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Elliott Smith is one of my favorite artists of all time. He had the songwriting ability of a Beatle (not Ringo), the spirit of a punk rocker, and with an acoustic guitar and a blatantly imperfect singing voice he could convey more emotion than I’m convinced most people are capable of feeling. I can’t say that his suicide was a big surprise – if anything, it made sense to me, but I’ll always wish Elliott had more time.
Today Kill Rock Stars announced that Elliott’s remastered Roman Candle and From A Basement On A Hill will be rereleased on April 6th, and they have made these two tracks available for free. They also shared this story from Kill Rock Star’s founder that probably resonates with a lot of fans. Click “Read More” to read the story and download the songs.
Roman Candle had quite an impact on Slim Moon, Kill Rock Stars’ founder: “In 1994, I had been asked to be on this five-person solo-act tour called Pop Chord with Tammy Watson, Carrie Akre, Sean Croghan and Elliott Smith. The first night at the Crocodile in Seattle, I didn’t pay too much attention and people talked all thru Elliott’s set. Sean Croghan got up next and said “all of you people who just talked through Elliott’s set are bummed because you just missed something very very special.” The next night of the tour, at The Bottom Of The Hill in San Francisco, I listened very closely to Elliott’s set, and it was basically one of those life-changing moments. Instead of watching the rest of the performers, I went out to the tour van and popped Roman Candle into the player, and listened to it on endless repeat for the rest of the evening and beyond. It completely blew my mind. I have never heard music as heartwrenchingly, gut-checkingly honest, intimate, and wise before or since.”
