Elliott Smith

From A Basement On The Hill

A real grower

Review Score:

(8/10)
The sleeve notes tell the story everyone already knows, so quietly that you'd hardly notice it: "Final production by Elliott's family and friends./ Thank you." And knowing that story ourselves, we're listening out for it in the music. It's not hard to find. In fact, it's almost pushed too hard in the haunted-house feedback and schizophrenically babbling fadeout on the first track, "Coast to Coast", the crunchy distortion of "Don't Go Down", the lyrics of "Fond Farewell": "This is not my life/it's just a fond farewell to a friend". It comes mainly from the production, and once the first shock is over we can't help feeling that Elliot's family and friends have pushed the sound a bit too much in the direction of the obvious and exploitative.

On further listening, though, the original strengths of the music begin to assert themselves. The album relies on its production more than any of his others, and some of the melodies are a bit perfunctory, but in other places -- such as "Pretty (Ugly Before)" -- his gift for writing songs that are simultaneously delicate and anthemic comes through as strongly as ever. "Fond Farewell" will be best remembered for the lyric quoted above, but listen to the way it falls over itself to start the verse at the absolute earliest possible point, moves on to the chorus a line too early, and then abruptly allows the singing to break off a line before the chorus would ordinarily end, as if he's trying to pack absolutely as much as possible into a shorter time than he would otherwise have. On "Don't Go Down", which sustains its lyrical inventiveness better than any other song on the album, the striking thing turns out not to be the distorted production but the contrast between it and the amused-yet-caring observational tone of the singing voice.

It's maybe not the strongest Elliott Smith album to start with, but it has depths, richness, and a personality all of its own. One to treasure.

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