Of course everyone has their own favorite songwriters and this topic is totally opinionated but I’m here to talk about MY favorite songwriter and that is Elliott Smith. I’m going to limit myself to talk about my top 5 albums. Let’s get into it.
This album might be my favorite but it’s so hard to decide. This album came out in 1994 and is Elliott’s very first solo album. To me almost every song on this album is perfect. It has a very dark, beautiful, shadowy vibe to it. Especially to songs like “Roman Candle”, “Condor Ave”, “Drive All Over Town” and “No Name #2”. When you listen to the main chord progression to “No Name #2” it sounds actually very uplifting, but at the same time scary or eerie. The only other artist that’s made me feel this way about a song is Johnny Cash.
My favorite song on the album is “Roman Candle” because I feel like it has some the darkest guitar parts I’ve ever heard. It sounds like you’re walking through a dark alley way at night. I feel like this song is a perfect example for what I love about Elliott Smith’s songwriting. It has a the dark vibe while still remaining very beautiful and warm, while also still hooking you into the music with catchy, singing melodies.
There is no weak song on this album and even the song “Kiwi Maddog 20-20” where he doesn’t sing is perfect. This album is one of my favorites of all time.
Elliott Smith’s Self-Titled album came out in 1995. To me, this album seems a lot more chill. Other than the songs “Needle in the Hay” and “Southern Belle”, most of the songs sounds like relaxing after a long day. I would say my favorite song on this album is between “Single File” and “Satellite” . I love “Single File” because of the electric guitar over the acoustic and his singing melodies. In fact, Elliott didn’t even play the electric guitar over the acoustic. It was his friend.
When you listen to these songs compared to the “Roman Candle” album , you feel a lot more relaxed. I think that was what Elliott was going for on this album. There’s some kind of extra warmth to Elliott’s voice on this record. It could just be a better production, but I think it could the energy/vibe Elliott was feeling at the moment. It’s almost as if he was literally one with the music. It seems like every note is exactly what it’s meant to be or his soul took the lead with creating these songs.
I listen to this album almost every night before I go to bed, so if that doesn’t tell you how much I love Elliott Smith, then I don’t what else to tell you.
So here we have the Either/Or album. This used to be my number 1 favorite for a long time. This album is a lot more upbeat compared to the last two I talked about. It also features one of Elliott’s most popular songs, “Between the Bars”.
I like his voice the best on this album. I feel like on this recording, Elliott’s voice seems to drive the music a little more instead of being like another instrument.
One song (that might be my favorite on this album) that reminds me a lot of the Self-Titled album is “No Name #5”. It has that the relaxing after a long day vibe that I was talking about earlier. But I think it still fits pretty well with this album. Another song that I love that is a little different from the rest is “Punch and Judy”. It sounds like “Kiwi Maddog 20-20”, but with singing. I love how I’ve listened to all these songs tons of times and I never get bored with them. Elliott hooks you in every song.
I almost forgot about “Angeles”!! How could I do that?!! That song (in my opinion) has some of Elliott’s best guitar playing.
Now we’ve got the XO album. This was when Elliott signed with “DreamWorks Records” so when you listen to every album after this one and compare it to the first 3 records, you could instantly tell the difference in production.
Although I don’t think this record is a good as “Roman Candle”, “Either/Or” and his self-titled album, this is still very amazing. The highlights for me on this album has to be “Independence Day” and “Pitseleh”. On the song “Independence Day” it sounds like Elliott was in a really good mood while writing it. I could feel it in his guitar playing. Then you have this beautiful song “Pitseleh” (Which is my dad’s favorite).
So overall this is a pretty great album. This is the record I listen to when I’m feeling happy compared to the other albums when I listen to them to GET happy.
This record is another masterpiece to me. It’s very tweaked out, spacey and even a little rocky at some points which is exactly what I need to listen to sometimes.
I feel like this album might be a little overlooked. It’s full of amazing singing melodies, hooks, and all around amazing songwriting. When I listen to it, I feel like the art that’s behind him on the cover. Some of my favorite tracks on this record have to be “L.A.”, “Stupidity Tries”, “Everything Reminds Me Of Her” and “Somebody That I Used To Know”. I love the drumming on this album because it reminds me a LOT of Beatles (who is one of his biggest inspirations).
Although I think his best stuff is when it’s just him and his acoustic guitar (the first 3 albums), I think he did a pretty amazing job with this record.
My family and I, (when we went to L.A.) visited this exact wall that’s on the cover. That was a pretty amazing experience.
At the time of me writing this, it’s Elliott Smith’s 51st birthday. So Happy Birthday to one of my biggest inspirations, Elliott Smith!! Thank you everyone for reading this blog, I hope you all have an awesome day and (if you haven’t already) give Elliott Smith a listen!!
