Either / Or

Product Information

Blessed with the voice of a wispy angel, Elliott Smith created sad little pop songs, which, like the work of Nick Drake (to whom he's been compared) threaten to disappear into the night air. To commemorate the 20th Anniversary of Elliott Smith’s best-selling and greatly beloved album, Either/Or, Kill Rock Stars proudly presents Either/Or: Expanded Edition. Every record is shipped in original factory-applied shrink wrap and has never been touched by human hands. Of the new content, the five live tracks recorded at the Yo Yo A Go Go Festival in Olympia, Washington in 1997 are of pristine quality with the harrowing "Some Song" especially powerful. Smith's third album, Either/Or, was produced by himself, Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf and released February 25, 1997.

The 20th anniversary edition of Elliott Smith's beloved third album Either / Or, newly remastered for this release. Indeed, some will complain that the ramshackle charm and the little mistakes in the originals have been ironed out. The mastering on vinyl makes this incredible record justice, impeccable crafted songs, arrangements and performance expanding way beyond its low budget studio sessions. With distinct production, instrumentation, and vocals, the recordings found on Alternate Versions offer a new perspective on one of Smith’s most highly acclaimed albums, and separate them from the original cuts found on Either/Or. marked a turning point in Elliott Smith's career, his music was featured prominently in Gus Van Sant's Good Will Hunting soundtrack, which led to the singer suddenly becoming the Oscar-nominated center of attention.Double vinyl LP pressing in a gatefold jacket that includes an insert of the original liner notes, a postcard of the original master tapes, and several never-before seen photos. On a happier note, last year, to celebrate the album's 20th anniversary, we were given this expanded edition, which benefits from new sound remastering, and nine bonus tracks, all but one of which had never been released before. Simple lyricism grounded in realism, contrasted by complex instrumentation and a playful approach to form and structure. If you enjoy great, intelligent songwriting, you can't go wrong with any of Elliott Smith's releases, but this one captures him at the beginning of his established peak and relative popularity.

The late Elliott Smith has now achieved a real cult following, and is largely regarded as some kind of musical 'genius'.We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. On Either / Or, Smith observes a production ethic that retains a lo-fi looseness without sacrificing any sonic clarity. The album is nonetheless a classic containing three songs that were used in the film "Good Will Hunting".

I try to keep this disto’s choice of titles within the realms of volume eleven, but this is one of those folky, lo-fi albums that everybody needs to own and cherish, regardless of your religion. Ci sarebbe carattere e integrità artistica da vendere a livello universale e ne rimarrebbero comunque scorte in abbondanza!To commemorate the 20th Anniversary of this masterpiece, Kill Rock Stars proudly presents Either/Or: Expanded Edition. It's the ideal bridge between the skeletal sparseness of his early work and the lush studio orchestration of his later stuff, which is a touch over-produced for me. With richer instrumentation and songs that push past the boundaries of his previous releases, Either/Or presents Smith at his most dichotomous. This led to the Oscar nomination for best song with "Miss Misery" which is not included on this album but saw Smith undertake one of the most real if culturally out of place performances in the ceremonies history. The constant push and pull between the dissonant and melodic, dealing with today's disappointment and loneliness knowing that things could change tomorrow.

His songs of loss and loneliness have the broken-poet aura of Smog or Mark Eitzel, but he offsets the gloom with a hatful of damnably catchy melodies and progressions, turning suffering into pop and making it signify. All image and audio content is used by permission of the copyright holders or their agents, and/or according to fair dealing as per the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The gently insinuating despair of Smith's work communicates volumes about the heartbreak and alienation that is the bane of 20th century boys with too much time on their hands. As well as the original album in remastered form, this edition adds a disc of 1997 live recordings and as-yet-unreleased studio recordings.The last LP he released with independent label Kill Rock Stars, the record saw an expansion in Smith’s sound, while retaining the raw, often desolate emotional heft with which he’d become synonymous. The double LP is packaged in a gatefold jacket that includes an insert of the original liner notes, a postcard of the original master tapes, and several never-before seen photos. It contains the seminal "Between the Bars", his sweetest love song "Say Yes", the hurt tale of abuse "2. The one "new" song present is the wonderful pop/rock of “I Figured You Out,” a track that Smith gave to his friend Mary Lou Lord to record because it “sounds like the f*****n’ Eagles. The highly acclaimed Either/Or, the third album from Elliott Smith and his last written and recorded in Portland, OR, broke through to a larger international audience.