The Album Review Club - Christmas Break Until 8th January

[journolud]

Not what I was expecting and obviously not quite what my son was expecting either when he first said something along the lines of "oh got to listen to isery music have you" only to raise his eyebrows when in the car with me and Waltz#2 came on and say "I didn't know this was him" in a sort of appreciative way.

I wish I could remember which was the Elliot Smith CD I bought and discared many years ago. Possibly an earlier more accoustic/ folky sort of one?

Anyway, not for the first time recently I've found myself revising my opinion of an artist. The Chameleons made it into my consciousness after years and repeated failures. Elliot Smith much mre succesful second time around.

This album sounds crisp and fresh, I've no idea if it's complex, I suspect some of the composition is failry simple but from the off their are some great tunes with highlights being Sweet Adeline, Independence Day and the aforementioned Waltz#2.

I focused on the original 14 songs and in truth there may be one or two too many but I was very pleasantly surpised by this. I can't say I've taken in many of the lyrics but I'm aware there may be a darkness there. The music generally belies this though.

Big Joe Corrigan wondered if he should have nominated Either/ Or instead. I gave that a listen too and will listen again. I'm not sure it's quite as good but repeated listens might make it so.

don't usually go half points but I'm a bit stuck between a 7 and an 8 here. I think with one or two tracks less we might have got a tighter album which would have pushed it to the higher mark but as it is a decent 7.5 and another artist to take more seriously.

Memo to self. Either proof read your posts or do them on the Mac with it’s spellcheck instead of banging it out on the work laptop

 

[Big Joe Corrigan]

XO

Great debut nomination Big Joe, I get the feeling we have similar musical tastes, weren’t you going to do a Banjo playlist ?
I’ve mentioned about finding hidden gems on this thread before and although I can’t really class this as hidden as I was familiar with Elliott Smith and I’d heard Waltz#2 before, it’s a great album that was new to me.

Once I’d gotten over ES trying to sound like The Beatles as I’m not a big fan,and accepted this was his own voice and sound I really started to enjoy it.Yes a lot of the lyrics are morose yet some are humorous in places. He was obviously a very talented multi instrumentalist as well as a great lyricist, his voice could be stronger but the fragility of it suits a lot of the songs.

I don’t think there’s any fillers on here altough it’s a tad too long, i particularly like the run from the first track upto Waltz#1
‘Baby Britain’ reminds me of Ben Folds who was a mate of ES and wrote a song in memory to him,which I’ve heard many times on his album ‘Songs For Silverman’

I had no idea who or what ‘Pitseleh’ was so I looked it up and it’s a Yiddish term of endearment.
I’ve now listened to Either/Or and Figure 8 but I think this album was the right pick as it’s the most varied and accessible.I also watched a few documentaries on YT, he was a very complex troubled guy and it would be no surprise if he did indeed take his own life although stabbing yourself to death is quite difficult I believe, so who knows.

Thanks @Big Joe Corrigan I’m now a ES fan.

9/10

Cheers Doogle, thanks for the review and I’m glad you enjoyed it. Yes I was going to do a banjo playlist but things got in the way, will try again sometime. I will check out Ben Folds as well. Thanks again.

 

[threespires]

Memo to self. Either proof read your posts or do them on the Mac with it’s spellcheck instead of banging it out on the work laptop

Surely your work laptop does a spell check? What kind of crap are they fobbing you off with?

 

[journolud]

Surely your work laptop does a spell check? What kind of crap are they fobbing you off with?

Only if I type it into word. I just put it straight onto the forum which is a bad idea really

 

[LGWIO]

Memo to self. Either proof read your posts or do them on the Mac with it’s spellcheck instead of banging it out on the work laptop

If you are doing that I would hope you are using "incognito mode" so they cannot see what you are using online to help

 

[GornikDaze]

Not sure who mentioned JJ Cale earlier, but it was an interesting reference regarding the length of songs. Never heard of Elliott Smith before, which is one of the many positives of this thread. I found this a bit one dimensional, and unlike the JJ Cale offering I was quite happy when most tracks finished rather than wishing they’d carry on. Not for me - 4/10
It always saddens me to hear of musicians passing at such a young age - let’s face it there have been one or two. So I did a bit of reading into ES - only fair when I found his solo work so uninspiring! I thought I’d see if his vocal cut it in a band situation, and lo and behold… there he is!! A much greater depth and edge to his voice and a rockier background to show it off. Cop and Speeder currently getting lots of air time but the other albums seem decent. Cheers @Big Joe Corrigan a good week for me but not in the way you maybe hoped!

 

[Big Joe Corrigan]

Not sure who mentioned JJ Cale earlier, but it was an interesting reference regarding the length of songs. Never heard of Elliott Smith before, which is one of the many positives of this thread. I found this a bit one dimensional, and unlike the JJ Cale offering I was quite happy when most tracks finished rather than wishing they’d carry on. Not for me - 4/10
It always saddens me to hear of musicians passing at such a young age - let’s face it there have been one or two. So I did a bit of reading into ES - only fair when I found his solo work so uninspiring! I thought I’d see if his vocal cut it in a band situation, and lo and behold… there he is!! A much greater depth and edge to his voice and a rockier background to show it off. Cop and Speeder currently getting lots of air time but the other albums seem decent. Cheers @Big Joe Corrigan a good week for me but not in the way you maybe hoped!

Cheers Gornik, might be worth you checking out Heatmiser as well.

 

[BlueHammer85]

Elliot Smith - XO

Elliot Smith someone I’ve never heard or come across, really felt so much John Lennon in all this - layered melodies, intricate acoustic and piano which comes across simplistic in its beauty.

The two ‘Waltz’ tracks are very nice and dreamy, i liked the strings for version 2.
‘Bled White’ stood out as one of my favourites , the organ and harmony.
‘Independence Day’ another intricate piano number.
‘Bottle Up and Explode’ and ‘A Question Mark’ bring a bit more life and difference.
‘Oh Well, Ok’ another Beatlesque/Lennon track.

Some really nice songs overall although some listens it all just passed me by so i understand some of the criticism and struggled to stick. Lyrically heartfelt. Needed a good few listens but glad I did.

6/10

 

[OB1]

6/10 for XO. Pleasant but didn’t grab me.

 

[Big Joe Corrigan]

Elliot Smith - XO

Elliot Smith someone I’ve never heard or come across, really felt so much John Lennon in all this - layered melodies, intricate acoustic and piano which comes across simplistic in its beauty.

The two ‘Waltz’ tracks are very nice and dreamy, i liked the strings for version 2.
‘Bled White’ stood out as one of my favourites , the organ and harmony.
‘Independence Day’ another intricate piano number.
‘Bottle Up and Explode’ and ‘A Question Mark’ bring a bit more life and difference.
‘Oh Well, Ok’ another Beatlesque/Lennon track.

Some really nice songs overall although some listens it all just passed me by so i understand some of the criticism and struggled to stick. Lyrically heartfelt. Needed a good few listens but glad I did.

6/10

Cheers Hammer, I also love the organ on Bled White, 6/10 is ok.