Elliott Smith from a basement on a hill

This is an absolutely astounding piece of art.  At times as intimate as a bedroom guitar and vocal, at others as huge as an acoustic blitzkrieg.  The very first thing to strike this writer is how eerily close Smith's vocals and song structures are to John Lennon's side of The Beatles' music (especially 'Sgt. Pepper's', 'The White Album' and 'Let It Be') and Lennon's solo work.  The melancholy, and sometimes anguish, in these songs is implicit in Smith's voice.  They're not morose or self-pitying or overblown lyrically.  In fact, they walk rather softly through the consciousness.

The beauty of this album, both lyrically and musically, given (and because of the juxtaposition of) the hushed sorrow of the subject matter, is breathtaking.  Consisting of works in progress when Smith died (almost exactly one year ago - it was thought suicide, but lately the spectre of murder has arisen), the songs herein were completed, chosen and sequenced by his family, a former girlfriend, and a producer of their choosing (who was, interestingly, not the producer Smith had been working with on the incomplete album).  Smith's producer before his death has said that this is not the finished product Smith wanted.  We'll never know, but it is hard to imagine this album being any better.

Opener "Coast to Coast" is stunning in its atmospherics and instrumentation (as is the entire album):  "I've got no new act to amuse you/I've got no desire to use you/Is there anything that I could do/Never be good enough for you" to a rather upbeat tempo and marvelous chord changes.  "Let's Get Lost" is soft, close-miked acoustic guitar and vocals:  "burning every bridge that I've crossed, to find some beautiful place to get lost".  The title "Pretty (Ugly Before)" hints at Smith's mindset herein:  "Sunshine been keepin' me up for days/ there is no nighttime, it's only a passing phase/and I feel pretty, pretty enough for you/I felt so ugly before/didn't know what to do".  This is, again, Lennon's Beatles' pop influenced in every note.  "Don't Go Down" begins with distorto guitar and bass ramblings, then a chord and: "I met a girl, snowball in hell/She was hard and as cracked as the Liberty Bell...don't go down, don't go down/Stay with me, baby, stay".  Simply beautiful, with, again, a late 60s Beatles influenced ending.  "Strung Out Again" leads off with a soft vocal and acoustic guitar - then bass and drums come crashing in like Godzilla!  Get your attention?!  Yep!  Great!  From "A Fond Farewell" (complete with "Here Comes the Sun"-like intro):  "Fine, 'bye, it's now black and white/You took apart a picture that wasn't right/Bitch burning on a shiny sheet/The only maker that you wanna meet/A dying man in a living room/The shadow paces the floor/He'll take you out any open door/This is not my life/It's just a fond farewell to a friend/It's not what I'm like/It's just a fond farewell to a friend/Who couldn't get things right/Fond farewell to a friend...I can deal with some psychic pain/If it'll slow down my higher brain".  What talent.  Such a loss.

"King's Crossing" offers another soft, psychedelic intro...now a distorted player piano, soft, angelic harmonies, circus organ..."whiskey works better than beer". Again, the softness bludgeoned by pounding drums.  "...I took my own insides out/It don't matter, cause I have no sex life/All I wanna do now is jet my ex-wife/ I've seen the movie, I know what happens".  Raise your hand if you've been there!!  What a great song.  Okay, no more lyrics.  "Twilight" is a signature, soft acoustic Elliott Smith tune that is exquisite, with a repeating, synthesized carny organ-type sound overlaying and winding in and out.  "A Passing Feeling"s perfect baroque intro - Lennon's Beatles again.  (" Memory Lane ", strangely, is McCartney's Beatles influenced.)  Suffice it to say that the balance of the 15 songs here (the last tellingly entitled "A Distorted Reality is Now a Necessity to be Free") are equally strong, and soft, and beautiful.  It is only a slight exageration to say that there is no need for an Elliot Smith's Greatest Hits, or Best Of...it is this album, front to back.  He's alway been good - he is now great.

We liked Figure 8, XO and Either/Or quite a bit.  'From a Basement on the Hill', Smith's sixth and final album proper, kicks it up to a whole new level.  Mark my words:  this album will be on every critic's Best Of List for 2004.  (Man, has 2004 been the year of the singer/songwriter!)  Strange how it goes...George Harrison's, Warren Zevon's, and now Elliot Smith's final albums are all thought, arguably, to be their respective best.  Elliot Smith had a sizeable cult following.  How terribly sad that now the world will know about Elliot Smith, and will love him, and he won't know it (or will he?).  Very highly recommended.

---

---

Release Date: October 19, 2004
Tracks: 15 - Time: 57:43
Produced by: Elliott Smith
Format: CD
Website: www.sweetadeline.net

---

Elliott Smith:

Elliott Smith - Vocals / Guitar
Sam Coomes - Bass
Steven Drozd - Drums
Aaron Embry - Keyboards.