OK I know this has probably been done before, so don't feel compelled to tell me so. But...
I'm looking to buy my first Elliott Smith album and am probably gonna go for Either/Or or XO, and I just wondered people's thoughts.
Thanks x
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Get roman candle and go chronologically
Indeed !
^This^
Best way to do it, there's not a tonnes of albums, but a wealth of material which to discover. It's great to see how his work develops and changes throughout, too.
XO
was my first and is still my favourite, even if i don't have the cd anymore after a flatmate took it with him when he moved out.
I think XO is his best, I love it
though Either/Or isn't too shabby either. Same for all his albums really.
XO
is a great place to start. When Sweet Adeline burst into life for the first time, I fell in love.
Having said that,
all his albums are incredible.
Either/Or, definitely
If you start with XO, you get no sense of the progress of his career. Either/Or is basically the last acoustic album he did, and probably the most accessible. XO's a good place to go after that, then you can decide whether to work backwards or forwards, depending on which you prefer.
i know it isn't a popular view
but Figure 8 is my favourite.
Although Either/Or is a close second...
Figure 8
is my favourite too.
It makes me feel good.
difficult question
to answer what the best thing to do is. zapsta's is an interesting idea.
from my point of view i bought xo first and it's still my fave elliott smith record. however, i got either/or after that and i had certainly missed a step out as i found it hard to go back to him doing a pretty much full acoustic album. after that i got figure 8, which makes a lot of sense after xo as you see it's what he was working towards, in terms of how grand it was at any rate.
either way, what i'm trying to say is i managed to confuse myself a fair bit by doing it all out of the order they were recorded in. i'd get them all but i'd probably do it from the start.
that said, because it was the first elliott smith record i bought and have listened to it the most xo is my fave.
whatever you buy it'll be a great investment either way.
Either/Or
Does anyone else find him
incredible overrated? I'm not doing this for points, srsly. I 've listened to his albums; there are a few songs that i think are incredible, yeah...but part of me think people only wank over him because he's dead (rip, of course).
Nah, he's amazing
albeit slightly easier to appreciate if you're a massive emo.
Start with Either/Or
it's incredible.
And no, he's not overrated. kthxbye
my favourite's
definitely figure 8, followed by XO then the later posthumous releases. i actually don't rate the earlier acoustic albums as highly, i think his stuff "worked better" when he mixed his dark lyrics with more upbeat music.
Either/Or's pretty upbeat, for the most part
No he really is amazing
just a brilliant songwriter, and I love lo fi and yes, I am a massive emo, so maybe that helped a bit.
Again, without trying to score points, you need to listen to the demos he did before he died. It's all on 4 track like his early recorded stuff and you can HEAR THE PAIN AND IT MAKES YOU STRONGER
and he was a brilliant and innovative guitarist and that shows in his songwriting.
Either/Or
was the second album of his I bought took me ages to get into XO grabbed me right away... looking back now I was such a fool for not loving Either/OR right way.. but to get to the point listen to XO first its easier to get into
Elliott
albums going for £2.99 on Play right now so get them all in first, then decide which to start with later!
http://www.play.com/Search.aspx?searchtype=allproducts&searchstring=elliott+smith&page=search&pa=search&go.x=0&go.y=0
On closer inspection
it's just XO and Figure 8 for £2.99 but Elliott Smith, Roman Candle and Either/Or are only £4.99 so still no so shabby.
Figure 8
Purely because 'Son of Sam' is the perfect first step en route to falling in love with Elliott. In a non-gay way. Or a gay way. Fuck it, either way, you're in for a treat.
having spent my evening listening to it
figure 8 is awesome.
takes a bit of getting into/used to but it IS brilliant.
either way, buy everything he's ever done, you're not gonna regret it + you can get it all for about 15-20 quid via amazon/ebay/play/etc.
XO
Is his best record in my opinion followed by Either/Or.
XO is more upbeat than Either/Or
but Either/Or is probably more memorable and contains arguably his best track - Anegeles.
Can't go wrong with either!
slightly emo response
Buy XO and Figure 8 at the same time. After absorbing these fantastic, complete records, get From A Basement On The Hill. Then, when music is really getting you down, buy Elliott Smith / Roman Candle / Either/Or, and listen to it and let it reignite your love of music.
Elliott Smith - what an incredible songwriter.
Listen to me
Figure 8 and the self-titled one are really great. The others are patchy. If anyone disagrees, kill them.
I agree with this man
Self-titled seems incredibly under-appreciated.
It's probably my favourite...
No bad dream fucker's gonna boss me around...
Get Them All!
But if it had to be one and just one alone, get XO.
kudos to that man
get them all. his voice makes his songs rise above almost any other singer-songwriter
They're his two best
Start with Either/Or so that you absorb the peak of his more lo-fi early period, going straight from 'Say Yes' into XO (the peak of his big budget sound period)'s 'Sweet Adeline' = genius.
Then, once you've got your head around two of the greatest records ever, go to the start, then to the end :)
In order.
Either/Or > XO > Roman Candle > Elliott Smith = From A Basement on the Hill > Figure 8 = New Moon.
But they're all brilliant. XO is the best starting album and also the perfect summary of his work if that's what you're after.