Elliott Smith: Elliott Smith (25th anniversary remaster, indie exclusive, purple vinyl) [KILL ROCK STARS]

Why you'll love it

This indie exclusive purple pressing carries the 25th anniversary remaster, made from the original source material. Pitchfork gave the album a 9.5, and in 2022 named it one of the 50 best albums of the 1990s.

This edition

• Purple vinyl
• Indie exclusive
• 25th anniversary edition
• Remastered from the original source material
• Stereo mix

About the album

Elliott Smith made his second album the way most people make a mixtape: at a friend's house, with whatever was lying around. He recorded most of it early in 1995 at Leslie Uppinghouse's place in Portland, with "Needle in the Hay" and "Alphabet Town" taped the previous autumn at Tony Lash's, and produced it himself for his first Kill Rock Stars album.

It's hushed, double-tracked and close enough to hear the fingers on the strings. "Needle in the Hay" is taut and hypnotic, "Christian Brothers" builds to a rare electric snarl, and "Clementine" reworks the old folk ballad into something entirely his own. "Coming Up Roses," "Satellite" and "Good to Go" show what a gift he had for a melody, and Rebecca Gates of The Spinanes adds her voice along the way. Cover artist J.J. Gonson's photos framed the album then and fill a book for its 25th anniversary.

AllMusic called it the blueprint for everything that came next, and Pitchfork also ranked "Needle in the Hay" among the best songs of the decade. Not bad for a couple of borrowed rooms; ours have so far produced nothing more than a pile of laundry.

Also at Kops: more Elliott Smith on vinyl · browse Singer-Songwriter

Tracklist

Listen

On Kill Rock Stars (cat# KRS 246), a reissue of the 1995 album.