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Post subject: Re: Hour To Hour, Note To Note / The Elliott Smith Thread
Posted: Wed February 03, 2016 3:32 am
$5 Donation Gets Custom Title
Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 10:43 am Posts: 5645
Figure 8 is so very very good. Everything Means Nothing To Me, Happiness, Can't Make A Sound, L.A., Wouldn't Mama Be Proud...these songs are incredible pieces of art. I never tire of them.
Post subject: Re: Hour To Hour, Note To Note / The Elliott Smith Thread
Posted: Wed February 03, 2016 12:10 pm
Production Police
Joined: Tue September 24, 2013 5:56 pm Posts: 47107 Location: In the oatmeal aisle wearing a Shellac shirt
Yea, Figure 8 is incredible, didn't mean to imply otherwise. But it's very lush, almost baroque. It's a great fit for Elliott, but it's an outlier to the rest of his music, which was always about fragility, vulnerability, venom, substance abuse, and above all, loneliness. Those themes are alive and well on Figure 8, but they sure are gussied up. It's an honest album -- it's his worldview after going through a major label breakthrough, a move to LA, and a visit to Abbey Road (which was certainly a huge event for him, given his love for the recording medium).
Post subject: Re: Hour To Hour, Note To Note / The Elliott Smith Thread
Posted: Wed February 03, 2016 3:07 pm
Broken Tamborine
Joined: Wed January 02, 2013 9:13 pm Posts: 270
tragabigzanda wrote:
I love Elliott Smith, but rarely play his music these days. I go through phases with him, and it's been a long dry spell. I got to see him in Boston right before the Good Will Hunting explosion. I think he played Harvest Moon then too.
I've been really disappointed with all the post-From a Basement releases that his estate and Larry Crane have been releasing. Probably great for the diehard fan, but I don't find that it adds much to his legacy, and the tracking and sequencing feels a little clunky.
I'll rank 'em:
Either/Or XO S/T Figure 8 From a Basement on a Hill Roman Candle New Moon
In Larry Cranes defence, the estate only had access to his KRS-era material for New Moon, and I thought they did a good job ensuring that all the essential "leftovers" from S/T and Either/Or were included. Though I agree that the sequencing could have been better. As for everything since then, Universal controls all the masters for his post '97 material, and they have shown no interest in releasing any of it. Nor have they been receptive to relinquishing control to anyone else. Which is too bad, because there's a ton of material left in the vaults from that era that deserves to see the light of day.
Post subject: Re: Hour To Hour, Note To Note / The Elliott Smith Thread
Posted: Wed February 03, 2016 3:16 pm
Production Police
Joined: Tue September 24, 2013 5:56 pm Posts: 47107 Location: In the oatmeal aisle wearing a Shellac shirt
Zantac Junkie wrote:
tragabigzanda wrote:
I love Elliott Smith, but rarely play his music these days. I go through phases with him, and it's been a long dry spell. I got to see him in Boston right before the Good Will Hunting explosion. I think he played Harvest Moon then too.
I've been really disappointed with all the post-From a Basement releases that his estate and Larry Crane have been releasing. Probably great for the diehard fan, but I don't find that it adds much to his legacy, and the tracking and sequencing feels a little clunky.
I'll rank 'em:
Either/Or XO S/T Figure 8 From a Basement on a Hill Roman Candle New Moon
In Larry Cranes defence, the estate only had access to his KRS-era material for New Moon, and I thought they did a good job ensuring that all the essential "leftovers" from S/T and Either/Or were included. Though I agree that the sequencing could have been better. As for everything since then, Universal controls all the masters for his post '97 material, and they have shown no interest in releasing any of it. Nor have they been receptive to relinquishing control to anyone else. Which is too bad, because there's a ton of material left in the vaults from that era that deserves to see the light of day.
I just want to clarify that was in no way meant as a slight against Larry. He's a great guy, and he personally helped me quite a bit professionally in the past. Interesting about Universal -- does this mean they own the Dreamworks tapes too? That'd make sense, which is painful, 'coz the XO leftovers would be the stuff I'd be most excited about. But the New Moon comp, meh...Too many songs I'd heard before, and the ones I hadn't weren't too impressive. The later stuff, when he started experimenting more in the studio, would be great to hear some day.
Post subject: Re: Hour To Hour, Note To Note / The Elliott Smith Thread
Posted: Wed February 03, 2016 3:52 pm
Broken Tamborine
Joined: Wed January 02, 2013 9:13 pm Posts: 270
tragabigzanda wrote:
Zantac Junkie wrote:
In Larry Cranes defence, the estate only had access to his KRS-era material for New Moon, and I thought they did a good job ensuring that all the essential "leftovers" from S/T and Either/Or were included. Though I agree that the sequencing could have been better. As for everything since then, Universal controls all the masters for his post '97 material, and they have shown no interest in releasing any of it. Nor have they been receptive to relinquishing control to anyone else. Which is too bad, because there's a ton of material left in the vaults from that era that deserves to see the light of day.
I just want to clarify that was in no way meant as a slight against Larry. He's a great guy, and he personally helped me quite a bit professionally in the past. Interesting about Universal -- does this mean they own the Dreamworks tapes too? That'd make sense, which is painful, 'coz the XO leftovers would be the stuff I'd be most excited about. But the New Moon comp, meh...Too many songs I'd heard before, and the ones I hadn't weren't too impressive. The later stuff, when he started experimenting more in the studio, would be great to hear some day.
Yeah, Universal acquired all the rights to that material when they swallowed up Dreamworks in 2003. And although Elliott had a deal in place to release Basement on an independent label, it only applied to the material that actually made it onto the album, not the remaining material from those sessions. Which means Universal owns all the basement leftovers, too.
Post subject: Re: Hour To Hour, Note To Note / The Elliott Smith Thread
Posted: Fri March 04, 2016 12:00 pm
$5 Donation Gets Custom Title
Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 10:43 am Posts: 5645
American Laundromat Records is releasing what looks to be an amazing Elliott Smith tribute album titled Say Yes. J Mascis, Lou Barlow, Juliana Hatfield, Yuck, Tana Donelly, Amanda Palmer and others are contributing covers. The album will be released on October 14, 2016 but there are multiple pre-order bundles available now at American Laundromat Records.
Angeles – Waxahatchee Ballad of Big Nothing – Julien Baker Between the Bars – Tanya Donelly Bled White – Yuck Condor Ave – Jesu/Sun Kil Moon Division Day – Lou Barlow Easy Way Out – Wild Sun Miss Misery – Tomo nakayama Needle In the Hay – Juliana Hatfield No Name #3 – Caroline Says Oh Well, Okay – Adam Franklin Pictures of Me – Amanda Palmer Say Yes – William Fitzsimmons Waltz #1 – Escondido Waltz #2 – J Mascis
Post subject: Re: Hour To Hour, Note To Note / The Elliott Smith Thread
Posted: Fri March 04, 2016 6:42 pm
Rank This Poster
Joined: Fri July 26, 2013 12:34 am Posts: 4393 Location: chewm
Elliott compositions were always so strong, with creative chords sequences and melodies. It will be really interesting to see what other singers and arrangements bring to it.
Post subject: Re: Hour To Hour, Note To Note / The Elliott Smith Thread
Posted: Wed January 04, 2017 4:03 pm
Production Police
Joined: Tue September 24, 2013 5:56 pm Posts: 47107 Location: In the oatmeal aisle wearing a Shellac shirt
Amidst the deluge of demos and outtakes we've gotten over the last few years, just about the only thing that would excite me at this point is more unreleased stuff from Either/Or:
Post subject: Re: Hour To Hour, Note To Note / The Elliott Smith Thread
Posted: Wed January 04, 2017 6:14 pm
Broken Tamborine
Joined: Wed January 02, 2013 9:13 pm Posts: 270
A studio version of I Figured You Out with Elliott's vocals has long been one of my holy grails, so I'm ecstatic. I wonder if the inclusion of a live version of My New Freedom means that he never attempted it in the studio, or if Dreamworks owns the rights to it?
Post subject: Re: Hour To Hour, Note To Note / The Elliott Smith Thread
Posted: Wed January 04, 2017 6:54 pm
Production Police
Joined: Tue September 24, 2013 5:56 pm Posts: 47107 Location: In the oatmeal aisle wearing a Shellac shirt
Zantac Junkie wrote:
A studio version of I Figured You Out with Elliott's vocals has long been one of my holy grails, so I'm ecstatic. I wonder if the inclusion of a live version of My New Freedom means that he never attempted it in the studio, or if Dreamworks owns the rights to it?
I am guessing the latter, but I really have no idea. The Elliott Smith song guide doesn't offer anything helpful on that one:
Post subject: Re: Hour To Hour, Note To Note / The Elliott Smith Thread
Posted: Wed January 04, 2017 6:59 pm
Production Police
Joined: Tue September 24, 2013 5:56 pm Posts: 47107 Location: In the oatmeal aisle wearing a Shellac shirt
The plot thickens: According to Larry Crane (via wiki), Interscope owns the tapes from the Dreamworks era:
In a March 2009 interview, Larry Crane said that the estate of Elliott Smith was now "defunct" and all rights previously held by the singer are now in the control of "his parents".[96] Crane went on to say that his parents own the rights to Smith's high school recordings, some of the Heatmiser material, all solo songs recorded until his 1998 record deal with DreamWorks Records, and From a Basement on the Hill.[96] DreamWorks Records was acquired by Universal Music Group in 2003, and Interscope Records currently "owns all studio and live recording from Jan 1998 to his passing, except for the songs on From a Basement on the Hill."[96]
Post subject: Re: Hour To Hour, Note To Note / The Elliott Smith Thread
Posted: Wed January 04, 2017 7:11 pm
Broken Tamborine
Joined: Wed January 02, 2013 9:13 pm Posts: 270
tragabigzanda wrote:
The plot thickens: According to Larry Crane (via wiki), Interscope owns the tapes from the Dreamworks era:
In a March 2009 interview, Larry Crane said that the estate of Elliott Smith was now "defunct" and all rights previously held by the singer are now in the control of "his parents".[96] Crane went on to say that his parents own the rights to Smith's high school recordings, some of the Heatmiser material, all solo songs recorded until his 1998 record deal with DreamWorks Records, and From a Basement on the Hill.[96] DreamWorks Records was acquired by Universal Music Group in 2003, and Interscope Records currently "owns all studio and live recording from Jan 1998 to his passing, except for the songs on From a Basement on the Hill."[96]
And they've shown absolutely no interest in releasing any of it. Which is a shame, because there's likely a treasure trove of top quality material from that era. I suppose we could potentially get a 20th anniversary deluxe XO next year, but I'm doubtful.
Post subject: Re: Hour To Hour, Note To Note / The Elliott Smith Thread
Posted: Wed March 15, 2017 9:27 pm
Production Police
Joined: Tue September 24, 2013 5:56 pm Posts: 47107 Location: In the oatmeal aisle wearing a Shellac shirt
Listened to Heatmeiser's Cop and Speeder today for the first time since 2002 or so. It's totally reframed From a Basement On a Hill for me. The latter's heavier, more riff-based songs, coupled with Elliott's pissed off sneer, now makes it sound like a direct descendent of his days in Heatmeiser. It's almost like he tried to get away from the trappings of success by returning to the music he had made with his friends.
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