SMITH, ELLIOTT Figure 8 (Dreamworks) cd 15.98
We're listing the lp version of this classic Elliott Smith album, available on vinyl again for the first time since forever, but we realized the cds never got a proper listing back in the day, so in case you're not a vinyl person, but still want to experience this amazing record, here ya go:
It's easy to forget that when Elliott Smith first hit the scene things were a lot different than they are now. There weren't that many sensitive singer songwriters roaming the underground and there was still a pretty huge divide between the 'indie' and the mainstream. Of course that has all changed so much, but when Elliott first started to get wider attention thanks to Gus Van Sant's use of his songs in Good Will Hunting and the Oscar nomination that followed, it was really an exceptionally strange occurrence in the indie music scene. It kind of marked the moment where much of what had been a big well kept secret would soon become a part of popular culture. We can still remember watching Smith on live TV performing at the Oscar's in his white tuxedo looking so sweet, nervous and humble. It truly felt like one of US was finally getting their deserved moment in the spotlight. Of course he lost to Celine Dion, but there was really no one you would rather get to represent so many of the underdogs than Elliott Smith. It was like finally getting to see someone honest and uncorrupted in a mainstream Hollywood setting. His music was so pure and beautiful, with this uncanny ability to make the bitter sound so sweet.
Figure 8 was his follow up to XO and his second outing on Dreamworks. It found Smith continuing his exploration of a more orchestral sound as well as some of the more full on rock moments that came to bloom on XO. There was so much anticipation for this album, especially after the fantastic XO, and Smith found himself under much more media scrutiny and heightened label pressure to SELL MORE RECORDS.
Luckily, he came out of it with a record that in many ways was his breeziest and even at times hinted at a happier Elliott Smith. It was of course not without its heart wrenching songs and daydream moments. While so much attention is given to his amazing voice it's so clear on Figure 8 and all of his releases really what a gifted guitar player, overall musician and of course talented songwriter he was.
This is an album so full of warmth, like it was made just for you, the music flowing out of your speakers, filling your room or your headphones with glorious beautiful sound. Songs about lovers, friends, relationships and the human condition, that will ring with warm truth for decades to come.
MPEG Stream: "Somebody That I Used To Know"
MPEG Stream: "Happiness"
MPEG Stream: "Everything Means Nothing to Me"

SMITH, ELLIOTT Figure 8 (Plain Recordings) 2lp 21.00
Wow, now back in print on vinyl, all deluxe 180-gram style, for first time since it was originally released!!
It's easy to forget that when Elliott Smith first hit the scene things were a lot different than they are now. There weren't that many sensitive singer songwriters roaming the underground and there was still a pretty huge divide between the 'indie' and the mainstream. Of course that has all changed so much, but when Elliott first started to get wider attention thanks to Gus Van Sant's use of his songs in Good Will Hunting and the Oscar nomination that followed, it was really an exceptionally strange occurrence in the indie music scene. It kind of marked the moment where much of what had been a big well kept secret would soon become a part of popular culture. We can still remember watching Smith on live TV performing at the Oscar's in his white tuxedo looking so sweet, nervous and humble. It truly felt like one of US was finally getting their deserved moment in the spotlight. Of course he lost to Celine Dion, but there was really no one you would rather get to represent so many of the underdogs than Elliott Smith. It was like finally getting to see someone honest and uncorrupted in a mainstream Hollywood setting. His music was so pure and beautiful, with this uncanny ability to make the bitter sound so sweet.
Figure 8 was his follow up to XO and his second outing on Dreamworks. It found Smith continuing his exploration of a more orchestral sound as well as some of the more full on rock moments that came to bloom on XO. There was so much anticipation for this album, especially after the fantastic XO, and Smith found himself under much more media scrutiny and heightened label pressure to SELL MORE RECORDS.
Luckily, he came out of it with a record that in many ways was his breeziest and even at times hinted at a happier Elliott Smith. It was of course not without its heart wrenching songs and daydream moments. While so much attention is given to his amazing voice it's so clear on Figure 8 and all of his releases really what a gifted guitar player, overall musician and of course talented songwriter he was.
This is an album so full of warmth, like it was made just for you, the music flowing out of your speakers, filling your room or your headphones with glorious beautiful sound. Songs about lovers, friends, relationships and the human condition, that will ring with warm truth for decades to come.
MPEG Stream: "Somebody That I Used To Know"
MPEG Stream: "Happiness"
MPEG Stream: "Everything Means Nothing to Me"

SMITH, ELLIOTT From A Basement On A Hill (Anti) cd 15.98
Man, it's hard to review this record. No matter how good it is or isn't, it's just really really sad. Elliott Smith was one of those musicians everybody liked. You wouldn't be at all surprised to find his records in your metal friends' collections, and for sure no indie / emo / post rock collection was complete without EVERY one of his records. Some folks were disappointed with Smith's later musical trajectory, abandoning his whispery vocals and barely-there hushed acoustic back drops in favor of big production and strings and pianos and pop bombast. But at the root of it all, Smith was always a gifted songwriter, capturing all the confusions and regrets of his life in a way that we could all relate to in our own way. We may not have struggled with addiction but an Elliott Smith song about addiction would be just as likely to end up on a mix tape for the love of your life than helping you through your struggle with smack. And that's quite a gift, turning a specific subject into a universal fear or hope. And somehow Smith managed to do just that for us. It's always sad losing someone like that. Like Kurt Cobain. When Cobain died we were all crushed. It was like losing one of our own. The same with Elliott Smith. None of us really knew him. He played at Aquarius once a long time ago. He was really quiet, and super nice. But you could tell he was just deeply deeply sad. His set was stunning, leaving several AQ staffers in tears. That was how powerful his music was. And still is. From A Basement On A Hill is a bit of a dodgy proposition. An unfinished record, completed by friends and family after his death. I guess the real question is just how unfinished the record was. Sonically this is definitely along the lines of XO or Figure 8, big Beatles-esque pop, swooning, swaying, all lush and gorgeous of course, with the occasional, ultra stripped down number, with just Smith's vocals and a guitar. Pretty intense. It all sounds a bit raw in places, but that's to be expected. And it's hard not to read too much into the songs knowing the sort of emotional turmoil that helped shape them, but ultimately it doesn't really matter. This is a great Elliott Smith record. Like they all are. And everyone will take what they want or need from it. Simply a great pop record, a glimpse into the tortured soul of an artist that is sorely missed, or a record full of personal and private thoughts, hopes, dreams, and revelations that we can all understand or try to understand in our own way. More likely all of those and more. A sad and beautful and strangely hopeful musical treasure.
MPEG Stream: "Coast To Coast"
MPEG Stream: "Pretty (Ugly Before)"

SMITH, ELLIOTT From A Basement On A Hill (Anti) 2lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Man, it's hard to review this record. No matter how good it is or isn't, it's just really really sad. Elliott Smith was one of those musicians everybody liked. You wouldn't be at all surprised to find his records in your metal friends' collections, and for sure no indie / emo / post rock collection was complete without EVERY one of his records. Some folks were disappointed with Smith's later musical trajectory, abandoning his whispery vocals and barely-there hushed acoustic back drops in favor of big production and strings and pianos and pop bombast. But at the root of it all, Smith was always a gifted songwriter, capturing all the confusions and regrets of his life in a way that we could all relate to in our own way. We may not have struggled with addiction but an Elliott Smith song about addiction would be just as likely to end up on a mix tape for the love of your life than helping you through your struggle with smack. And that's quite a gift, turning a specific subject into a universal fear or hope. And somehow Smith managed to do just that for us. It's always sad losing someone like that. Like Kurt Cobain. When Cobain died we were all crushed. It was like losing one of our own. The same with Elliott Smith. None of us really knew him. He played at Aquarius once a long time ago. He was really quiet, and super nice. But you could tell he was just deeply deeply sad. His set was stunning, leaving several AQ staffers in tears. That was how powerful his music was. And still is. From A Basement On A Hill is a bit of a dodgy proposition. An unfinished record, completed by friends and family after his death. I guess the real question is just how unfinished the record was. Sonically this is definitely along the lines of XO or Figure 8, big Beatles-esque pop, swooning, swaying, all lush and gorgeous of course, with the occasional, ultra stripped down number, with just Smith's vocals and a guitar. Pretty intense. It all sounds a bit raw in places, but that's to be expected. And it's hard not to read too much into the songs knowing the sort of emotional turmoil that helped shape them, but ultimately it doesn't really matter. This is a great Elliott Smith record. Like they all are. And everyone will take what they want or need from it. Simply a great pop record, a glimpse into the tortured soul of an artist that is sorely missed, or a record full of personal and private thoughts, hopes, dreams, and revelations that we can all understand or try to understand in our own way. More likely all of those and more. A sad and beautful and strangely hopeful musical treasure.
MPEG Stream: "Coast To Coast"
MPEG Stream: "Pretty (Ugly Before)"

SMITH, ELLIOTT New Moon (Kill Rock Stars) 2cd 17.98
Without a doubt, the years Elliott Smith spent on Kill Rock Stars will always have a very special place in our hearts. His 2nd and 3rd albums came out when the label was still a somewhat small and emerging indie usually more associated with riot grrrl and the artier side of indie rock and punk than dreamy wistful folk. His self titled album and Either/Or spoke to all of us, across the board, even to ears that weren't at all used to hearing just one man and a guitar. This was several years before any kind of new folk revival.
This two disc collection features recordings from that era that didn't make it on to either of those two amazing records, but many of which are just as great and jaw dropping as the ones that did. As much as he would later be attracted to grander orchestration and a lush and full sound, there is something about when it was just him and his guitar, that perfect voice, so moving and vulnerable. So many in our generation can remember watching the Oscars for the first time ever with true excitement, when he was nominated for "Miss Misery." When he took the stage in his white tuxedo there was something so honest and real happening in a space that is usually void of true emotion and honest heartbreak. Of course Celine Dion walked away with the statue, but that night you couldn't help but feel so proud that this gifted songwriter was getting the widespread attention he deserved. Not much was added or done to these stripped down recordings. But they really didn't need it anyway. The songs are practically perfect as they are. It's just another reminder that not many people are capable of creating bitter beautiful sounds as sweetly at Elliott Smith did. And sometimes the emotional cost is devastating. These aren't just some unnecessary out takes from a famous dead name. These are songs that will find their way on to any Elliott Smith mix you will make from now on. Simply said, a must have for anyone who loved his music as much as we did.
MPEG Stream: "High Times"
MPEG Stream: "First Timer"
MPEG Stream: "Pretty Mary K (other version)"

SMITH, ELLIOTT New Moon (Kill Rock Stars) 2lp 17.98
Without a doubt, the years Elliott Smith spent on Kill Rock Stars will always have a very special place in our hearts. His 2nd and 3rd albums came out when the label was still a somewhat small and emerging indie usually more associated with riot grrrl and the artier side of indie rock and punk than dreamy wistful folk. His self titled album and Either/Or spoke to all of us, across the board, even to ears that weren't at all used to hearing just one man and a guitar. This was several years before any kind of new folk revival.
This two disc collection features recordings from that era that didn't make it on to either of those two amazing records, but many of which are just as great and jaw dropping as the ones that did. As much as he would later be attracted to grander orchestration and a lush and full sound, there is something about when it was just him and his guitar, that perfect voice, so moving and vulnerable. So many in our generation can remember watching the Oscars for the first time ever with true excitement, when he was nominated for "Miss Misery." When he took the stage in his white tuxedo there was something so honest and real happening in a space that is usually void of true emotion and honest heartbreak. Of course Celine Dion walked away with the statue, but that night you couldn't help but feel so proud that this gifted songwriter was getting the widespread attention he deserved. Not much was added or done to these stripped down recordings. But they really didn't need it anyway. The songs are practically perfect as they are. It's just another reminder that not many people are capable of creating bitter beautiful sounds as sweetly at Elliott Smith did. And sometimes the emotional cost is devastating. These aren't just some unnecessary out takes from a famous dead name. These are songs that will find their way on to any Elliott Smith mix you will make from now on. Simply said, a must have for anyone who loved his music as much as we did.
MPEG Stream: "High Times"
MPEG Stream: "First Timer"
MPEG Stream: "Pretty Mary K (other version)"

SMITH, ELLIOTT Pretty (Ugly Before) (Suicide Squeeze) 7" 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We were beginning to worry about Mr Smith. After so much critical hoopla and even a performance on the Academy Awards, you would think he would have been a perennial on the Hollywood party circuit, but instead he just up and disappeared. We were beginning to fear the worst. Maybe he picked up some of his old bad habits, pawned his guitar and was wandering the streets. Or worse?! He may very well have been, but it seems everything is okay now, as we've now got this two song 7" and look forward to a forthcoming full length. Musically, not much has changed, jangly, chiming guitars, loping simple rhythms, tinkly pianos, warbly organs, some fuzzy psychedelic guitar, mournfully melancholy melodies and Smith's sweet, aching, gorgeously whispery vocals. Nice to have him back, safe and sound, warm and dry.

SMITH, ELLIOTT Roman Candle (Cavity Search) cd 14.98

SMITH, ELLIOTT s/t (Kill Rock Stars) cd 13.98
Elliott's also in Heatmiser, but his solo work is worlds away from that band... and it's pretty darn great.

SMITH, ELLIOTT s/t (Kill Rock Stars) lp 16.98
Elliott's also in Heatmiser, but his solo work is worlds away from that band... and it's pretty darn great.

SMITH, ELLIOTT XO (Dreamworks) cd 15.98
It's easy to forget that when Elliott Smith first hit the scene things were a lot different than they are now. There weren't that many sensitive singer songwriters roaming the underground and there was still a pretty huge divide between the 'indie' and the mainstream. Of course that has all changed so much, but when Elliott first started to get wider attention thanks to Gus Van Sant's use of his songs in Good Will Hunting and the Oscar nomination that followed, it was really an exceptionally strange occurrence in the indie music scene. It kind of marked the moment where much of what had been a big well kept secret would soon become a part of popular culture. We can still remember watching Smith on live TV performing at the Oscar's in his white tuxedo looking so sweet, nervous and humble. It truly felt like one of US was finally getting their deserved moment in the spotlight. Of course he lost to Celine Dion, but there was really no one you would rather get to represent so many of the underdogs than Elliott Smith. It was like finally getting to see someone honest and uncorrupted in a mainstream Hollywood setting. His music was so pure and beautiful, with this uncanny ability to make the bitter sound so sweet.
XO was Smith's major label debut and he took full advantage of a bigger budget, and more time in he studio to explore and reach further, honing his amazing ability to construct and orchestrate grand yet never bloated pop songs. There was still lots of the more minimal moments, stark songsmithery and delicate fingerpicking, all hallmarks of his earlier work, but there was a new lush and and much fuller sound on XO. Without trying to sound too hyperbolic, XO is as close to a perfect pop record as you can get. We can't count the times that one of these songs was put on a mixtape we made, or was played over and over and over as it so closely corresponded to a relationship we were having or a moment in time we were going through.
He never hid the fact that he was hugely influenced by The Kinks and The Beatles and while countless others made careers out of trying to rip off both of those bands, Smith managed to tap into the internal world of those bands, their amazing melodies and moods, like no one else has, carrying the torch for smart, sincere, heartfelt and truly timeless pop music.
This is an album so full of warmth, like it was made just for you, the music flowing out of your speakers, filling your room or your headphones with glorious beautiful sound. Songs about lovers, friends, relationships and the human condition, that will ring with warm truth for decades to come.
MPEG Stream: "Waltz #2 (XO)"
MPEG Stream: "I Didn't Understand"
MPEG Stream: "Baby Britian"

SMITH, ELLIOTT XO (Plain Recordings) lp 16.98
Wow, now back in print on vinyl, all deluxe 180-gram style, for first time since it was originally released!!
It's easy to forget that when Elliott Smith first hit the scene things were a lot different than they are now. There weren't that many sensitive singer songwriters roaming the underground and there was still a pretty huge divide between the 'indie' and the mainstream. Of course that has all changed so much, but when Elliott first started to get wider attention thanks to Gus Van Sant's use of his songs in Good Will Hunting and the Oscar nomination that followed, it was really an exceptionally strange occurrence in the indie music scene. It kind of marked the moment where much of what had been a big well kept secret would soon become a part of popular culture. We can still remember watching Smith on live TV performing at the Oscar's in his white tuxedo looking so sweet, nervous and humble. It truly felt like one of US was finally getting their deserved moment in the spotlight. Of course he lost to Celine Dion, but there was really no one you would rather get to represent so many of the underdogs than Elliott Smith. It was like finally getting to see someone honest and uncorrupted in a mainstream Hollywood setting. His music was so pure and beautiful, with this uncanny ability to make the bitter sound so sweet.
XO was Smith's major label debut and he took full advantage of a bigger budget, and more time in he studio to explore and reach further, honing his amazing ability to construct and orchestrate grand yet never bloated pop songs. There was still lots of the more minimal moments, stark songsmithery and delicate fingerpicking, all hallmarks of his earlier work, but there was a new lush and and much fuller sound on XO. Without trying to sound too hyperbolic, XO is as close to a perfect pop record as you can get. We can't count the times that one of these songs was put on a mixtape we made, or was played over and over and over as it so closely corresponded to a relationship we were having or a moment in time we were going through.
He never hid the fact that he was hugely influenced by The Kinks and The Beatles and while countless others made careers out of trying to rip off both of those bands, Smith managed to tap into the internal world of those bands, their amazing melodies and moods, like no one else has, carrying the torch for smart, sincere, heartfelt and truly timeless pop music.
This is an album so full of warmth, like it was made just for you, the music flowing out of your speakers, filling your room or your headphones with glorious beautiful sound. Songs about lovers, friends, relationships and the human condition, that will ring with warm truth for decades to come.
MPEG Stream: "Waltz #2 (XO)"
MPEG Stream: "I Didn't Understand"
MPEG Stream: "Baby Britian"

SMITH, KENDRA Five Ways of Disappearing (4AD/Warner) cd 15.98

SMITH, LENNY Deep Calls to Deep (Sounds Familyre) cd 13.98
Lenny Smith is a high school Latin teacher and head of the Smith family, whose 5 kids are otherwise known by their stage name Danielson Famile. Yep, the Danielson Famile's exuberant music was nurtured in the home. Can you imagine the hoedowns this family must've had at Christmastimes? The music on this record is a bit staid, but come on, he's a high school teacher. Get this only if you're such a rabid Danielson fan that you've got to have it all.

SMITH, PATTI Banga (Columbia) cd 14.98

SMITH, PATTI Gone Again (Arista) cd 16.98
In response to reports of painful rockcrit overdoses via pageful o' Patti reviews in SF Weekly, including those from Bill Wyman crony Jim DeRogatis and Ms. Sarah Vowell (Gina Arnold in sheep's clothing, accuses Paul Ashby's letter to the editor), we hereby refrain from further frothing up the fray.

SMITH, PATTI Gung Ho (Arista) cd 16.98
As always, another highly anticipated Patti Smith record. And, perhaps some people will be interested in this record after hearing the stories about how Smith, in an aggressive performance, kicked over a table or executed some other violent furniture-related maneuver at South by Southwest.

SMITH, PATTI Horses (Columbia) 2cd 25.00
Wow! Of course Horses is a classic album but what's most striking about this 30th Anniversary edition of Horses is the 2nd disc which is a live recording of Patti Smith performing Horses in its entirety in London in 2005. Sometimes the act of artists revisiting their past and playing live shows of the records you love ends up making you feel embarrassed for them and just detracts from the magic they once created. But this is NOT the case with this performance. This is an amazing example of an artist getting to show the relevance and staying power of songs and spirit that hold as true today as they did 30 years before. Armed with a band including Tom Verlaine, Jay Dee Daughtery, Lenny Kaye, and Flea, you can immediately sense the intensity on stage and in the room as the opening seconds of Gloria begin. Not often does a live recording translate the goosbumps that were had by those who got to be there for real but this one does! After taking us through all the different peaks and valleys of Horses she ends with her classic cover of "My Generation" where she laments that "our generation gave the world George W. Bush...next generation rise up, rise up!" A battle cry to leave us with after we've gotten to experience once again the beauty of her raw passion. Happy 30th Horses...may you live on forever!
MPEG Stream: "Gloria (live '05)"
MPEG Stream: "Kimberly (live '05)"

SMITH, PATTI Horses (Arista) lp 21.00
Patti Smith's Incendiary debut. A Classic!

SMITH, PATTI Land (1975-2002) (Arista) 2cd 22.00
Fat double cd anthology of the work of former Blue Oyster Cult lyricist Patti Smith. A 'best of' her career of the past 27 years, digitally remastered and all that. Disc one's got the hits ("Gloria", "Rock N Roll Nigger", etc) and also a brand new cover version of Prince's "When Doves Cry". Disc two features a backers dozen of rare/demo/live tracks, unreleased until now. The package also includes a thick booklet of photos, lyrics, drawings, poems, etc. Basically, it's one of those collections that both serve as an introduction to an artist for novices as well as being a must-have for big fans who of course need the unreleased stuff even though they already have the album tracks.

SMITH, PATTI Outside Society (Arista / Columbia / Legacy) cd 10.98

SMITH, PATTI Outside Society (Arista / Columbia / Legacy) 2lp 34.00

SMITH, PATTI Radio Ethiopia (Columbia) cd 5.00
**SALE **SALE* *SALE**

SMITH, PATTI Radio Ethiopia cd 5.00
**SALE **SALE* *SALE**
We recently relisted the first three classic Blue Oyster Cult albums, as part of a special $5 cd sale one of the majors currently has going. Well here's another great $5 bargain, from one of BOC's occasional outside lyricists, a lady by the name of Patti SmithÉ Radio Ethiopia was her second album, from 1976, following the previous year's Horses, and is simply a great, keen edged rock record from this pioneering poetic female rock n' roll hall of famer (and her Group). The CBGB's brewed art-punk here is both experimental and hard rocking, replete with wild, weird layering of Patti's dynamic vocals, some downer reggae-inflected grooves, and freaky jamming noiserock invocations (the ten minute title track). You can detect a VU influence, and speaking of influences (going the other way), we were surprised to realize moments here were reminding us of Oxbow! Sonic Youth too, but that's less of a shock.
Remastered, includes previously unreleased bonus track "Chicklets".
MPEG Stream: "Ask The Angels"
MPEG Stream: "Poppies"
MPEG Stream: "Radio Ethiopia"

SMITH, PATTI Trampin' (Columbia) cd 16.98
Not sure if we agree with the five star rating that's plastered on the front of this cd. With this new album, the return of Patti Smith has proven to be much less raw, fierce and urgent than anticipated. Her rage and gritty frankness of old seems somewhat muted in a mainstream/AOR way. Oddly enough, you just might want to check out the new Shannon Wright album (reviewed in our last AQ List) which seems far more 'Patti Smith' than this! If anything, this album serves as an effective spur for us to revisit her excellent past albums which are just as potent and relevant today.
MPEG Stream: "Jubilee"
MPEG Stream: "Mother Rose"

SMITH, PATTI Twelve (Columbia) cd 17.98
While recent albums by Patti haven't done much for us, we were blown away by her performance a couple years ago for the 30th anniversary of Horses. It showed that somewhere inside of her she was still able to channel some seriously charged energy. So every time she comes out with something new we still want to believe it's going to be the new record that finally makes us fall in love with her all over again. Sadly it just never happens. This time out it's a covers record. Oh the possibilities...We would have loved to hear Patti Smith covering Cat Power, Elliott Smith, PJ Harvey, Sonic Youth, but no...instead we get the most overplayed and obvious covers anyone could think of. "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "Are You Experienced", "Everybody Wants To Rule The World", "Soul Kitchen". Yikes! It's almost like she hasn't listened to any music that isn't played on the radio ad nauseum for the last two decades. This ends up sounding like listening in on someone's night out at karaoke, but without the cool images on the screen or your friends there to laugh with. Oh well, we still have Horses to hold on to.
MPEG Stream: "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
MPEG Stream: "Soul Kitchen"

SMITH, PATTI & KEVIN SHIELDS The Coral Sea (Pask Records) 2cd 21.00
Yes, this sounds just as we imagined it would -- Ms Smith's potent weathered spoken word going head-to-head with Mr. Shields' texturous wall o' guitar. If you're a fan of either you'll definitely want to check it out at least once or twice, but even after a few listens we're still finding ourselves sitting on the fence. Many of us here love both artists, and this idea maybe sounded fantastic in concept, but we're not so sure that it was so successful in practice. It ain't no peanut butter cup! For those unfamiliar, The Coral Sea is Smith's literary tribute to legendary photographer, the late Robert Mapplethorpe, and these recordings are from two Smith and Shields performances at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London UK circa 2005 and 2006. Quite reminiscent of the absolute cathartic outpouring of artists such as Diamanda Galas.
MPEG Stream: "The Pedestal"
MPEG Stream: "Untitled (Part 1)"

SMITH, SEAN Eternal (Gnome Life Records) lp 15.98

SMITH, SEAN s/t (Isota) lp 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Recently featured on the Imaginational Anthem Vol. 2 compilation and the upcoming Tompkins Square release, Berkeley Guitar, local acoustic guitarist Sean Smith has crafted two warm and understated records of instrumental 6 string balladry culled from a live recording at the Pacific Grove Art Center in 2004. Like listening to a dusty record on a foggy morning in a coastal Northern California Library, these deceptively simple and melancholic pieces remind us a bit of early Takoma -era John Fahey but more plainspoken with less of the esoterica that informed Fahey's output or the ornamental qualities that recent stars of the genre, James Blackshaw and Jack Rose have cultivated. Lovely.
MPEG Stream: "Alice Street Waltz"
MPEG Stream: "Such A Small and Closely"

SMITH, SEAN Sacred Crag Dancer, Corpse Whisperer (Isota) cd 14.98
Berkeley based guitarist, Sean Smith, doesn't shake off the Fahey discipleship of his debut too easily on this sophomore effort, no matter how hard he tries. Yet still he brings a darker and more spontaneous impulse to his playing, allowing roughly exposed and muted fret tones to surface, showing he is not all about polish and that 's a welcome departure. More improvised than composed, Smith's cerebral guitar weaving is less bucolic sunshine this time around, taking us on a night time sojourn through a folkish nether world of threaded string picking and somber harmonic tonalities.
MPEG Stream: "Some Men Are Born Posthumously"
MPEG Stream: "Nachtmystium"

SMITH, SONNY 100 Records: Volume 2 (Turn Up Record Co.) cd 11.98
Previously a big fancy quintuple 7" vinyl box set, now on cd (and thus a bit cheaper)!
Sonny Smith has had quite a year, culminating in a huge project where he wrote and recorded 200 songs for 100 singles by made-up bands in a vast array of styles and asked 100 artists to make the record covers. That project has been touring the country at various art venues and some of the records are actually being made for real release. The first volume to be released was a limited edition boxset made by local SF gallery, Gallery 16, and may be already gone. This second volume while still rather limited is more affordable and focuses more on the music Sonny made than the artists who were included in the show.
On this disc, we get to hear Smith with help from members of the Sandwitches, The Fresh and Onlys, Ty Segall and Kelly Stoltz make music by The Fuckeroos, Zig Speck and His Specks, Versatile Kyle, Loud Fast Fools and Wayward Youth among others. While we haven't been able to hear all the tracks, this edition, most likely focuses more on the garagier incarnations of Smith's fake band pantheon, which also mines country, soul. doo-wop, rockabilly, as well as folk-rock idioms. Needless to say, the dude ain't lazy!

SMITH, SONNY 100 Records: Volume II (Turn Up Record Co.) 5x7" 49.00
Sonny Smith has had quite a year, culminating in a huge project where he wrote and recorded 200 songs for 100 singles by made-up bands in a vast array of styles and asked 100 artists to make the record covers. That project has been touring the country at various art venues and some of the records are actually being made for real release. The first volume to be released was a limited edition boxset made by local SF gallery, Gallery 16, and may be already gone. This second volume while still rather limited is more affordable and focuses more on the music Sonny made than the artists who were included in the show.
In this box edition of 5 split 7"s, we get to hear Smith with help from members of the Sandwitches, The Fresh and Onlys, Ty Segall and Kelly Stoltz make music by The Fuckeroos, Zig Speck and His Specks, Versatile Kyle, Loud Fast Fools, and Wayward Youth among others. While we haven't been able to hear all the tracks, this edition, most likely focuses more on the garagier incarnations of Smith's fake band pantheon, which also mines country, soul, doo-wop, rockabilly, as well as folk-rock idioms. Needless to say, the dude ain't lazy!

SMITH, SONNY One Act Plays (Secret Seven) lp 13.98

SMITH, STEVEN R. Autumn is the End (Darla) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Steven R. Smith of local spacerockers Mirza. Ranges from simple spacious lo-fi instrumental to big prog jams. Very nice.

SMITH, STEVEN R. Cities (Immune) lp 14.98
Good ol' Steven R. Smith. Whether in bands - Jewelled Antler flagship Thuja, for one - or on his own, doing his wonderful Hala Strana and Ulaan Khol projects among others - the presence of SRS a reliable indicator that you're going to hear some quite nice and in fact transcendental music. He's got that magic. Sometimes playing droning, home-built stringed things, or Eastern European ethnic instruments, or out-n-out amped up psych guitar, or all the above... whatever it is, we're always happy to hear more from SRS. Here's something new under his own name, another reverie-inducing solo outing, in part improvised, all-instrumental, emotive and abstract and melodic and minimal and sad and shimmering and altogether lovely.
This limited edition LP (vinyl only, but it comes with a download card or whatever so you can get mp3s, though we'd prefer if there were also a cd version) is entitled Cities. But this mostly calm and quiet music doesn't seem all that urban. There's no hustle and bustle here, no teeming crowds or honking traffic. Instead, the cities this evokes are ancient ones, empty ones, abandoned ones, unknown ones. Or perhaps the cities to which this LP refers are still are home to people, the listener wandering through them only in the desolate, faintly glowing pre-dawn hours, down secret streets and through dreamy, dewy parks. Ah, our meager musings don't do this justice, but we're sure that you'll find this music capable of stirring some melancholic mental imagery...
As with much of SRS's music, while there's an acoustic rustic folk element to this, there's an electric one too, with gorgeous, gentle distortion and drone at the edges. He's playing a plethora of instruments here: assorted guitars, fiddle, psaltery, melodica, cello, organ, electric piano... Slowly unfolding, echoing, the mood pieces SRS crafts on Cities make us nostalgic for imagined places we've never been.
MPEG Stream: "Cities In Decline"
MPEG Stream: "The Road"

SMITH, STEVEN R. Death Of Last Year's Man ep (Emperor Jones) cd 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Any avid reader of the AQ list will be well aware that we've long been huge fans of Steven R. Smith, his solo records, his work in Mirza, Thuja, Hala Strana, all totally amazing. So we were super excited recently to find out that Mr. Smith had a stash of some long out of print titles. We took everything he had, which unfortunately wasn't a lot, so if you want to nab one of these, best be quick! Since these titles have been out of print for ages, once this last handful of these titles are gone, they are gone for good.
Here's what we had to say about this gorgeous ep when we first listed it way back when:
New, old material from AQ fave Steven R. Smith (Mirza & Thuja). Four covers done by Mr. Smith that were released previously only on vinyl, two from a now out of print 7" and two never before released tracks. If you've heard Steven R. Smith's other recordings you're probably aware that he excels in the art of whiskey soaked, tape saturated drone rock. His cover of Leonard Cohen's "I Tried To Leave You", which starts off the disk certainly testifies to that. All the best moments of the Dirty Three, but with the balls of the Velvet Underground and somehow wrapping into it all the garagey psychedelia of Six Organs of Admittance or Vibracathedral Orchestra. Along with the Cohen' track are covers of the Smiths ("Death of a Disco Dancer"), the Grateful Dead's old standby "Morning Due" (equally brilliantly liberated a la Einsturzende Neubauten's version) and a cover of Muzsikas' "Regen Volt, Soka Lesz." And, we might add, all done as instrumentals. For those of you who haven't heard his albums yet, this is a really great introduction to Smith's mysterious and romantic sonic world!
WE ONLY HAVE ABOUT A DOZEN COPIES IN STOCK! After that, this is gone forever!
MPEG Stream: "I Tried To Leave You"
MPEG Stream: "Death of a Disco Dancer"

SMITH, STEVEN R. From Ashes Come (3 Acre Floor) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Steven R. Smith? Hoozat? Well perhaps you know the name Hala Strana a bit better... we know lotsa AQ customers who are slavish followers of the Slavic psych-folk conjured by Steven R. Smith under that name! But the fellow has also been an important member of Thuja and Mirza and done some solo recordings too, two of which we've just gotten back in stock in a bit of a "warehouse" (or apartment closet) find...get 'em while you can!
Before his imagination fled into the shadows of walled hamlets and wooden chapels and evolved the mysteries of Hala Strana out of East European traditional musics, Steven R. Smith was busily making soundtracks for more barren landscapes. From Ashes Come (1999) and Slate Branches (2000) are characterized by atmospheres constructed around the electric guitar, both records being chock full of epic riffs and apocalyptic crescendos that take their time growing from the bracken and ashes of weird percussion, drones, bowed wails and toy piano melodies. Wonderful, lonely, reverb soaked instrumentals that make perfect rainy day soundtracks. Steven R. Smith has always been an inventor of instruments, and while now he's more obsessed with experimenting with the mechanics and tonalities of Hungarian traditional instruments, on these earlier records recorded under his own name we recognize a spirit more akin to Harry Partch, where unusual and/or abandoned objects are modified and given a musical -- if only fleeting -- life. Perhaps with some of the earliest Thuja, these recordings are very much at the root of things for what was to become the Jewelled Antler family tree. (If you're not convinced you need them both, From Ashes Come might be closer in nature to the epic moods of Mirza while Slate Branches indulges more in sublime tonalities and atmospheres before divulging its rock).
MPEG Stream: "Behind And Before"
MPEG Stream: "Loomings"

SMITH, STEVEN R. Kohl (Emperor Jones) lp 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Released three years ago as an ultra limited cd-r on the Jewelled Antler label, this amazing recording has just been reissued on vinyl, albeit in yet another totallly limited run (only 400 copies!). Beautifully packaged in a hand screened sleeve, and contains a gorgeous booklet with illustrations, woodcuts, tiny packets of dirt and seeds (the same as was included with the original cd-r) as well as a lovely woodcut. We only got 30 copies so act fast.
Steven R. Smith's Kohl is a relative departure from his typical output of repeated motifs stretched into cinematic psychedelia; instead, on Kohl, Smith delves wholeheartedly into meandering improvisations for dreamy, echoplexed guitar not all that far from the impressionistic work of Loren Mazzacane Connors or The Dirty Three. Steven R. Smith is also, of course, a former member of psych rock explorers Mirza and way-out psychedelic improvisers Thuja, and records Eastern European influenced drone-folk under the name Hala Strana. Most recently, we listed his droningly beauteous Crown Of Marches solo cd as well. Pretty much you can't go wrong with a Steven R. Smith project, basically!

SMITH, STEVEN R. Kohl (Jewelled Antler) cd-r 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Steven R. Smith's "Kohl" is a relative departure from his typical output of repeated motifs structuring a cinematic psychedelia; instead, Smith delves wholeheartedly into meandering improvisations for dreamy, echoplexed guitar not all that far from the impressionistic work of Loren Mazzacane Connors or The Dirty Three. Steven R. Smith is also, of course, a current member of the way-out psychedelic improvisers Thuja. The cd comes packaged with a beautiful booklet with illustrations, woodcuts, tiny packets of dirt and seeds. Quite beautiful. Only complaint: packaged awkwardly in an oversized plastic bag (well, you can't fit all that dirt and seed in a conventional jewel case). But don't let that deter you from picking up this lovely disc.
RealAudio clip: "Tent-pegging"
RealAudio clip: "White Saxual Trees"

SMITH, STEVEN R. Lineaments (Emperor Jones) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Any avid reader of the AQ list will be well aware that we've long been huge fans of Steven R. Smith, his solo records, his work in Mirza, Thuja, Hala Strana, all totally amazing. So we were super excited recently to find out that Mr. Smith had a stash of some long out of print titles. We took everything he had, which unfortunately wasn't a lot, so if you want to nab one of these, best be quick! Since these titles have been out of print for ages, once this last handful of these titles are gone, they are gone for good.
After relocating to Los Angeles, several years back, Smith continued to contribute to San Francisco avant-drone-improv-rock ensemble Thuja but at the same time released a handful of solo records before beginning to record as Hala Strana. Lineaments is one of our favorites, a fantastic solo album of his distinctively cinematic psychedelia. In a better world, Smith's work would get the same universal acclaim as the syrupy melodrama of Sigur Ros or the socially conscious marches of Godspeed! You Black Emperor. But as it stands, Smith's revelatory instrumentals of bittersweet leitmotifs and sublime crescendos remain one of the greatest secrets in the expansive realms of avant-rock. Where Thuja explores the theatre of atmosphere, Smith's solo work is firmly grounded within a simple, yet very expressive use of melody. Smith announces the beginning of each of the songs on "Lineaments" (as with his previous recordings) with a lilting melodic stanza for fuzzed organ or drone guitar which repeats itself throughout the entirety of the song. Around this basic structure, Smith builds incremental layers of sound through complementary overtones, golden applications of spring reverb, and scribbled flourishes from additional organs, guitars, violins, and other less typical instrumentation. While Smith's solo process involve a considerable amount of multi-track production, he -- like Thuja and the interconnective Jewelled Antler gaggle -- relies upon spontaneity in the construction of these scores to give his music a floating effortlessness. "Lineaments" is no exception and definitely gets the thumbs up from Aquarius.
WE ONLY HAVE 20 COPIES IN STOCK! After that, this is gone forever!
MPEG Stream: "Dust On Coils"
MPEG Stream: "The Morning Cart"
MPEG Stream: "Petersson Alms"

SMITH, STEVEN R. Owl (Digitalis) cd 12.98
Reverberant electric crackle opens the album, like you've got your ears wedged right there next to the pickups on Steven R. Smith's guitar. In a surprise move for S.R.S. fans, his unadorned, dolefully sonorous voice then wails gently and lamentingly over this sometimes thick, sometimes sparse, very droney music. This disc is mostly just vocals and guitar (and occasional other, acoustic instrumentation), slow and sad and distorted. It's a very intimate, raw duet for hushed, humming folky singing and whale-call psych guitar, dissonant yet melodic ...oooh lovely. Definitely something that fans of recent Richard Youngs and Six Organs Of Admittance and Dan Higgs should check out. Steven R. Smith fans too without question, even though you've never heard him like this before (singing)! At times his vocals come across like Kurt Cobain's at his most mumbled...thus kinda Neil Young-y too.
Basically we've liked pretty much EVERYTHING that S.R.S. has been involved with, from Mirza to Thuja to Hala Strana to various solo recordings to this here new album. On Owl, while musically similar to, say, his Kohl album, he's still doing something new and different for him, really sticking his neck out with the addition of his own vocals... very admirable and thankfully in fact successful! The lonely, spacious, dreamy, plugged-in folkiness of this, and especially the emotion in S.R.S.'s singing, reminds us a bit of that band Rex, from back in the day, dark and lush, moody with a bit of twang. Heck this almost takes Steven R. into the territory of another, unrelated Smith, Elliott. Recommended!
And stay tuned for another new Steven R. Smith project due out soon on the Soft Abuse label, Ulaan Khol. It's equally as S.R.S. as this, but in the other direction...
MPEG Stream: "Across The Flats"
MPEG Stream: "Bindery"
MPEG Stream: "Cleft"

SMITH, STEVEN R. Slate Branches (3 Acre Floor / Little Brother Records) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Steven R. Smith? Hoozat? Well perhaps you know the name Hala Strana a bit better... we know lotsa AQ customers who are slavish followers of the Slavic psych-folk conjured by Steven R. Smith under that name! But the fellow has also been an important member of Thuja and Mirza and done some solo recordings too, two of which we've just gotten back in stock in a bit of a "warehouse" (or apartment closet) find...get 'em while you can!
Before his imagination fled into the shadows of walled hamlets and wooden chapels and evolved the mysteries of Hala Strana out of East European traditional musics, Steven R. Smith was busily making soundtracks for more barren landscapes. From Ashes Come (1999) and Slate Branches (2000) are characterized by atmospheres constructed around the electric guitar, both records being chock full of epic riffs and apocalyptic crescendos that take their time growing from the bracken and ashes of weird percussion, drones, bowed wails and toy piano melodies. Wonderful, lonely, reverb soaked instrumentals that make perfect rainy day soundtracks. Steven R. Smith has always been an inventor of instruments, and while now he's more obsessed with experimenting with the mechanics and tonalities of Hungarian traditional instruments, on these earlier records recorded under his own name we recognize a spirit more akin to Harry Partch, where unusual and/or abandoned objects are modified and given a musical -- if only fleeting -- life. Perhaps with some of the earliest Thuja, these recordings are very much at the root of things for what was to become the Jewelled Antler family tree. (If you're not convinced you need them both, From Ashes Come might be closer in nature to the epic moods of Mirza while Slate Branches indulges more in sublime tonalities and atmospheres before divulging its rock).
MPEG Stream: "Minen Flats"
MPEG Stream: "Cities"

SMITH, STEVEN R. Tableland (Emperor Jones) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Any avid reader of the AQ list will be well aware that we've long been huge fans of Steven R. Smith, his solo records, his work in Mirza, Thuja, Hala Strana, all totally amazing. So we were super excited recently to find out that Mr. Smith had a stash of some long out of print titles. We took everything he had, which unfortunately wasn't a lot, so if you want to nab one of these, best be quick! Since these titles have been out of print for ages, once this last handful of these titles are gone, they are gone for good.
Fifth (almost) full-length release by ex-local drone rocker Steven R. Smith (of Thuja and Mirza.) Right before the recording of Tableland, Steven invested in a brand new 8-track recording deck and "Tableland" could well be considered a christening of the new machine. It's probably important to note that the move from 4 tracks to 8 tracks does not equate with a move to overproduction. No, the lush and saturated qualities that are so indicative of Steven R. Smith's recordings are still here to envelope you like a warm wool blanket on a cold day. Five new instrumentals make up "Tableland" and Steven fills out his lonesome arrangements with reverb drenched guitars, bowed metal stringed instruments (possibly zithers?), swelling organs, bells, drums, piano and various other instruments resulting in grainy film scores for non-existent films. So totally gorgeous.
WE ONLY HAVE ABOUT 10 COPIES IN STOCK! After that, this is gone forever!
MPEG Stream: "Blood Partridges"
MPEG Stream: "A Celebration"

SMITH, TERRY Fall Out (Sunbeam Records) cd 16.98

SMITHS, THE Meat Is Murder (Rhino) lp 25.00

SMITHS, THE Sound Of The Smiths (Rhino) 2cd 31.00

SMITHS, THE Under Review (Sexy Inrellectual) dvd 19.98

SMOG 'Neath the Puke Tree (Drag City) cd 10.98
5 song EP from the lo-fi kingdom's own antihero Bill Callahan who's been recording for over a decade as Smog. Just as imploded and hard-to-talk-to as ever, with a lushness we've missed in his other recent recordings. Augmented with some nice slide guitar and the Dirty Three's drummer Jim White. Recorded in Australia. Three new songs, plus one song from Red Apple Falls and one reworked from Smog's very first album Sewn to the Sky.
This makes two, count 'em TWO eps we now have in the store featuring indie rock stars photographed in Australia next to sea cliffs. The other being Archer Prewitt.
RealAudio clip: "I Was a Stranger"

SMOG 'Neath the Puke Tree (Drag City) lp 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
5 song EP from the lo-fi kingdom's own antihero Bill Callahan who's been recording for over a decade as Smog. Just as imploded and hard-to-talk-to as ever, with a lushness we've missed in his other recent recordings. Augmented with some nice slide guitar and the Dirty Three's drummer Jim White. Recorded in Australia. Three new songs, plus one song from Red Apple Falls and one reworked from Smog's very first album Sewn to the Sky.
This makes two, count 'em TWO eps we now have in the store featuring indie rock stars photographed in Australia next to sea cliffs. The other being Archer Prewitt.

SMOG A River Ain't Too Much To Love (Drag City) cd 14.98
On his new Smog album (yep, he's shed the parentheses for the time being), Bill Callahan has opted to situate the somber instruments (primarily his own guitar, piano by Joanna Newsom and understated drums from Dirty Three's Jim White) and Connie Lovatt's backing vocals in a very distant backseat and his vocals right up front and center. No complaints here though 'cuz his pipes are in fine form, conveying a similar deep velvety heft and thoughtful phrasing to those of Giant Sand's Howe Gelb or Son Volt's Jay Farrar. Actually A River Ain't Too Much To Love fits quite well right in the enigmatic Americana alcove between those two artists. Callahan continues to pen his intimate songs with bare bones economy (but no longer 'lo-fi', this was beautifully recorded at Willie Nelson's studio in Texas), and a few of those included here are some of his most captivating. Look no further than the fourth song "Rock Bottom Riser". We've had something of a love/hate relationship with the mournful music of Smog, there's been some unbelievably powerful albums (the unfortunately titled Dongs Of Sevotion and Red Apple Falls) and some frustrating disappointments (Rain On Lens), but this album and the previous one (Supper) have kept us securely in the loveseat.
MPEG Stream: "Palimpsest"
MPEG Stream: "Rock Bottom Riser"