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Elliott Smith - XO Vinyl Record

Elliott Smith - XO Vinyl Record

Regular price $ 20.99 USD
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Having earned himself a cult following with indie LPs Roman Candle, Elliott Smith and Either/Or, the hugely talented multi-instrumentalist Elliott Smith gained worldwide attention after several of his tracks featured on the soundtrack to the Oscar-winning 1997 movie Good Will Hunting. Indeed, Smith earned himself a nomination for Best Original Song with "Miss Misery." Though he ultimately lost out to the juggernaut that was Titanic's "My Heart Will Go On," Smith was thrust into the spotlight to perform his track live at the awards ceremony – and things were never quite the same again. 

DreamWorks managed to woo Smith away from Kill Rock Stars for his fourth outing,
XO, released in August 1998 to a shower of critical praise. And while fans might initially have fretted that corporate megabucks would throw Smith off course, they had nothing to worry about. That's not to say he didn't take full advantage of an increased budget. Opener "Sweet Adeline" appears to set the scene with Smith's trademark acoustic guitar and intimately recorded vocals, but then the drums, piano and multi-tracked vocals cascade down, imbued with Smith's innate knack for a Beatles melody, couching barbed lyrics in arrangements that are subtly yet undeniably effective.

And if the likes of "Amity" fizzes with distortion, recalling Smith's early days as part of Portland punk outfit Heatmiser, "Bottle Up And Explode!" sees him tap into Big Star power-pop with added strings. Two waltzes, "Waltz #1" and "Waltz #2 (XO)," catch Smith at his most graceful: deceptively simple instrumentation and, in the case of the latter, boasting devastating lyrics that manage to encapsulate small-down ambitions, dashed hopes and an expression of isolation that's at once heartbreaking and utterly relatable.

At just 44 minutes, the album feels like it contains a lifetime of experience, as if, despite his indie beginnings, Smith had been working towards this moment all his life. Bong Load label co-founders Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf do a masterful job of allowing the arrangements to sound full without sacrificing any of Smith's intimacy. The results are at once glorious and devastating, catching Smith as he revels in all that he could master, while making his deeply personal songs resonate with his widest audience yet.

  1. Sweet Adeline
  2. Tomorrow Tomorrow
  3. Waltz #2 (XO)
  4. Baby Britain
  5. Pitseleh
  6. Independence Day
  7. Bled White
  8. Waltz #1
  9. Amity
  10. Oh Well, Okay
  11. Bottle Up and Explode!
  12. A Question Mark
  13. Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands
  14. I Didn't Understand

Shipping & Returns

Shipping
We ship within two business days when possible. Remember, Media Mail is cheap but gets very little love from the postal service. Expect long waits and few tracking updates. We recommend USPS Priority or UPS Ground.

Returns
Thirty days if unopened, you pay the postage to us. If the item is defective or the delivery person folded it, please reach out ASAP for us to fix the issue. After 30 days, you own it!

Care Instructions

Keep away from the sun.

Never place it next to a Justin Bieber record.

Treat it like your grandma, you know if she was a record. Know what I mean? Tender care, don't talk back, and never interupt during Murder She Wrote. Wait - what the hell was I writing about-

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