Welcome back to Record of the Week, or HELLO! if it's your first time. This week, the Randomizer queues up a perfect Sunday album, Elliott Smith's From a Basement on the Hill. This excellent 2010 pressing will be on my turntable today.
What can be said about Elliott Smith in 2026 that hasn't already been said. Probably nothing. He is revered by pretty much everyone who has taken the time to dive into the music. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, I've never heard (or read) anyone disparage ES. I'm sure there's someone out there who doesn't like him, that's fair, but I've never encountered that person.
In any case, a brief rundown (and as always, please correct me if I'm wrong). With a friend from college, Smith formed a band called Heatmiser in Portland (1991) which lasted for a few album and EPs and ultimately ended in 1996. His solo career overlapped with the last couple years of Heatmiser. His first album, Roman Candle, was released in 1994 and Elliott Smith (his self-titled album) came in 1995.
Which brings us to his third album, Either/Or, released in 1997. A friend had tickets to see Tindersticks at the Fillmore. His girlfriend wasn't interested and I ended up going along. I remember him saying we had to get there on time because he wanted to catch the opening act. We get there and the show starts. It's just some dude with an acoustic guitar, sitting on a stool. Yeah, Elliott Smith. I had no idea who he was at the time, but the crowd was captivated and very quiet. I just remember thinking "man, this guy is really good." After his set, I went over to the merch table and picked up the latest album (Either/Or), and that kinda set me on this path.
From a Basement was released roughly a year after he died. From what I understand, he had been working on an album and several sessions, including one with Jon Brion, had been scrapped by Smith for various reasons we won't get into here. Smith's family had taken control by this point, and they hired a producer (Rob Schnapf) to sort through and finish the songs that were recorded for this album. 50 or so songs were mixed and whittled down to the 15 that you hear on this album.
This is a really good album. I feel like all his songs are either about shit he's gone through or shit someone he knows has gone through. They just feel real and have a lived-in quality to them. Like you're getting a first-hand recounting of exactly what went down. Also, this album doesn't feel like a posthumous cash-grab. It feels like something he might have released at some point and I think it stands with the rest of his discography.
Some people have said it comes off like a suicide note but I don't think it's any one thing. I've gotten hints of suicide peppered across all his albums. It just doesn't seem like something he would have done, like oh I'm gonna code this whole album about how I'm about to kill myself; but I'm just some guy listening to the records. I didn't know him, never met him. It's just my feeling.
In any case, this is an album worth your time. It would be a fine starting point for a beginner (or anyone interested in diving deeper). Any album in his discography would be good to start with, really. This one is a little weird considering it was unfinished at the time of his death, but they did a great job mixing it and giving us one last album worthy of the man. Very recommended.