Either/Or

Description

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 Either/Or by Elliott Smith - In 2020 we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the eponymous Elliott Smith album by inviting artists we admire to record covers of the songs on that album. We had so much fun with that project that we've decided for 2021 to celebrate our 30th anniversary by expanding the idea to encompass the entire Kill Rock Stars release history. - We've got so many amazing artists onboard already, including much of the current KRS roster, along with lots of folks from our extended family and even some new friends! We are so excited to celebrate the music community we've all grown up in, as well as the friends and fans we've made along the way. Whispering his way into your heart with the voice of an angel, Elliott's new solo record, Either/Or, is the type of music you'd hear in Heaven s elevator: While everything's nice and pretty, you re still pretty bummed out that you died. Smith shares all his personal secrets with us like other Smiths before him. (i.e. The Smiths, The Cure's Robert Smith, etc.) The result is nothing less than Zoloftian genius. I'll put money down that says this is the best album Kill Rock Stars releases for a couple of months. --Pitchfork ''Drink up baby / Stay up all night / With the things you could do / You won t but you might / The potential you ll be / That you'll never see / The promises you ll only make''. So starts ''Between The Bars'', from Elliott Smith's third solo album Either/Or. It's as good a statement as any to describe the mood of this collection of songs about drug abuse, failed relationships and the pitfalls of stardom. Not that Elliott Smith the songwriter or performer isn't making the most of his own potential here. It's the downfall of his characters. Over the course of his first two solo outings, Roman Candle (Cavity Search) and his self-titled second effort (Kill Rock Stars), his fans are left to wonder if he isn't writing entirely autobiographically. It would be hard to imagine that the majority of his lyrics, so sincere and detailed, could be a work of fiction. With his admitted past drug use and problems with relationships (both family and otherwise), it seems clear these songs are him, raw and unedited. Elliott Smith was still a member of Portland's Heatmiser at the time he recorded either/or, though that group would be broken up when it was released. Smith shared lead vocal duties with Neil Gust in Heatmiser, though he found himself recording and releasing his own acoustic-based material. His own music was much more sparse and personal than that of his previous group, which in no small part led to his breakout success. His bleak, Dylanesque lyrics have garnered a large, rabid, though specific audience, an indie-rock fanbase who can see the truth in the visuals Smith conjures. Film director Gus Van Sant was an early fan of his solo work, using many songs from either/or to underscore the drama of his 1997 film Good Will Hunting. The soundtrack spawned the Academy Award-nominated ''Miss Misery'', which led to an Oscar night performance, wedged between Trisha Yearwood and Celine Dion, of all people. During his award show performance, Smith looked as out of place and fragile as his song did, amongst the other nominees and their big, insincere songs. Overnight, the press tried to fit him with the mantle of (reluctant) spokesman for a young, seemingly lost generation. ...Smith has no interest in the attention he gets, or in the ensuing fame. He may be putting his life out there for the scrutiny of all, but he stills wants his privacy. This reluctance to play the game of celebrity is furthered in ''Angeles'', where ''Picking up the ticket / Shows there s money to be made / Go on and lose the gamble / That s the history of the trade''. But diatribes against fame and the press aren't the only topics on Smith's mind. His songs of heartache rival anyone else's, and with his whisper-thin voice, threatening to break at any moment (though it never does), the emotions on Either/Or are palpable... Elliott Smith has proven to be one of the top singer-songwriters of his generation, and continues to write and record increasingly more intricate and diverse records. --Popmatters Erstwhile Heatmiser member and prolific singer/songwriter Elliott Smith has now recorded three solo albums, and the brand-new Either/Or marks something of a thematic transition for him: Where the songs on his eponymous sophomore release were generally stark, guy-with-acoustic-guitar confessionals about drug abuse and --The Onion A.V. Club ''Drink up baby / Stay up all night / With the things you could do / You won t but you might / The potential you ll be / That you'll never see / The promises you ll only make''. So starts ''Between The Bars'', from Elliott Smith's third solo album Either/Or. It's as good a statement as any to describe the mood of this collection of songs about drug abuse, failed relationships and the pitfalls of stardom. Not that Elliott Smith the songwriter or performer isn't making the most of his own potential here. It's the downfall of his characters. Over the course of his first two solo outings, Roman Candle (Cavity Search) and his self-titled second effort (Kill Rock Stars), his fans are left to wonder if he isn't writing entirely autobiographically. It would be hard to imagine that the majority of his lyrics, so sincere and detailed, could be a work of fiction. With his admitted past drug use and problems with relationships (both family and otherwise), it seems clear these songs are him, raw and unedited. Elliott Smith was still a member of Portland's Heatmiser at the time he recorded either/or, though that group would be broken up when it was released. Smith shared lead vocal duties with Neil Gust in Heatmiser, though he found himself recording and releasing his own acoustic-based material. His own music was much more sparse and personal than that of his previous group, which in no small part led to his breakout success. His bleak, Dylanesque lyrics have garnered a large, rabid, though specific audience, an indie-rock fanbase who can see the truth in the visuals Smith conjures. Film director Gus Van Sant was an early fan of his solo work, using many songs from either/or to underscore the drama of his 1997 film Good Will Hunting. The soundtrack spawned the Academy Award-nominated ''Miss Misery'', which led to an Oscar night performance, wedged between Trisha Yearwood and Celine Dion, of all people. During his award show performance, Smith looked as out of place and fragile as his song did, amongst the other nominees and their big, insincere songs. Overnight, the press tried to fit him with the mantle of (reluctant) spokesman for a young, seemingly lost generation. ...Smith has no interest in the attention he gets, or in the ensuing fame. He may be putting his life out there for the scrutiny of all, but he stills wants his privacy. This reluctance to play the game of celebrity is furthered in ''Angeles'', where ''Picking up the ticket / Shows there s money to be made / Go on and lose the gamble / That s the history of the trade''. But diatribes against fame and the press aren't the only topics on Smith's mind. His songs of heartache rival anyone else's, and with his whisper-thin voice, threatening to break at any moment (though it never does), the emotions on Either/Or are palpable... Elliott Smith has proven to be one of the top singer-songwriters of his generation, and continues to write and record increasingly more intricate and diverse records. --Popmatters Erstwhile Heatmiser member and prolific singer/songwriter Elliott Smith has now recorded three solo albums, and the brand-new Either/Or marks something of a thematic transition for him: Where the songs on his eponymous sophomore release were generally stark, guy-with-acoustic-guitar confessionals about drug abuse and darkness, there s brightness and a pop feel to his new Either/Or. And without comparing it to its predecessors, let's just say this: The album is incredibly goddamned good. Songs like ''Alameda,'' ''Speed Trials,'' ''Ballad of Big Nothing,'' and ''The Morning After'' are heart-breakingly melancholy, yet informed by a feel for classical-tinged pop a la The Beatles and, more recently, Jeremy Enigk. (And the two-minute ''Between The Bars'' is simply gorgeous beyond words.) Smith s terrific acoustic arrangements and uncanny ability to wring hooks from sadness make these songs worthy of pop success, but the fact is, they re probably too good to be played on the radio alongside that awful new Offspring single. It s hard to describe what Smith does so well without playing the album; suffice it to say that fans of Lou Barlow s softer side will be blown away. --The Onion A.V. Club Review: The Most Underappreciated Album of the 1990's? - 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. Review: Good music - Gave as a gift. I got to hear it on the record player and it sounded great.