Still larger than life: Elliott Smith revisited
22/08/07 11:00
By SAM LADACH-BARK
This October marks the fourth anniversary of Elliott Smith's death.
Somehow it seems that in four short years he has become more than a man, at least to his fans. Solutions Audio, a record shop in Los Angeles, has become a Graceland for many indie fans of this generation. The cover of Smith's genre-defying fifth full-length album, Figure 8, was shot in front of the building. Today it is littered with tearful farewells to the folk singer's legacy.
There also is legend and mystery shrouding the singer/songwriter's death -- mostly controversy over whether he actually killed himself or if his ex-girlfriend dropped the knife. Smith's music and lifestyle were far from heroic or uplifting, but something about his sad story still touches his devoted music patrons.
It doesn't take much either, to ignite the Smith spark. Last May, a 10-year gathering of Smith's b-sides, unreleased material and unfinished tracks was released by Kill Rock Stars, and sardonically called New Moon.
It's perhaps fitting that the weakly mixed From a Basement Under the Hill (released in 2004, written and recorded by Smith but produced and mixed by Rob Schnapf and ex-girlfriend Joanna Bolme) was not the last we would hear from Smith.
Moon is drenched with emotive and dark lyrics set against somber acoustic guitar, making it the rawest Smith album to date. Most tracks emulate Smith's minimalist approach to folk (perfect for nostalgists), with the majority stripped bare of everything but his vocals and guitar. While the orchestrated rock ballads on Figure 8 define Smith's strongest efforts as a musician, the songs found on New Moon define Smith as a person.
From the love lost and found on "High Times" to the suicidal contemplation that is "Going Nowhere," his impending tragedy is whispered to an apt listener. The two-disc, 24-track album also includes shadowy alternate versions of "Miss Misery" and "Pretty Mark Kay."
New Moon not only scratches the itch for a new Elliott Smith album. It also rouses a tingle to revisit all of his music twice over, from Roman Candle to XO.
His musical career from debut to death was a few months shy of a decade. So it's fitting that New Moon is a compilation of that decade. It becomes a beautiful trip down the saddest memory lane of our generation.
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