This mini set from a Los Angeles benefit show is all new material, and it offers skeletal portraits of despair in songs like “Let’s Get Lost,” “Strung Out Again,” and “Twilight.” The Wiltern’s natural echo lends a ghostly vibe to the set, with Smith’s vocals sounding even more vulnerable than usual and a frayed edge creeping into his typically fastidious guitar work. NovemIn 2001, Smith began working on what would become, released posthumously in 2004. Though these prolonged sessions with an array of collaborators stretched on until Smith’s death, he began previewing songs early on in the creative process. He could switch gears effortlessly, though: check out the solo mini-set here, including a hauntingly gorgeous “Easy Way Out.” This is Smith at his most confident, his most dynamic, his most accessible. Any fans expecting a mellow night must’ve been surprised by the explosive readings of “Son of Sam” and “Baby Britain,” among others, showcasing Smith’s scratchy, urgent electric guitar. This tape of the band in France is a high-energy thrill ride, with Smith leading his cohorts through hopped-up versions of XO’s highlights and rearranged older favorites, as well as a few previews of Figure 8. To support the more lushly produced XO, the songwriter toured with a lean trio made up of Quasi’s Sam Coomes on bass and backing vocals and Paul Pulvirenti on drums.
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Le Pavillon Lion // Bourges, France // ApSmith came to prominence as an acoustic troubadour, but he had his sights set on a bigger sound. Less than a year later, he’d be performing at the Oscars, thanks to the inclusion of “Miss Misery” on the Good Will Hunting soundtrack. As uncomfortable as Smith sounds when not singing his songs, this was just the start of his time in the spotlight. His whisper-thin vocals cut to the quick with every phrase, while his elegant-yet-urgent guitar playing is note-perfect-check out the bone-chilling rendition of “Needle in the Hay” or the deceptively breezy “Say Yes” for proof. Awkward interview segments aside, the music here is captivating, a crystal clear example of Smith’s growing power as a live performer. But he did have Morning Becomes Eclectic’s inquisitive host Chris Douridas’ questions to deflect, whether about his influences (“I was really into Kiss and the Beatles”) or his upbringing (“let’s not get into that”). Morning Becomes Eclectic // Promoting in the cozy confines of KCRW's studio a few years later, Smith didn't have inattentive bar patrons to deal with. Of special interest is the skewed remake of the old folkie number, “Little Maggie,” with Smith locating the harrowing heartbreak lurking in the timeworn lyrics. But if anything, the distracted crowd-which, to be fair, does seem to include plenty of fans-seems to intensify Smith's delivery. “You guys always pay $7.50 to come and talk?” he complains half-heartedly at one point. This tape, one of the oldest known documents of Smith as a solo acoustic performer, is a battle between a chatty Club Congo crowd and Elliott's early repertoire.
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But in the mid-’90s, some audience members just didn't give a shit.
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ELLIOTT SMITH EITHER OR REISSUE DOWNLOAD CRACK
We even get to hear him crack a joke or two.Ĭlub Congo // Scottsdale, Arizona // late 1994 or early 1995 In 2017, with Smith's legend firmly in place, it’s easy to say that the songwriter's early solo shows should have been met with a hushed, respectful silence. The darkness lingers, of course, but the songs have room to breathe a bit more in a live setting, allowing us to appreciate Smith’s craft afresh. These tapes, stretching from his first solo forays to his final appearance in 2003, give an alternate view of the musician. But another way back into Elliott Smith’s music awaits on, that hosts several dozen live recordings of the songwriter, uploaded by fans and collectors with the permission of Smith’s estate. It can be difficult to hear his work-as masterfully written, performed, and produced as it is-without a gloomy specter creeping into one’s mind. Smith’s songs were already dark, but his passing at the age of 34 in 2003 (perhaps a suicide, perhaps not) turned them pitch black. Next week’s reissue of Either/Or is surely a different listen now than it was in 1997, and not just because of a few. Like, the singer-songwriter he’s most often compared to,’s tragic death inevitably casts a pall over his music. Is a column in which Tyler Wilcox scours the internet for the best (and strangest) bootlegs, rarities, outtakes, and live clips.