ELLIOTT SMITH
From a Basement on The Hill (alt.)
Yay! (instrumental)*
Coast to Coast
Let's Get Lost
Suicide Machine*
Abused*
Don't Go Down
Strung Out Again
A Fond Farewell
King's Crossing
The Assassin or Kill/Fuck (instrumental)*
Cecelia/Amanda*
Brand New Game*
Stick Man*
Melodic Noise (instrumental)*
Twilight
-----------
Mr. Good Morning*
True Love [Heaven Adores You soundtrack]
A Passing Feeling
Blue Mood (instrumental reprise of "Abused")*
The Last Hour
From a Poisoned Well*
Dancing on the Highway*
Shooting Star
O So Slow (instrumental)*
Memory Lane
Little One
A Distorted Reality is Now a Necessity to Be Free
Trouble*
See You in Heaven (instrumental)*
Everything's Okay*
--------------------------------------------------------------
I've been trying to find the missing pieces to complete an approximation of the 30-song double LP the late singer-songwriter Elliott Smith had intended to be his 'own White Album'--we know history didn't turn out that way for him. I first heard the song "Twilight" on a mix CD my cousin gave me 15 years ago. Then I got into his body of work and was truly blown away. I was too late to see the man in concert. He had (allegedly) committed suicide in October 2003. Sad ending for a man who had been to hell and back with drugs and depression and was trying to overcome them to produce what he hoped would be his defining album. By the summer and fall months of 2003, Elliott Smith had recently cleaned up--albeit the most extreme way possible--and was completing final vocal tracks for what would've been the true From a Basement on the Hill.
From what I've read...some 50 tracks were recorded for a projected 30-song double CD (ala The Beatles' White Album). By the time the unfinished project saw the light of the day, only 15 songs would be released on a single disc by ANTI Records in 2004. Due to Smith's death in Oct. 2003, his family came into possession of the tapes. David McConnell was Smith's original producer and collaborator on the album, but the family chose to enlist producer Rob Schnapf (who previously worked with Smith) and musician Joanna Bolme (a former girlfriend) to sort out the final project.
Two things off the bat--"Pretty (Ugly Before)" would not been chosen to be included as it had already been released as a 7" in 2001 backed with an early version of "A Distorted Reality". Also, "Ostriches and Chirping" was included as a preface to "Twilight" on the released CD...but it's not an Elliott Smith composition at all. That's a loop of a toy bird created by McConnell that ended up on one of the reels and included by mistake.Several songs including "Suicide Machine", "Abused", "Stickman", "Mr. Good Morning", and "See You in Heaven" were intended for the album but left off (most likely because of the lyrics and subject matter). "True Love" was also left off but ultimately surfaced on the Heaven Adores You soundtrack from a few years back. Other tracks that may have been part of the album I found and included here as well. 30 tracks clocking in just under two hours. Now, I could not find vocals for "See You in Heaven" and "Blue Mood" and I know lyrics were written (according to the internet--lol) for them both. "Melodic Noise" I included in place of "Ostriches and Chirping" as an intro to "Twilight". I tried to sequence as best I could; dividing it between "Twilight" ending the first half and "Mr, Good Morning" opening the second half. There have been incorrectly labeled tracks floating around that ended up on the posthumously released 2-CD compilation New Moon as well as the recent deluxe re-issues of Either/Or and Roman Candle. I took the liberty of including "Brand New Game" and "Cecelia/Amanda" though they date back to Figure 8 era. It was said he had older unreleased songs that were being considered for re-recording. A complete tracklist has never surfaced. However, I think this as close as it gets (maybe for now).
No comments:
Post a Comment