Elliott Smith - New Moon Review
Posted by Mitch Michaels on 05.08.2007
The first compilaton of unreleased Elliott Smith material takes a look at his most creative period and shines a hopeful light on this tortured genius...
My Story
I've always respected the impact that Elliott Smith has had on the modern singer/songwriter community. He was a wonderful artist who served as a true conduit for, usually sad, thoughts and lyrics that, at a base level, nearly anyone could understand.
This will be Smith's first compilation album, released four years after his death. Will it fall under the normal trappings of the posthumous rarities set or will it add to an already tall, if not overly long, legend?
His Story
Elliott Smith (born Steven Smith in 1969) spent his formative years living with his father in Portland, OR. In his early teens, Smith had already taught himself to play an acoustic guitar and began recording songs by himself and with a garage band called Stranger Than Fiction. His early inspirations were typical folk/rock acts like Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello and The Beatles, as well as the flashier acts like KISS. By the time of his graduation in 1987, Smith was already well on his way to a life of drugs and rock ‘n' roll.
Despite his musical aspirations, Smith graduated college with a degree in political science and philosophy. It wasn't until his return to Portland that his career began to get off the ground, as he formed the punk rock outfit Heatmiser with some local friends. The band managed a contract with indie Frontier Records and actually released a pair of albums during its brief existence. As Heatmiser was winding down in 1994, Smith began writing and recording his own songs on a borrowed four-track. Those demos eventually wound up in the hands of Cavity Search Records, who immediately offered to release them as an album. On July 14, 1994, Roman Candle, the debut by Elliott Smith, officially hit the streets.
Following the solo release and the dissolution of Heatmiser, Smith signed with the Kill Rock Stars label, where he released his self-titled album in July of 1995. Elliott Smith was a perfect follow-up to the lo-fi Candle, another set of sparse arrangements and soft, pretty singing that nearly hid Smith's growing ability as a dark but enlightening songwriter.
Either/Or followed in 1997, featuring Smith's first tentative steps into recording with a full band (well, not technically, since he was still playing all the instruments, but he was performing live with the band Quasi during that period). The gorgeous set of Beatle-esque pop melodies along with Smith's by-then signature moody lyrics, dealing with issues like death, drugs and suicide, earned the album a lot of critical acclaim and was well received by Smith's growing fanbase. One such fan was Portland resident Gus Van Zant, who requested some Elliott Smith tracks for his 1997 movie Good Will Hunting. The soundtrack turned out to be Smith's big break. Not only was the movie a success, but one of Smith's songs, a track called "Miss Misery", was nominated in early 1998 for an Oscar for Best Song. Smith was a bit hesitant to step into the "rock star" spotlight and nearly balked on performing at the ceremony, but in March of '98, Smith made only his second national TV appearance, performing alongside Trisha Yearwood and Celine Dion. "Miss Misery" lost out to Dion's smash "My Heart Will Go On", but the media credibility lent to Smith by the evening's showing was immeasurable.
That year, Smith began work on his fourth solo album, which would be his major label debut for Dreamworks Records. XO, released to much anticipation in August of 1998, found Smith working even more fleshing his sparse acoustic recordings out, now experimenting with orchestral arrangements along with studio musicians. The album became Smith's first to chart on the Billboard 200, ranking a respectable #104 and debuting at #1 on the Heatseekers chart. It even led to an appearance on "Saturday Night Live". Unfortunately, Smith's personal life was just the opposite of his professional career around this time. Just before release, Smith had barely survived a nasty car wreck which left him impaled on a tree. He was battling depression as well as alcohol and drug abuse.
Smith cleaned up his act for the release of 2000's Figure 8, another indie rock homerun which would feature Elliott's musical arrangements at their apex. The set managed to chart within the Billboard 100 (at #99) and spawned a lengthy tour. Unfortunately, towards the end of these performing and promotional dates, it became clear that Smith's demons were once again catching up with him.
For Smith's few public appearances from 2001 and 2002, his appearance and demeanor were showing obvious signs of problems. He was unkempt, thin and noticeably detached. Smith would regularly forget lyrics and chord changes. One particularly bad show in May of 2002 was described as one of the worst ever performances by a musician. Friends and fans began to wonder if Smith would be able to pull out of these dire straits. And it wasn't just Smith's public life that was suffering. He had become deeply paranoid and, obviously, was abusing several substances.
The recording of his follow-up to Figure 8 was particularly bad. Two different sessions were scrapped, including one with friend John Brion, who Smith immediately dismissed after Brion tried to confront him about his alcohol problems. Smith's relationship with DreamWorks was also strained and, at one point, Smith even threatened suicide if the label didn't release him from his contract.
Amazingly, Smith began to pull out of this funk in early 2003. He went to a sort of rehab in Beverly Hills to help wean him off of drugs and began working on two long overdue projects: his next studio album, which saw him collaborating with new producer David McConnell, and a soundtrack to Mike Mills' Thumbsucker. Smith was experimenting with computer recording at that time and dabbling more in noise rock than his signature folk tunes.
Sadly, all of that came to a screeching halt on October 23, 2003, when Smith's live in girlfriend at the time, Jennifer Chiba, called 911 to report that Elliott Smith had stabbed himself twice with a steak knife following an argument between the couple. Smith was still alive when he arrived at the hospital, but both stab wounds had pierced his heart, and the artist died on the table. The death was ruled a suicide by local police and a brief suicide note, written on a Post-It, was found at the scene. Autopsy results found only normal levels of prescription drugs in Smith's system at the time of his death.
Though fans were grieving, family members knew that the demand for Smith's unfinished sixth album was still high, so they called in longtime collaborator Rob Schnapf (who had worked on early sessions for the album but had been dismissed by Smith) and ex-girlfriend Joanne Bolme to complete the album.
From A Basement Hill was released in October of 2004 on ANTI-Records. The set reached #19 on the US charts, by far Smith's best ever showing, and, despite arguments over if it was what Smith had intended the record to be (final collaborator David McConnell insists that it's not), Basement Hill was favorably reviewed and considered a fitting epitaph for the late Smith.
In August of 2006, information leaked of a possible extended re-release of Smith's landmark Either/Or album. Though Kill Rock Stars eventually did away with the plans for Either/Or, they did announced that a 2-CD set of unreleased demos recorded during Smith's tenure with KRS would be released in 2007.
The Album
On May 8, 2007, Kill Rock Stars and Domino Records released New Moon, a collection of unreleased songs by late indie-rock singer/songwriter Elliott Smith. All of the songs on the album were recorded between 1994 and 1997. The album is available on both CD and vinyl. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Outside In, a Portland-based charity for low-income and homeless teens and adults.
The Band: 8.5
Elliott Smith: guitar, vocals
Elliott Smith's final album, From a Basement Hill, has been poured through, each line dissected, as fans and historians search for some sort of clue towards the state of mind of a brilliant man who would soon take his own life. Not only that, but Basement Hill has often stirred controversy in the way it was completed, as outside help was brought in by Smith's family following his death and many feel that it might not necessarily represent Smith's ultimate vision as well as it should. That said, there are none such issues when it comes to New Moon, a much more sparse, gorgeous album of demos, recorded by a healthier Elliott Smith during his most creative days on Kill Rock Stars Records. In that way, New Moon stands as a fitting closing chapter, or epilogue, if you will, to the career of an artist who was always more talented than he was recognized.
As these 24 tracks were all recorded during Elliott's KRS period, they predate his journey into lush arrangements and studio experimentation. These songs are nearly all just Smith and his guitar, and that appropriately recalls what most would consider his best work, the self-title and Either/Or albums.
Sure, there's still that melancholy sound that Smith is known for, but there's an air of hopefulness here that is lacking on Smith's major label releases. There's a bright future clearly ahead, and Smith is putting down all of these songs as a means to get to it. It's an artist inspired and searching. I'd call it a creative peak, but is there such a thing when all your output is considered legendary?
In the end, this is Elliott Smith, playing guitar and singing at his high, paper-thin-but-powerful best and fans who enjoyed Smith's early years, or even the ones who came onboard thanks to Good Will Hunting, will all find a sound to enjoy and relate to on this record.
The Songs: 8.0
Disc 1:
1. Angel In The Snow
2. Talking To Mary
3. High Times
4. New Monkey
5. Looking Over My Shoulder
6. Going Nowhere
7. Riot Coming
8. All Cleaned Out
9. First Timer
10. Go By
11. Miss Misery (Early Version)
12. Thirteen
Disc 2:
1. Georgia, Georgia
2. Whatever
3. Big Decision
4. Placeholder
5. New Disaster
6. Seen How Things Are Hard
7. Fear City
8. Either/Or
9. Pretty Mary K (Other Version)
10. Almost Over
11. See You Later
12. Half Right
If there's any more proof needed of the genius of Elliott Smith, this album should provide it. A collection of 24 unreleased songs taken from barely over a two-year period would seem like a bad idea, especially when that period yielded two classic indie rock albums worth of A-list songs. With Smith, though, it looks like those two CDs just scratched the surface.
The songs on this album are very pretty and, like, other albums, it's possible to get lost in them before you begin to understand the emotions that Smith is expressing. And that's a dangerous trap, because the words are the thing here. "Looking Over My Shoulder" is a catchy, angry relationship song, while "All Cleaned Up" is a biting look at the new guy which manages to still display heartfelt affection for the ex. The duality is one of Smith's strong suits. It's how he can make such a sad set of songs sound optimistic.
The biggest bait for buyers here is an early version of "Miss Misery", which is hardly different from the album version, and a radio studio cover of 70's power pop act Big Star's "Thirteen", which is just lovely. Aside from Smith's acoustic only numbers, there are a few full band moments that show glimpses of what was to come. The building, "High Times", explosive in this context, is the standout there, as well as the driving, deceptively playful "New Monkey". All of these songs are just highlights inwhat is most definitely an essential addition to Elliott Smith's catalog.
The 411: New Moon at its heart is just a demos and rarities album, but the material included makes it feel like much more. The songs here are just as good as Smith's landmark mid-90's output. Fans are sure to find some new favorites here and the prospect for a Dreamworks-era rarities album has just gotten a lot better. The best thing about New Moon is it captures Elliott Smith in a hopeful place, when the drug problem hadn't gotten too bad and before the major labels had made him doubt his own talent. There's an air of assuredness and forward-thinking here that makes for a lovely listen, and it's the way Smith should be remembered.
