Elliott Smith died on 21 October 2003, aged just 34. In his short career, the former punk from Portland, Oregon released five solo albums, flitting occasionally with commercial success whilst attracting a devoted following the world over; people drawn to the honesty, goofy humour and bewilderment of a hugely talented musician struggling to stand under the weight of the world on his breakable shoulders.
A year later, we still don’t really know how or why Smith passed on, but for the moment at least it isn’t important. Elliott Smith deserves to be remembered for his music and there couldn’t be a better case in point than "From A Basement On A Hill", a collection of 15 songs Smith had completed or nearly finished on that October day.
Ironically, "From A Basement..." feels like Smith’s most complete work to date. With production duties lovingly polished in his absence by close friends and colleagues, there are places for his full repertoire, from the cheerful folky acoustic jangle with the heartbreaking lyrics ("Memory Lane") or the regretful ode to loneliness ("Twilight") to the delicious, initially overwhelming layers of pop found on his more recent, major label recordings, 1998’s "XO" and 2000’s "Figure 8" ("Pretty (Ugly Before)", "A Passing Feeling").
As before, people will compare the quiet tracks to Nick Drake; the loud tracks to the White Album, and for one intent on studying minute details and influences of course there are parallels, but comparisons miss the point – whether you enjoy his music or not, there has never really been anyone like Elliott Smith, and chances are there never will be again.
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Always adept at creating memorable melodies, instant hooks and un-hoped for chord changes, Smith also toys with psychedelia here, examples being the otherworldly orchestra blown in on the wind of opener "Coast to Coast", the backwards guitar on "Little One"; things we haven’t really heard him try before. But the lyrics are as familiarly dark as ever, ‘I know my place, I hate my face, I know how I begin and how I end: strung out again’ ("Strung Out Again"), ‘Shine on me baby, cause it’s raining in my heart’ ("A Distorted Reality Is A Necessity To Be Free"), “Anything I could do, never be good enough for you’ ("Coast To Coast") - his lyrics have always been bleak, despite the often jovial accompaniment, but now the struggles they describe seem more poignant than ever.
"From A Basement On A Hill" stands proudly besides Smith’s earlier albums - particularly the much-loved "XO" and the revered "Either/Or." Fans will surely greet the record with mixed emotions; but then again mixed emotions are what made the man and what made his music. And while it might smart like a poke in the eye to know that it will most likely be the last original Elliott Smith album they will hear, they’ll be overjoyed with what is arguably his greatest legacy.
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