Following Either/Or, fans saw Smith diving into the world of being a pop-star and some will say he sold out. Many of his fans feel that this was Smith’s best work - and last in terms of being an intimate and beloved storyteller. The album also includes a handful of great live recordings including the driven and bubbly, “Some Song,” which contradicts the silly and simple, funky and fun organ number, “New Monkey.” The album closes with a great alternate version of “Bottle Up and Explode!” that should not be missed.Įither/Or came at a time when Smith was searching for his true voice as a songwriter and this new edition only enhances his rough edges and imperfect beauty. The classic “Cupid’s Trick” is brought to life with newly perfected bass and drums and has a sound that is bigger than ever when it opens up with the electric guitar. Smith’s ability to make something sound intimate, whether it’s in your bed or in an arena, is only brought into a finer light with this edition. The intricacies that make his songwriting both pleasant and meaningful remain fully intact. Since this album was never meant to be straightforward pop or overly produced, the 20th anniversary does correct, adjust or re-do too much. Standouts on the original album like “Angeles” and “Pictures Of Me” still remain gems, but the new editions tastefully brings out a clearer vision for Smith’s work. The collection is a must have for both new and old Elliot Smith fans. The 17 song, double LP is packaged with a gatefold jacket and an insert of Smith’s original liner notes, a postcard of the original master tapes and a handful of never seen photos. The record also includes five songs recorded live in 1997, at Smith’s performance at Yo Yo A Go Go Festival in Olympia, WA, three unreleased studio recordings and one B-side masterpiece. Larry Crane (owner of Jackpot! Studios and archivist of Elliot Smith’s estate) has overseen and supervised the record. The album includes the original tracks with careful touch ups and delicate adjustments. To commemorate the 20th Anniversary of its release, Kill Rock Stars has been kind enough to re-master and expand a reissue. It might have been more interesting had he sung "Angeles.Elliott Smith’s classic 1997 album, Either/Or, is widely regarded as his most notable work. soared after he took his bow at the Oscars with Celine Dion and Trisha Yearwood. Ironically, "Angeles" was included on the Good Will Hunting soundtrack, which won Smith the acclaim of Hollywood's biggest, brightest, and best connected voting body, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
The lyrics are a darkly biting rejection of the hypercapitalist dream machinery of Los Angeles (it would make a great theme song for Smith's label, Kill Rock Stars). "Angeles" is equally ethereal - Smith's acoustic fingerpicking spins out notes which briskly move around a single atmospheric keyboard chord, like aural minnows swimming toward a solitary light at the surface of the water. He sings, in his endearingly limited whisper, of late-night drinking and introspection, and his subdued strumming creates a minor-key mood befitting the mysteries of self. "Between the Bars," for example, plays Smith's strengths perfectly. The humbler arrangements are better suited to the sparse equipment. While the full-band songs are catchy and smart, Smith's recording equipment isn't quite up to the standards set by the Beatles and the Beach Boys. The most alluring numbers, however, are still his quietly melancholy acoustic ones. Several of the songs mimic the melody mastery of pop bands from 1960s. While he still plays all the instruments himself, he plays more of them. Elliott Smith's third album sees his one-man show getting a little more ambitious.
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