This album seems to have been spawned from the momentum of its
brilliant predecessor Roman Candle. Smith was well on his way to
leaving his rock 'n' roll band Heatmiser, and surely the amazing artistic
success of his first solo release enabled this album. Considering the
dramatic shifts he took in his recordings, we are lucky to
have this self-titled gem in our collections.
The album's opener "Needle In the Hay" thickly pours out the concrete for
the album's strong foundation that solidifies then crumbles into a pile of
terror-ravaged psyches. To even hint at the word, the albatross, the drug
known as heroin goes way too far in defining and pigeonholing an
album and an artist. Its mention elicits know-it-all nods and headshakes.
Thoughts of self-destruction and isolation and desperation can cloud
beauty. It's said that Charlie Parker believed it was the drug that allowed
him to make his music.
We don't know what is in the head of an artist in the process of creation.
All we have is the product of their labors. The voice and music we hear in
this collection feels so centered on an individual, so clear a vision and
emotional outpouring, it's as if we're getting an open view into a
person's mind. The layered acoustic and electric guitars play with each
other like the bouncing thoughts of a fertile brain. The vocals wail at
times and soothe at others -- not as separate personalities, but as
different facets of the same comlex totality. What we find is sometimes
confusing and sometimes beautiful, but it's somehow hauntingly
inviting.
If you like Elliott Smith, check out:
Elliott Smith Either/Or
Elliott Smith Figure 8
Elliott Smith XO
Elliott Smith Roman Candle
Nick Drake Five Leaves Left
Pedro the Lion It's Hard to Find a Friend
Palace Music Lost Blues and Other Songs
-- Bill
at a glance...
