything since then, Universal controls all the masters for his post '97 material, and they have shown no interest in releasing any of it. Nor have they been receptive to relinquishing control to anyone else. Which is too bad, because there's a ton of material left in the vaults from that era that deserves to see the light of day.

[tragabigzanda]

[Zantac Junkie]

In Larry Cranes defence, the estate only had access to his KRS-era material for New Moon, and I thought they did a good job ensuring that all the essential "leftovers" from S/T and Either/Or were included. Though I agree that the sequencing could have been better. As for everything since then, Universal controls all the masters for his post '97 material, and they have shown no interest in releasing any of it. Nor have they been receptive to relinquishing control to anyone else. Which is too bad, because there's a ton of material left in the vaults from that era that deserves to see the light of day.

I just want to clarify that was in no way meant as a slight against Larry. He's a great guy, and he personally helped me quite a bit professionally in the past. Interesting about Universal -- does this mean they own the Dreamworks tapes too? That'd make sense, which is painful, 'coz the XO leftovers would be the stuff I'd be most excited about. But the New Moon comp, meh...Too many songs I'd heard before, and the ones I hadn't weren't too impressive. The later stuff, when he started experimenting more in the studio, would be great to hear some day.

Yeah, Universal acquired all the rights to that material when they swallowed up Dreamworks in 2003. And although Elliott had a deal in place to release Basement on an independent label, it only applied to the material that actually made it onto the album, not the remaining material from those sessions. Which means Universal owns all the basement leftovers, too.

[epilogue]

The Biggest Lie is one of those songs that can get you through winter

Great post.

[zeb]

American Laundromat Records is releasing what looks to be an amazing Elliott Smith tribute album titled Say Yes. J Mascis, Lou Barlow, Juliana Hatfield, Yuck, Tana Donelly, Amanda Palmer and others are contributing covers. The album will be released on October 14, 2016 but there are multiple pre-order bundles available now at American Laundromat Records.

Angeles – Waxahatchee
Ballad of Big Nothing – Julien Baker
Between the Bars – Tanya Donelly
Bled White – Yuck
Condor Ave – Jesu/Sun Kil Moon
Division Day – Lou Barlow
Easy Way Out – Wild Sun
Miss Misery – Tomo nakayama
Needle In the Hay – Juliana Hatfield
No Name #3 – Caroline Says
Oh Well, Okay – Adam Franklin
Pictures of Me – Amanda Palmer
Say Yes – William Fitzsimmons
Waltz #1 – Escondido
Waltz #2 – J Mascis

[chewm]

Angeles – Waxahatchee

I'm really looking forward for this.

[Mike]

Angeles – Waxahatchee

I'm really looking forward for this.

[chewm]

Elliott compositions were always so strong, with creative chords sequences and melodies. It will be really interesting to see what other singers and arrangements bring to it.

[tragabigzanda]

Top 10 maybe?
Hello Morning
Close Captioned
The Kill
Place/Position
Do You Like Me?
Latest Disgrace
Recap Modotti
Nightshop
Break
Life & Limb

I'd maybe bump Life & Limb for Epic Problem

[Zantac Junkie]

A studio version of I Figured You Out with Elliott's vocals has long been one of my holy grails, so I'm ecstatic. I wonder if the inclusion of a live version of My New Freedom means that he never attempted it in the studio, or if Dreamworks owns the rights to it?

[tragabigzanda]

[tragabigzanda]

[Zantac Junkie]

The plot thickens: According to Larry Crane (via wiki), Interscope owns the tapes from the Dreamworks era:

In a March 2009 interview, Larry Crane said that the estate of Elliott Smith was now "defunct" and all rights previously held by the singer are now in the control of "his parents".[96] Crane went on to say that his parents own the rights to Smith's high school recordings, some of the Heatmiser material, all solo songs recorded until his 1998 record deal with DreamWorks Records, and From a Basement on the Hill.[96] DreamWorks Records was acquired by Universal Music Group in 2003, and Interscope Records currently "owns all studio and live recording from Jan 1998 to his passing, except for the songs on From a Basement on the Hill."[96]

And they've shown absolutely no interest in releasing any of it. Which is a shame, because there's likely a treasure trove of top quality material from that era. I suppose we could potentially get a 20th anniversary deluxe XO next year, but I'm doubtful.

[tragabigzanda]

Top 10 maybe?
Hello Morning
Close Captioned
The Kill
Place/Position
Do You Like Me?
Latest Disgrace
Recap Modotti
Nightshop
Break
Life & Limb

I'd maybe bump Life & Limb for Epic Problem

[epilogue]

Basement wrecks me. I love that goddamn album so much.

[tragabigzanda]