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intereact!Elliott Smith
Retail Price (not our price): $15.98
Release Date: 1997-02-25
Manufacturer: Kill Rock Stars
Format: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Track List
Now here, for your listening pleasure, the tracks...
| Disc 1 |
Editorial Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
1) Amazon.com Music Reviews
Blessed with the voice of a wispy angel, Elliott Smith creates sad little pop songs, which, like the work of Nick Drake (to whom he's been compared) threaten to disappear into the night air. Several of the tracks here were featured in Gus Van Zant's movie Good Will Hunting, and they're among the album's best (though "Miss Misery," nominated for an Academy Award is only available on the soundtrack album). "Angeles" and "Say Yes" are bittersweet laments that feature Smith's idiosyncratic guitar picking, which is well served by the album's decidedly low-fi production. --Rob O'Connor
Customer Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5
1) Hits and Misses [Rating: 3 out of 5]
Ballad of Big Nothing stands out as the best song on the album. Speed Trials, Cupid's Trick and Rose Parade are the others that gave the album some flavor. 2:45 AM musically is cool, but the lyrics didnt do anything for me. I felt the accoustic songs on XO were better.2) Digging Deaper [Rating: 4 out of 5]
Fans new to Elliot Smith should consider getting the more fully produced "XO" or Figure 8" as an introduction. If your looking to dig a little deaper, this CD will not disaapoint. Angeles, Cupid's Trick and Alameda are standout tracks, but the whole album has Elliot's hauntingly familiar, yet original sweet harmonies.3) the kid had talent [Rating: 5 out of 5]
as everyone knows, elliott smith had a hell of a gift....4) a cd for teenagers [Rating: 1 out of 5]
I purchased the cd because of the posted reviews. Those reviewers obviously liked the self centered, self indulgent, depressed, simplistic lyrics. It seemed to droan on and on for ever....It wasn't worth the time. Sorry---I'm over 30 and am not interested.5) The Most Underappreciated Album of the 1990's? [Rating: 5 out of 5]
Elliott Smith is kind of like Tom Petty, in that, he has songs that are not steller, but he does not have a single bad song. "Good Will Hunting," directed by Gus Van Sant in 1997, was a better than average movie that would launch the careers of two major stars and re-establish Robin Williams as a great actor. The film would also bring attention to Elliot Smith; one of the greatest singer/songwriters in music history.Smith's song "Miss Misery" appeared in "Good Will Hunting" and would garner an Academy Award Nomination for best original song. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately for the shocked and bashful Smith, "My Heart Will Go On" from "Titanic" took home the award that night.Smith was born in the Midwest and raised in Texas, although it would be Portland, Oregon that Smith would call home for the majority of his life. After college Smith played guitar in the band Heatmiser. They would go on to release three full length albums together before Smith left the group to pursue his more successful solo career. "Either/Or," Smith's third album as a solo artist is arguably one of the best records of the 1990's and the best example of Smith as a brilliant songwriter. The album is essential in any music library and is all too often overlooked by the casual music fan. Smith's first album "Roman Candle" and his self-titled second album consisted solely of Smith's signature "whispery" vocal style and his acoustic guitar. "Roman Candle" is criticized by some for its poor production values, despite its solid songs. "Elliot Smith" is cited by some as the best album Smith ever released and is the best example of Smith and his acoustic guitar side by side. "Either/Or" would follow the same basic template of Smith accompanied solely by his acoustic guitar and angelic voice; however, Smith began to incorporate electric guitars, drums, bass, and even keyboards on some tracks `all played by Smith.' From the outset, "Either/Or" was different from any of Smith's previous records because it was the first time people were really starting to notice him. When asked by David Peisner in a 1998 interview about the pressure surrounding "Either/Or" smith replied; "I didn't have a hard time making it, I had a hard time letting it go. I had a hard time deciding what songs to put on it. I had a hard time after the fact but it was easy to record."Beginning with the stellar "Speed Trials" and following with "Alameda," Smith sets the template for what is to follow throughout the album; an absolutely beautiful voice accompanied by an acoustic guitar, with the occasional drum beat thrown in the mix."Between the Bars," one of three songs off of "Either/Or" that would be selected for "Good Will Hunting," and is one of the most haunting and endearing songs Smith would ever record. According the Adam Carson of AFI, "my favorite Elliot Smith track. Haunting, beautiful and intimate.""Pictures of Me," is the most "done up" track on the album and contains lyrics suggesting that Smith is sick of the recent press that he had been receiving. "Rose Parade" contains one of the most memorable guitar intros in history and the song itself is one of Smith's strongest."Angeles" is another song that was chosen to be included in "Good Will Hunting" and is viewed by many as the strongest song on the album as well as perhaps the greatest song Smith ever sang. When describing "Angeles," Jade Puget of AFI would say, "my favorite acoustic song of all time. There are some songs you just wish you had written...""Say Yes," the third song chosen for the movie, ends the album on a rather uncharacteristically positive note, but continues the stripped feel of the album.In October of 2003 Smith would die from two self-inflicted knife stabs. Smith had a long standing heroin addiction, and he also suffered from severe depression. Despite his suicide, Smith has not been canonized as a deity in the way many other dead rock stars have been.After "Either/Or," Smith would release three more critically acclaimed albums, including the stellar follow up to "Either/Or," "XO." Smith has never gotten the commercial acclaim that dead artists such as Jeff Buckley went on to achieve, although Smith certainly does deserve it. People can argue over whether or not "Either/Or" is truly his masterpiece; it is however a truly great album by one of the truly great musicians of the last 25 years.