How Blue Can You Get?

To say Elliott Smith was a morose person would be similar to saying Richard Simmons is an energetic person—it’s a given. Elliott Smith died in 2003 of mysterious circumstances. Some say he committed suicide, but the coroner could not determine conclusively that the wounds were self-inflicted. In any case, Smith was a troubled person who battled alcohol and drug abuse. His music reflected his emotions.

His posthumous release New Moon is the next record on my list I have chosen to hear. New Moon was released in 2007 to generally critical acclaim. The music was culled from the period 1994 to 1997 (between records Elliott Smith and Either/Or).

#173 – Elliott Smith, New Moon (Metascore = 85)

As previously mentioned, Smith was a very depressed person. He pours his heart and soul into his music, which is part of the reason why many of his albums have been critically acclaimed. He also is a creative songwriter and musician – primarily a guitarist but able to play piano, bass guitar, and drums. New Moon’s opening tracks are primarily solo affairs with just vocals and guitars. Smith’s voice to me sounds similar to Duncan Sheik, another pop rock artist. I should also note that New Moon is a two-disc set. To my knowledge, there is not specific reasoning for the track order.

At the time of recording these tracks, Smith wasn’t abusing drugs but was a heavy drinker. However, a lot of his songs made references to drugs, the abuse of drugs, the effects of drugs, etc. He writes autobiographical songs that vary in form from rhyming couplets to stream-of-consciousness phrases (“Looking over My Shoulder”). Another influence that really stands out for me on several levels is Nick Drake. Drake had a similar vocal style and guitar-picking style, and his lyrics could be quite dark.

Since this is a two-disc set, I will limit individual track discussions and focus on the songs I liked. Musically, all of these songs had some element to them that made me like them, whether it was a unique picking style or just the words. For instance, “Go By” musically is a beautiful song; Smith’s ability to fingerpick the bass and treble notes effectively fills the soundscape as he sings about life passing by. “Going Nowhere” features the sweet sounds of a 12-string guitar in a minor key, which almost seems more ethereal. “Thirteen”, which closes disc 1, is a cover of a song by Big Star and is a beautiful cover. The double album closes with “Half Right”, a quiet song about someone who’s not halfway there anymore, maybe not in the relationship he was in mentally or emotionally anymore.

Overall I can say that I enjoyed this record, though at times the moroseness of the songs is overwhelming. Smith was obviously transitioning musically at this point, trying to escape the sound but being challenged by the emotions he was feeling. I am interested to hear how some of the other tunes turn out on his other records.