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Elliot Smith - From A Basement On The Hill

Rating

RIYL

Nada Surf
The Beatles
The Shins
CSNY

Label

Epitaph

Tracklist

1. Coast to Coast
2. Let's Get Lost
3. Pretty (Ugly Before)
4. Don't Go Down
5. Strung Out Again
6. Fond Farewell
7. King's Crossing
8. Ostriches & Chirping
9. Twilight
10. A Passing Feeling
11. Last Hour
12. Shooting Star
13. Memory Lane
14. Little One
15. A Distorted Reality is Now a Necessity to be Free

Elliot Smith lived a life than many would envy. He had the uncanny ability to write songs that evoked emotions that most writers could only dream of. He had the voice of an angel, critically acclaimed albums, even a song in “Good Will Hunting” which garnered him not just acclaim and mainstream recognition, but an Academy Award nomination which saw him perform for millions of television viewers. All this career success and still something was missing. Elliot Smith was still very sad. His songs were of heartache, addiction, sorrow, and very little hope. It was almost a self fulfilling prophecy. Late October 2003 Smith died of what was thought to be a self inflicted stab wound to the chest. There is still question whether it was suicide or murder, but regardless of the conclusion of the investigation, the world lost one of its most promising musicians who was in the middle of his masterpiece, From A Basement On The Hill.

From A Basement On The Hill is a musical cornucopia offering many different sounds and styles ranging from his signature folk strummers to the songs like the opening track of “Coast To Coast.” This song starts out with some spooky strings and then launches into a detuned guitar rock song. This is about as hard as the album rocks out, and really that’s okay. Smith’s delicate voice is made even smaller by the contrast of the big guitars. The thing that is most striking about the song is the contrast of lyrics and the feel of the music in the song. The bleak lyrics make the upbeat song that much more interesting, and scary. It’s almost like being in the middle of a calm ocean. On the surface it’s smooth and calm, but below the surface is what is dangerous. That unknown element is present is many of the songs on the album. Another standout track is “Memory Lane.” This classic folk guitar number goes along like a breezy, carefree song from the Beetles or The Shins, but where they would be lyrically hopeful, or optimistic, Smith is bleak and tragic. “Isolation pulls past the tunnel to the pride world where you can make place where you can stay. But everybody is scared of this place and is staying away.Your little house on memory lane. The mayor’s name is fear and his force patrols the peer…you keep your doors and windows shut and swear you’ll never show a soul again, but isolation pushes you ‘til every muscle aches…” The contrast is downright sad.

Stripped of the lyrics, this album would have you whistling along, tapping your foot to the folk-pop rock masterpieces that Smith crafted. It’s a mix of The Beatles, CSNY, The Shins and Nada Surf, but when you put the lyrics into the equation, the songs become all his own. Desperation, despair, longing, addiction and isolation to happy music makes this record not only haunting, but possibly genius. I’ve never listened to something with this much contrast. The songs themselves are not complex, there are no weird time signatures, and no breakdowns, but what it lacks in musical depth, it more than makes up for in lyrics.

The sad thing about his death is that with this album he would have probably been mentioned with the great songwriters of our time. Now, because of his death, his place in history is a little more foggy, a little more unknown…kind of like his songs. Its not what is out in the open you have to worry about, it’s the stuff that is below the surface that is scary, it’s also what makes From A Basement On The Hill so great.

JohnnyL

Author

JohnnyL

Last updated: 09/29/2009 09:03PM