Photo: Press
An unreleased Elliot Smith named 'I Figured You Out' was revealed online yesterday and is taken from the forthcoming reissue of his 1997 album, Either/Or.
Come 10 March the album will be celebrated for its 10th anniversary and 'I Figured Out' is the first of a collection of unreleased material set to feature on the multi-disc package. There's also going to be alternate versions of ‘Bottle Up And Explode’, ‘Don’t Think I’m Ever Gonna Figure It Out’ and ‘New Monkey’, plus live recordings of ‘My New Freedom’, ‘Pictures Of Me’, ‘Angeles’, ‘Some Song’ and ‘Rose Parade'.
In light of this excellent news, Gigwise's Cerys Kenneally writes about the greatest songs of this late, great songwriter's career and it includes a couple from the Either/Or album. Check out this great guide to Elliot Smith below.
No Name #2
Taken from his first solo album, Elliott Smith’s sound is distinctively soft. An acoustic guitar wins Smith’s heart despite him still being in grunge band Heatmiser. His vocals stay subsequently punk-infused, almost as if he’s chanting timidly throughout. Some of Smith’s most impressive guitar melodies are found in this track, revealing the more stripped back side to the tormented musician. The troubled singer-songwriter fused his anger together through personal experience. Whether it’s about breaking up with a girlfriend, being abused by his stepfather when he was young or about isolating himself in his own depression, Elliott Smith’s ability to portray his hurt is admirable. The harmonica, played by Smith himself, adds a substantial amount of light to the dark lyricism of the track, fusing his worst memories and feelings with the beauty of his instrumentals.
Pitseleh
Fast forward to Smith’s fourth studio album. Having been Oscar-nominated for 'Miss Misery', Smith was debatably at the peak of his career. XO proved his ability to make a shift and to make use of the better recording equipment than his stripped back demo-like previous releases. 'Pitseleh' is one of two songs from his fourth studio album that really encapsulates Smith’s progression. The acoustic guitar is faultlessly humming, with delicate higher notes to emphasise the folky sound. ‘Pitseleh’ is a yiddish word for “little one”, showcasing a more endearing side to Elliott Smith’s signature sadness.
No Name #3
Another of Smith’s unnamed tracks marks a journey back to his rough recording days of Roman Candle. Sitting below 'No Name #2', 'No Name #3' holds another delicate melody so rough round the edges that you can feel Smith’s pain not only through his vocals, but through the guitar strumming too. Later featured on Good Will Hunting with many of Smith’s other tracks, 'No Name #3' is a more melancholic melody to appear on his first album Roman Candle.
Roman Candle
The title track from his debut solo album welcomes a sense of urgency in the guitar melody, racing through the dark memories of his abusive stepfather. ‘Roman Candle’ is an alarming rant from one of Smith’s darkest shadows, providing a hair-raising chill with the raw pain presented in his lyrics, “I want to hurt him / I want to give him pain / I’m a roman candle / My head is full of flames”. Musically, the urgency adds to the rage put across, but also sees Elliott Smith plucking harshly to portray his isolated pain. His stepfather was an authoritative figure that Elliott Smith despised, inspiring ‘Roman Candle’ in a twisted, genius way.
Bled White
Four years after his debut in 1994, XO was released. 'Bled White' is a track that depicts the ease of turning to alcohol or drugs to numb the pain of depression. “He drinks all night to take away this curse / But it makes me feel much worse”. Smith’s battle with the demons of his mind are well known, but the straight writing of Smith’s lyricism is something so subtly raw that it screams with pain despite his whispery, whimsical vocals. 'Bled White' shows a new stage to Smith’s sadness, and fully amplifies his want to numb the demons of his past that he is unable to get rid of.
Angel In The Snow
Elliott Smith is incredibly good at personifying his depression. Some songs are difficult to depict whether he is talking to his addictions, his dark memories or to a girl he once loved. “Angel In The Snow” is a perfect example of not knowing whether Smith is hanging on to a lost love, or whether he is trapped in his addiction. On the surface, it seems more of a lost love, as he reveals his feelings very bluntly, “Don’t you know that I love you”. The riddled subject of this track could even be entwined with the results of his depression, as his lyric “Sometimes I feel like only a cold still life / Only a frozen still life” emphasises the emptiness of being still, or frozen. It’s true that he could just be wearing his heart on his sleeve, but Smith’s riddling and word play truly emphasises the troubled being that he was.
Half Right
Originally made for his grunge band Heatmiser, the reworked Elliott Smith version sees the track completely stripped bare. Written with his best friends in his school years, Smith’s darker songwriting was still yet to come. 'Half Right' presents one of his more optimistic tracks, using ‘half right’ over ‘half wrong’, much like the optimist/pessimist depiction. Using only an acoustic guitar, Smith revives his Heatmiser years in the rawest way possible. Although it appears on New Moon, which was released 4 years after Smith’s death, Half Right was likely to have been recorded in the 90s, between Roman Candle and XO.
Needle In The Hay
Taken from his self-titled album in 1995, Elliott Smith reveals the struggle of finding something to hang on to when surrounded by copious amounts of blank nothing, similar to his depression. This track could easily refer to wanting to escape with drugs or alcohol, but when he recorded this album he wasn’t under the influence of drugs, “I can’t beat myself / And I don’t want to talk / I’m taking the cure so I can be quiet”. The continuous strum of Smith’s guitar revives the urgency or need to satisfy his addiction, creating a melancholic hum that stands over his delicate vocals like a demon of depression. Creating the acoustic urgency also helps to showcase Smith’s unique transformation from punk to acoustic-folk. Although his whispery vocals are far from punk, his Heatmiser years were still with him, and the rough demo-sounding guitars presented Smith as an artist crossing boundaries and creating the most soothing, dark sound imaginable.
Everything Means Nothing To Me
Here we finally get to Smith’s Figure 8 album, which was technically the last album he released before he died in 2003 (From a Basement on the Hill was released in 2004). 'Everything Means Nothing To Me' sees another progression in Smith’s songwriting. Now more polished thanks to better recording equipment, Smith adds the chilling delicacy of the piano to his otherwise depressing words. The repetition of “Everything Means Nothing To Me” highlights his pain, and the lack of durability left in him. His depression is really beginning to take its toll, and this track reveals the harsh pressure Smith felt from all aspects of life, building up to his explosion of disregard towards dealing with these pressurising things. The delicate melody drops into a heavy-headed burst of instrumentals adding an unimaginable euphoric tone to the otherwise foreboding lyrics. Smith is wanting to live in the moment, his moment, not dealing with the abundance of pressure coming at him from different aspects of life.
I Better Be Quiet Now
Another of Figure 8’s tracks, Smith takes a more romantic route, ditching the signature melancholy for a delicate, desirable tone that presents his lust for either a woman he’s lost or more darkly, alcohol or drugs. Being towards the end of his life, it’s possible he could be personifying his addiction, saying he is tired of fighting it, but also admitting that it’s damaging him. “Wish I knew what you’re doing / And why you want to do it this way, so I can’t go the distance.” Another soft melody highlights the cemented sound of Elliott Smith, perfectly illuminating his true sound, a sad songwriter with his acoustic guitar to emit his pain. Despite the melancholic origin of Smith’s songwriting, his tone is somewhat soothing, his melodies ringing like a sweet serenade on the surface. The sad story behind this is ambiguous, but it could also be interpreted as a suicidal note, constantly repeating that “I’m tired of wasting my breath / Carrying on and getting upset.” His ability to disguise his frightening feelings as people is admirable, personifying even the darkest of feelings in the softest of songs.
Southern Belle
Tracing Smith’s footsteps back to his abusive stepfather, 'Southern Belle' seems to re-visit these memories, depicting the story as if he’s questioning his stepfather over abusing his mother, “How come you’re not ashamed of what you are? / And sorry that you’re the one she got? / Ain’t nobody looking now.” The Southern Belle is a reference to his mother in their Texas home, and he writes as if speaking to his stepfather, reacting to the abuse of his authoritative and oppressive figure. The climax of the track where he repeats “You’re killing a southern belle” over and over is much like Smith is reaching his boiling point with keeping it bottled up. It’s as if he rewinded to his childhood to confront his stepfather over his oppressive actions. This public announcement of the pain his stepfather put him through led to his stepfather writing Smith an apology in 1998, weeks before his Oscar ceremony performance.
Everything Reminds Me Of Her
Taken from ”Figure 8”, 'Everything Reminds Me Of Her' presents a saddened and lustful Smith, squeezing all the hurt from heartbreak into a delicate ballad that presents the world as dystopian, “The spin of the earth impaled a silhouette of the sun on the steeple.” The brutality of his word choice highlights the dark mindedness of Smith’s world, clashing the good with the bad to make it all seem bleak. The soothing melody adds a sense of isolation, and adds to the fragility of Smith’s voice, always a toned down, soft sound. The short track is plain and simple, addressing objects and familiar feelings as reminding him of an old flame, a hurtful memory of a woman he once loved.
Twilight
'Twilight' is a fundamental track to Elliott Smith’s legacy. Appearing on “From A Basement On The Hill”, 'Twilight' presents Smith as one of his most desperate times. Struggling to keep afloat, he transmits euphoria with his soothing vocals, despite the depressing nature of the lyrics themselves. “You don’t deserve to be lonely / But those drugs you got won’t make you feel better.” Smith’s honesty with the limited amount of escapism that drugs provide is a chilling thought when you realise he wrote this towards the end of his life. Here it is clear he has gone past desperation and need, and is instead clouded by the reality and harshness of life. With this track appearing on the album released by his family after his death, “Twilight” depicts the dark truths of drug addiction and relationships. He constantly says “I’m already somebody’s baby”, which could be referring to his addiction, and the sad truth of the want to escape ruling over his want to find happiness.
Ballad Of Big Nothing
Here we revisit one of Elliott Smith’s best albums, Either/Or. Featuring some more upbeat tones, Smith’s songwriting still holds it’s raw demo-style that was transmitted with 'Roman Candle'. 'Ballad Of Big Nothing' visits his drug habit yet again, referring to his drugs as ‘candy’, “Getting in to the back of a car for candy from some stranger / Watching the parade with pinpoint eyes full of smouldering anger.” This stranger could quite easily be his drug dealer, a stranger who provides his addiction, with Smith also speaking to himself from third person, “Do what you want to whenever you want to”, as if a solemn sorry to himself and the drug habit that would engulf him. The sad guitar scales throughout personify the ups and downs of having a drug habit, building to a chorus that speaks with more a more harrowing confidence than the verses. 'Ballad Of Big Nothing' is the sad reality of drugs, not having a conscience to tell you not to do it, and to be stuck in the cycle of coming up and down from the highs.
Between The Bars
Another track taken from 'Either/Or' is Between The Bars, a public admittance of Smith’s alcoholism. The vocals are some of Smith’s softest, almost a lullaby to the emptiness found at the bottom of a glass or bottle. His constant reference to “Drink up…” refers to his alcoholism, and how he moved from bar to bar. It’s almost as if Smith is trying to speak from the alcohol’s point of view, pulling in the drinker by repeatedly telling them to ‘drink up’. The seduction and exploitation is something Smith would find attractive, hiding the pressure he felt in alcohol. The ease of the alcohol seduction also presents Smith’s sadness, showcasing his depression at it’s most bleak, highlighting the want for escapism, to not be isolated and to numb the feeling of reality.
Going Nowhere
The enchanting melody that opens this track is a chilling reality check for Elliott Smith, who is wearing his heart on his sleeve in a realisation that he’s lost a girl he loves. A common theme of hurt, destruction and despair remains in the majority of his songs, the repetition of the darkest part honing in what a tormented soul he really was. In this track he repeats 'Going nowhere', depicting the trouble he’s having with moving on, but also realising he will never get it back. As another lullaby-worthy track, Smith is stuck in a rut of pessimism, ready to self-destruct amongst the beautiful melodies and soothing sound of his voice.
