“Those moments are connected to Either/Or for me because that’s the peak of his live time (before his battle with alcoholism).” Everyone speaks lovingly of Smith – producers grin at the thought of their days in the studio with him, while musicians that never actually met Smith talk about his music as if they broke down each measure in conversation with him years ago.
“Being at Brownies in Portland and watching him destroy the room, totally quiet, everyone watching him while he killed it?” he says. At one point, Schnapf pauses for a long time as if he’s reliving his story in real time. To honour its 20th anniversary, Kill Rock Stars are reissuing Either/Or as an expanded edition complete with demos, unreleased tracks, and live versions, all of which expand a narrative many wish they knew more of.Ĭo-producer Rob Schnapf and recording engineer Larry Crane spoke over the phone about the stories – heard and unheard – behind the album. In many ways, it’s a quiet record, but Smith coloured each song with the breadth and spectrum of a person mesmerised by the stories they intersect. The sliding guitar intro of “Ballad of Big Nothing” encourages listeners to keep going, and it’s all topped off with the sweetest song he ever wrote, “Say Yes”, which finds an unexpected surge of hope in lovesick eyes. “Rose Parade” let’s a guitar sing chipper melodies while a deadpan story unfolds. “Between the Bars” wallows into a dark corner to bite anxiously at its own nails. After all, it’s the record that landed him an Oscar nomination because Gus Van Sant used some of its songs for Good Will Hunting’s soundtrack. As a stepping stone between the lo-fi acoustics of his first albums and the production he dabbled in during later years, the record offers up a look at the somber, quiet, and content times of a musician beginning to solidify his role in a music community that would only later, following his death in October of 2003, fall for him on a national scale. Most people’s introduction to Elliott Smith came via Either/Or, his breakthrough third full-length. Smith offered up his heart without expecting much in return – perhaps that’s because he never expected anything to begin with.
It’s present in his debut solo album, 1994’s Roman Candle, through to 2007’s posthumous LP New Moon. Locations don’t always matter in music, but Smith’s work deeply captured the tone and aura of the Pacific Northwest. The singer, songwriter, and musician was born in Nebraska and raised in Texas, but quickly uprooted to Portland, Oregon where he found himself at home. For someone who created such straightforward music, Elliott Smith is too complicated to sum up.
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