elliott smith “I kept recording more songs with no regard whether or not they were gonna be on anything. That’s what I’m used to doing, recording all the time and not going, ‘What should I record for this record?’ Usually it’s put out whatever happened in the last six new moon months. With this, I had way too many songs and no mechanism for picking between them.” –Elliott Smith, Tape Op Magazine, 1996, on finishing Either/Or
Arguably the most gifted song-writer of his generation, Elliott Smith produced a large body of work that includes five solo albums, as well as From a Basement on the Hill (2004), a collection of songs completed before his death in 2003. On May 8, 2007, Kill Rock Stars will release a double CD of music by Elliott Smith entitled New Moon. The album contains 24 songs recorded between 1994-1997, a prolific time in Smith's career, when he recorded his self-titled album and Either/Or (both also released by Kill Rock Stars). Like his other work, New Moon reflects the power of Smith's ability to integrate rich, melodic music with poetic, multi-layered lyrics.
* * *
From liner notes by archivist and New Moon’s mix engineer, Larry Crane: “Elliott Smith’s solo career appeared from under the band he was in at the time. Since the age of 14, writing songs and self-recording them had been part of his life, but a truly active band didn’t happen until a friendship with Neil Gust led to them forming Heatmiser in late 1990. Their first album, Dead Air, came out in 1993, with an EP, Yellow ELLIOTT SMITH No.5, in 1994, which was closely followed by the release of Elliott’s first album that year. NEW MOON This record, Roman Candle, had its origins as four-track cassette, home recorded songs (Kill Rock Stars) that were never intended to be used anywhere. When Heatmiser’s manager, JJ Gonson, heard them and championed them, the recordings saw release on Cavity Search Release Date: May 8, 2007 Records. The response to these tracks – quiet, fragile and very much the opposite of Heatmiser’s crunchy, driving rock sound – was positive and the album soon caught the Track Listing ear of Slim Moon, head of Kill Rock Stars Records at the time. With KRS offering to put out his next record, Elliott set to work in 1994 and DISC 1 1995 writing and recording material for what would become his second and self-titled Angel In The Snow album. These sessions at Tony Lash’s and Leslie Uppinghouse’s houses/home studios Talking To Mary generated well over 20 recordings, only 12 of which would be released on the proper High Times album, along with several singles, b-sides, and compilation tracks. In 1996, after New Monkey completing what would become Mic City Sons (Heatmiser’s third and final CD) producers Looking Over My Shoulder Rob Schnapf and Tom Rothrock spent some time with Elliott at The Shop, in Northern Going Nowhere California...these sessions completed the majority of what became Either/Or. Riot Coming From 1995 through 1996, Elliott filled six 30-minute reels with music, some of it All Cleaned Out versions of songs looking for the “right” take, some of it to be reworked later and released First Timer on future albums, but most of it complete takes with the always present doubled lead Go By vocals, acoustic guitars, and various other instrumentation. Miss Misery (early version) Jackpot! Recording Studio began in February 1997, a month before Either/Or Thirteen was released. As soon as we moved into the studio space Elliott began recording more songs, either alone or with me or Joanna Bolme engineering. Two never-before-heard DISC 2 songs and the fascinating early take of “Miss Misery” are included here from this time. Georgia Georgia Not long afterwards we tracked the Good Will Hunting version of “Miss Misery”, along Whatever (folk song in c) with many demos (and some basic tracks) for what became his DreamWorks debut, XO.” Big Decision Placeholder On New Moon: New Disaster “Content-wise it is seven songs from the self-titled second album’s sessions, 11 songs Seen How Things Are Hard from the Either/Or sessions, three from Rob Jones’ radio show sessions (before Mic City Fear City Sons and Either/Or came out) and three from Jackpot! in 1997. Three of the tracks have Either/Or seen previous release, although mostly limited. This collection is not some patched- Pretty Mary K (other version) together product of the studio in 2006 - it is a collection of songs, many of which could Almost Over have easily been included on his second and third albums, some which made it out on See You Later compilations, three tracks that showcase his stripped down and engaging live perfor- Half Right mances of material, and several songs illustrating where he was heading in 1997. Despite the breadth and the quality of the songwriting here, most tracks have remained only the Contact: province of lo-fi, file trading Elliott Smith fans, who’ve been obviously fascinated by the Marisa Handren fact that Elliott Smith’s “leftovers” presented a catalog rivaling many songwriters’ life’s work.” four paws media * * *
(908) 310-1821 A significant portion of proceeds from the album sales will go directly to Outside In, a [email protected] Portland-based social service organization dedicated to providing diverse services for homeless youth and low-income adults. www.fourpawsmedia.com AIM: MarisaMagik Elliott Smith died October 21, 2003, in his home in Los Angeles. To date the coroner has been unable to determine the cause of death, and the investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department remains open.