SMITH WESTERNS Dye It Blonde (Fat Possum) cd 14.98
These kids from Chicago are musically way wise well beyond their age. Barely out of high school they proved on their debut that they were most definitely a musical force to be reckoned with, playing infectious guitar driven pop that fits somewhere between the sounds of their slightly older peers and touring pals, Girls and Hunx & His Punx. With their second full length, they have upped the ante even more, once again demonstrating their knack for creating songs with huge hooks and melting warmth. Their love of T. Rex can be heard boldly throughout these songs, but you also get the feeling they spent a lot of last year being swept away by Beach House's Teen Dream, as there is a new level of sophistication and a whole other layer of woozy warmth woven into their sound. We love how SW's are both so full of energy yet also ridiculously talented musicians who have found a way to merge spirit and talent in such satisfying ways.
MPEG Stream: "Weekend"
MPEG Stream: "Still New"
MPEG Stream: "Imagine Pt. 3"

SMITH WESTERNS Dye It Blonde (Fat Possum) lp 14.98
These kids from Chicago are musically way wise well beyond their age. Barely out of high school they proved on their debut that they were most definitely a musical force to be reckoned with, playing infectious guitar driven pop that fits somewhere between the sounds of their slightly older peers and touring pals, Girls and Hunx & His Punx. With their second full length, they have upped the ante even more, once again demonstrating their knack for creating songs with huge hooks and melting warmth. Their love of T. Rex can be heard boldly throughout these songs, but you also get the feeling they spent a lot of last year being swept away by Beach House's Teen Dream, as there is a new level of sophistication and a whole other layer of woozy warmth woven into their sound. We love how SW's are both so full of energy yet also ridiculously talented musicians who have found a way to merge spirit and talent in such satisfying ways.
MPEG Stream: "Weekend"
MPEG Stream: "Still New"
MPEG Stream: "Imagine Pt. 3"

SMITH WESTERNS s/t (HoZac Records) cd 12.98
We'll be the first to admit that sometimes our customers are quicker than us to be turned on to the newest coolest sounds. We hadn't heard the Smith Westerns but a few of our regular customers kept gushing about them and told has we had to check it out. And we're so glad they did. While there has been no shortage of lo-fi garage pop in the last couple years, Smith Westerns have their own endearing and charming take on that kind of fuzzy bubblegum garage pop we can never seem to get enough of. While they hail from Chicago, these guys would be so at home right here in the Bay Area as they share a similar spirit and aesthetic with folks like Hunx & His Punx, Girls, Thee Oh Sees, Nobunny, Personal & The Pizza's, etc. In fact we just found out they will be playing a Valentines Day show here in San Francisco with the above mentioned Girls and Hunx & His Punx. So perfect!! We love how Smith Westerns bring in a wide range of influences, from T. Rex to girl groups, to create songs that are fleshed out and lushly lo-fi while bursting with bright eyed excitement. So fucking cool!
MPEG Stream: "Dreams"
MPEG Stream: "Gimme Some Time"
MPEG Stream: "Diamond Boys"

SMITH WESTERNS s/t (HoZac Records) lp 14.98
We'll be the first to admit that sometimes our customers are quicker than us to be turned on to the newest coolest sounds. We hadn't heard the Smith Westerns but a few of our regular customers kept gushing about them and told has we had to check it out. And we're so glad they did. While there has been no shortage of lo-fi garage pop in the last couple years, Smith Westerns have their own endearing and charming take on that kind of fuzzy bubblegum garage pop we can never seem to get enough of. While they hail from Chicago, these guys would be so at home right here in the Bay Area as they share a similar spirit and aesthetic with folks like Hunx & His Punx, Girls, Thee Oh Sees, Nobunny, Personal & The Pizza's, etc. In fact we just found out they will be playing a Valentines Day show here in San Francisco with the above mentioned Girls and Hunx & His Punx. So perfect!! We love how Smith Westerns bring in a wide range of influences, from T. Rex to girl groups, to create songs that are fleshed out and lushly lo-fi while bursting with bright eyed excitement. So fucking cool!
MPEG Stream: "Dreams"
MPEG Stream: "Gimme Some Time"
MPEG Stream: "Diamond Boys"

SMITH, BARTON Reelizations One & Two: The Sound Of Barton Smith (EM Records) 2cd 29.00
This EM label fave of ours, at long last repressed and back in stock!!
There is a very fine line between schizophrenia and a totally eclectic diverse creativity and we seem to enjoy music most when that line remains really blurry. This 2cd set, recorded between 1980-82 by electronic alchemist Barton Smith definitely straddles that weird blurry line. One moment basking in tender beauty while the next moment flourishing into a noisy wall-of-sound. Very little was known about Smith. The fact that Smithsonian Folkways originally released these tracks on vinyl back in the early '80s, and still Smith remained a relative unknown, just adds to the mystique. The first disc opens up with what sounds like gamelan influenced percussion on homemade instruments, followed by pastoral pretty meandering guitar and then underwater sounding rumblings drenched in primitive sounding electronics. We have been totally intrigued and in awe of these recordings since we first got this set in a few weeks back. Listening to it nonstop, and trying to think about how this was received in the early '80s when even now it still sounds so ahead of its time. Former AQ-er Windy came in recently and jumped for joy to see this on the new arrivals rack, telling us how she scored an original vinyl copy years back at a flea market and it's always been a record she found so weird and wonderful and special. Outside of Windy, we haven't really come across anyone else who knew anything about Barton Smith. We've come to discover that these were recordings he made for modern dance troupes and we can only struggle to imagine bodies moving to his ever changing sounds. While for most musicians it can be tricky and problematic to change gears and sounds so often within an album, there is something so natural and lucid and smooth about the extremes explored on Reelizations. We can't think of many musicians who have the ability to explore such a wide range with this much success and intrigue. Moondog's versatility and eclectic output is someone who came to mind when trying to figure out how to classify Mr. Smith. From acoustic tranquility to electric outbursts this had us picking up on a totally diverse range of reference points: Sandy Bull, Jim O'Rourke, This Heat, Koji Asano. And for sure you could start seeing how years later groups would start exploring similar sonic atmospheres. Black Dice, Excepter, Loren Connors are some who come to mind. Scott even suspects that Kieren Hebden might have heard this at some point, as there is a really good chance that the Barton Smith track "Lotus" was sampled on the Four Tet album Rounds.
This is a record that we can't stop listening to or thinking about. We hear so much music everyday, when something kicks our ass this hard we know we've discovered something really special.
As with all releases on the fabulous Japanese reissue label EM, this is gorgeously packaged, coming in an oversized double jewel case, with a huge booklet, tons of photos and lots of liner notes - those unfortunately all in Japanese.
MPEG Stream: "Azirthmyth"
MPEG Stream: "Roland No.119"
MPEG Stream: "The Musical Box"
MPEG Stream: "Lotus"

SMITH, BESSIE Please Help Me Get Him (Monk) lp 23.00

SMITH, BESSIE Them's Graveyard Words (Monk) lp 21.00
Bessie Smith has earned immortality as The Empress Of The Blues, having been one of the first major musical superstars of the 1920s. Though the fact has been somewhat obscured over time, female singers like Smith and Ma Rainey were the first blues artists to gain widespread exposure, something that would change when Blind Lemon Jefferson hit the scene, but no one would deny this woman's supreme mastery of her craft which she honed throughout her life, from street busking to vaudeville and later stylistic shifts during the swing era. All of this was cut tragically short when Smith was killed in a car accident in 1937, but her status is secure.
The material here was all recorded in 1927, featuring Smith and pianist James P. Johnson on a few tracks and a number of ensemble pieces elsewhere. Whatever the instrumental situation was, Smith's voice cuts through everything as the focal point. Her booming voice is impossible to ignore and reaches almost unbelievable heights. And man was she LOUD! Once again, Italy's Monk label steers us in the right direction. Bravo!

SMITH, CHES Congs For Brums (Free Porcupine Society) cd 14.98
The debut solo album from percussionist / vibraphonist about town (and beyond) Ches Smith! He's built quite a name for himself as both a studio and touring percussionist. Perhaps you've seen/heard him perform with the likes of Secret Chiefs 3, Marc Ribot, Xiu Xiu, Carla Bozulich or Trevor Dunn's Trio-Convulsant? Congs For Brums is comprised of ten explorations in rhythmic and dynamic progressions incorporating a broad spectrum of percussion instruments, both the conventional and the less so. The works range from the absolutely stark single strike per instrument tour at the beginning of the second track "My Motherfuckin' Roda!" to the more fleshed out full kit rush of "Metal Vacation" to the resonant vibraphone tones of "The Clarinet In B Flat" (uh, there is no clarinet!) and "Mental Vacation". A particular fave is a repeating segment of track #5 "Homemade Posi" that brings to mind a drunken camel. While this disc may not find itself on regular rotation in your living room, it's so well recorded that we'd bet that pieces of it are going to resurface as prime sample material for many other musicmakers.
MPEG Stream: "Metal Vacation"
MPEG Stream: "Homemade Posi"

SMITH, CHRIS Bad Orchestra (Death Valley) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Finally! After years of being a huge fan of Australian guitarist Chris Smith, and only being able to track down split eps and comps, or collaborations, we've finally got our hands on the latest, and seems only in-print cd releases from this amazing musician. Some of you might remember Smith from the split FatCat 12" he shared with Jewelled Antler outfit The Ivytree a while back, or more recently, the killer collaboration with fellow Australian Justin Fuller, reviewed at the beginning of this year (and still in stock!).
All of Smith's proper releases, even a stateside collection of 'greatest hits' are all out of print and unavailable, which is s massive shame as this man is a guitar genius. But where other records feature Smith mostly solo, using his guitar to weave magical landscapes of abstract sound, on Bad Orchestra, he seems to have put together an actual band (a Bad Orchestra?) and written some songs, for a record that is as rock as we've heard him for sure. Thankfully, Smith's rock is as good as his non-rock, dark and emotional, epic and intense, at times sounding like Dinosaur Jr. channeling Crazy Horse, right down to the vocals, a whiney plaintive croon, at others sounding a bit like a more moody meandering Dirty Three, and still at others unwinding into sparse deserty twang. The guitars thick and reverb drenched, the drums slightly distorted and heavy, acoustic guitars below sheets of psyche rock fuzz, that alone would have made Bad Orchestra a winner, but the rock tracks here are scattered amidst more abstract (and more familiar to us) pieces, guitarscapes and expansive ambience, the opener, a brief spell of Scott Tuma style Appalachian murk, to the forlorn sounding piano-in-a-warehouse of "Glue Factory" or the glistening high end raga of "Slight Problems (Intermission)", the Dead C like fractured noise pop of "Jimmy's Theme" to the blurred Tim Hecker like washed out soundscape of "Your Tunnel".
A pretty perfect mix of gorgeous ambient experimentalism, blown out RAWK, and haunting dark desert pop. Obviously WAY recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Living Dead Blues"
MPEG Stream: "Glue Factory"
MPEG Stream: "Grain Elevator Blues"
MPEG Stream: "The Orbit"

SMITH, CHRIS Cabin Fever (Avalanche Express) cd 13.98

SMITH, CHRIS & JUSTIN FULLER s/t (Sweat Lung) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Dug up 5 or 6 of these. Thought they were sold out for a while now, so grab em while you can...
We're huge fans of Australian guitarist Chris Smith, but until now had only ever been able to get a hold of the split 12" he shared with the Ivytree. There have been plenty of other releases, but the only proper stateside release has been out of print for ages. So finally, we managed to get a bunch of these, Smith and fellow countryman Justin Fuller's first full length collaboration, a full 7 years in the making, and it's quite nice.
Hard to discern exactly what the instrumentation is, there are most certainly guitars, and according to the liner notes there is also piano and accordion, but with records like this, it's not what you're playing, it's how you play them and what you do with the sounds once you've made them. These two wrangle the various sounds into long stretches of slow shifting ambience. Some tracks are delicate and dark, barely there shimmers of crumbling low end and distant glimmering high end, while others are massive walls of guitar, churning chaotically, but smoothed into warm thick whorls. The heavier tracks definitely remind us of Sunroof! or Vibracathedral Orchestra or even a less mangled Wolf Eyes or a way prettier SUNNO))). The prettier tracks have a bit of Tim Hecker going on, all blissy and fuzzy and beautifully blurred. The whole record is quite dreamy in fact, whether buzzing malevolently, or drifting languorously, a gorgeous chunk of blissed out guitardrone. The usual suspects will definitely need this...
MPEG Stream: "In Cars That Ate Paris"
MPEG Stream: "Condition"

SMITH, EARL "CHINNA" Dub It! (Nature Sounds) cd 16.98
23 years after the release in 1982 of Mutabaruka's "Check It!" the dubs can now be heard. The one and only collaboration between Mutabaruka and multi-instrumentalist Earl "Chinna" Smith, "Check It!" became a top seller and a huge hit in Jamaica despite being essentially blacklisted from Jamaican radio for Mutabaruka's "incendiary" lyrics. It was a match made in heaven: rasta poet with no music experience teams up with a young idealist and his musical collective -- The High Times Players -- to create an album completely outside what the roots or dancehall musicians were doing. While a few dubs from this seminal record were issued as b-sides on singles, there's never been -- until now -- a complete collection of those dubs on CD. Recorded at Bob Marley's Tuff Gong Studio and with an impressive cast of musicians, including: Carlton Barrett, Augustus Pablo, Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace, Dean Frazier and Bobby Ellis.
MPEG Stream: "Dub System"
MPEG Stream: "Whe Mi Dub?"

SMITH, ELDER UTAH / ABBOTT, LYNN I Got Two Wings: Incedents & Anecdotes Of The Two-Winged Preacher & Electric Guitar Evangelist Elder Utah Smith (CaseQuarter) book + cd 19.95
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
All right all of you Mississippi Records fans who have dug those amazing old school gospel compilations, do we have a book for you! One of the best tracks from The Life Is A Problem... compilation was from Elder Utah Smith, The Church Of God In Christ Pastor who played his electric guitar and wore two giant angel wings to preach the gospel and whip his revival audiences into an evangelical frenzy. For forty years from 1925 to 1965, Reverend Smith travelled across the country conducting his Holy Ghost revivals for his church, and this book collects amazing oral anecdotes, witness testimony and vintage photographs of this legendary gospel figure. Plus it comes with a cd of 18 tracks culled from extremely rare 78's, five tracks of which have never been issued before. So Awesome!!!

SMITH, ELLIOTT An Introduction to... (Kill Rock Stars) cd 12.98
As the years pass after Elliott Smith's sad suicide, it's becoming more clear that his musical legacy will have the same impact and influence on future generations that Nick Drake's did a few decades before. He created such intimate and fragile songs that anyone with a heart (that's been broken) could relate to and find warmth, comfort and solace from. His songs have proven to be so practically perfect and seemingly timeless. He wasn't a part of any musical fad or trend. Instead he was one of those rare songwriting geniuses, the ones that only come along every few generations and craft songs that become the soundtrack to so many of our lives.
An Introduction To... is just that. A selection of his best songs spanning all his albums as well as a couple tracks from New Moon, the collection of B sides and demos during the era he was on Kill Rock Stars. We're sure the only problem the folks at KRS had with this collection was having to narrow it all down to fourteen tracks, as he did leave behind so many amazing songs. But we have to say they did an impeccable job choosing which songs and in what order to craft this ultimate ES mixtape.
There are also great liner notes written by Tape Op editor Larry Crane which gives a nice history and plenty of insight into the music of Elliott Smith. For any of our friends who somehow slept on his music in the past, we must INSIST this you at least pick this up, you'll soon be under his spell for sure, we can't imagine many lovers of music not finding so much beauty and richness in these stunning songs.
We miss you Elliott!
MPEG Stream: "Waltz #2 (XO)"
MPEG Stream: "The Biggest Lie"
MPEG Stream: "Happiness (Single Version)"
MPEG Stream: "Last Call"

SMITH, ELLIOTT An Introduction to... (Kill Rock Stars) lp 14.98
As the years pass after Elliott Smith's sad suicide, it's becoming more clear that his musical legacy will have the same impact and influence on future generations that Nick Drake's did a few decades before. He created such intimate and fragile songs that anyone with a heart (that's been broken) could relate to and find warmth, comfort and solace from. His songs have proven to be so practically perfect and seemingly timeless. He wasn't a part of any musical fad or trend. Instead he was one of those rare songwriting geniuses, the ones that only come along every few generations and craft songs that become the soundtrack to so many of our lives.
An Introduction To... is just that. A selection of his best songs spanning all his albums as well as a couple tracks from New Moon, the collection of B sides and demos during the era he was on Kill Rock Stars. We're sure the only problem the folks at KRS had with this collection was having to narrow it all down to fourteen tracks, as he did leave behind so many amazing songs. But we have to say they did an impeccable job choosing which songs and in what order to craft this ultimate ES mixtape.
There are also great liner notes written by Tape Op editor Larry Crane which gives a nice history and plenty of insight into the music of Elliott Smith. For any of our friends who somehow slept on his music in the past, we must INSIST this you at least pick this up, you'll soon be under his spell for sure, we can't imagine many lovers of music not finding so much beauty and richness in these stunning songs.
We miss you Elliott!
MPEG Stream: "Waltz #2 (XO)"
MPEG Stream: "The Biggest Lie"
MPEG Stream: "Happiness (Single Version)"
MPEG Stream: "Last Call"

SMITH, ELLIOTT Either/Or (Kill Rock Stars) cd 14.98
Finally, the new album from the fine introspective singer/songwriter formerly from the band Heatmiser. His songs will break your heart... seriously. One of his best.

SMITH, ELLIOTT Either/Or (Kill Rock Stars) lp 17.98
Finally, the new album from the fine introspective singer/songwriter formerly from the band Heatmiser. His songs will break your heart... seriously. One of his best.

SMITH, ELLIOTT Figure 8 (Dreamworks) cd 13.98
Yes, the much-anticipated new full length release from Mr. Smith is here. Kicking off this album is an uptempo version of his song "Son of Sam" (quite a drastically different take on this tune from his quietly moving solo voice and guitar performance here in SF recently). Figure 8 continues on the winding path of highly polished and pleasing, ever-expanding pop grandeur that was very evident on his XO album. Track 5 entitled "Everything Means Nothing To Me" gives a nod to the Flaming Lips' "Soft Bulletin" with its blown-out percussion and grand string arrangements. Already overheard in AQ, "hey, this was playing in that restaurant we were in this morning!" You will be hearing this everywhere (if you aren't already!).

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, GARY SuperTexture (Sijis) 2cd 17.98
Ok, here's a clever way to get maybe not-just-the-usual people interested in an album of difficult, avant-garde electric guitar improv solos. Make it a double cd, where the raw improvs by British guitar maverick Gary Smith found on the first disc are used as source material for the exclusive "treatments" and "interpretations" by a disparate variety of other artists that populate the second disc. So if scrabbling, abstract textural guitar glitch isn't enough to pique your interest (for some it certainly will be enough, Gary Smith is no slouch at coming up with strange sounds from his axe, for fans of that sort of thing), perhaps the likes of Steve Roden, Bernhard Gunter, Peter "Pita" Rehberg, Elliott Sharp, This Heat's Charles Hayward, BJ Nilsen, and others on the second disc will!!
First, the first disc... Imagine Nels Cline and Derek Bailey and a bunch of mice, playing guitar and mixing drinks. It's a quietly noisy disc of tangled strings and liquid chimings. Tinkling ice. Crystalline shards. Counterintuitive guitar-based beauty. Like a "normal" guitar track had been crumpled up and irradiated and examined under a microscope.
Now for the "compilation" disc, where that radiation produces mutation. This is one diverse batch of characters taking Gary Smith's sounds in all sorts of interesting, often surprising directions, their own music adding to or twining around Smith's. It starts off with a lovely psych-folk tune entitled "Pear Tree Tomorrow" from obscure legend Bill Fay!!! Yes the same Bill Fay whose early '70s albums were recently reissued to great acclaim. Many of the other participants, some mentioned above, are more in the line of "usual suspects" for experimental projects such as this. But it's still a very diverse collection, from the bleak poetry of Current 93's David Tibet, to the violent digital breakcore of Tom Wallace, to the harsh noise-rock of Aufgehoben (with whom Gary Smith has collaborated before, on the devastating Magnetic Mountain album). There's Tianna Kennedy's ambient low end scrape and Paulo Raposos's high end drone. And lots more. Somehow, Gary Smith's guitar ties it all together. Puzzling out how Smith's material was "used" is an interesting, if mostly inconclusive, exercise. Wow. Even by itself this would be a great comp. The Smith solo disc almost a bonus. Though we like 'em both!
MPEG Stream: GARY SMITH "Solo Guitar Improvisation 3"
MPEG Stream: GARY SMITH "Solo Guitar Improvisation 9"
MPEG Stream: BILL FAY "Pear Tree Tomorrow"
MPEG Stream: ZOLTAN KODALY SCHOOL FOR GIRLS "Londoni Hataridos Burgonyatozsde"
MPEG Stream: TOM WALLACE "Acquired Waste"

SMITH, GARY & JOE GALLIVAN s/t (Paratactile) cd 18.98
Spacy and sizzling collision of the electric stereo guitar wielded by Gary Smith (of current UK power improv trio Mass) and the Moog synths and electronic percussion of Joe Gallivan (known for his obscurely legendary '70s fusion outfit Love Cry Want). Ranges from exotic sci-fi soundscapes to thunderous high-energy blowouts. Pretty cool for fans of this sort of thing.

SMITH, JACK Les Evening Gowns Damnées (Table Of The Elements/Audio ArtKive) cd 15.98
Soundtracks from some of Jack Smith's legendary performances and films from the early 60's that gave birth to the New York 60's underground. Features Tony Conrad, John Cale and Angus MacLise. A first release from Table of the Element's new imprint Audio ArtKive, run by Tony Conrad.

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

SMITH, LADONNA Rare Earth (Table Of The Elements) 12" 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This is the latest installment in Table Of The Elements' series of single sided silkscreened 12"s celebrating the label's 10th anniversary. I had heard the name Ladonna Smith, but had never actually heard her music before, and it's a shame because this disc is quite intense and beautiful. Violin and viola intertwine lazily, unfurling minor key laments, like some sort of avant gypsy folk, moving and emotional, occasionally building to a maniacal intensity but always stretching back out into dark and sweetly langorous tunefulness. Toward the end of the record, melodies fracture into a chaotic swirl of wildly sawed violin, atonal anti-melody, rattling percussion and haunting chromatic scales, eventually becoming a blast of all out noise, an ear piercing assemblage of hyperspeed skree, upper register screeching, industrial roar and good ol' white noise. Splattery yellow swirls silkscreened on red/orange vinyl, looking like some alien sun engulfed in solar flares. Maybe the nicest looking 12" so far in the series.

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, LONNIE LISTON & THE COSMIC ECHOES Expansions (Columbia) cd 5.00
**SALE **SALE* *SALE**

SMITH, LONNIE LISTON & THE COSMIC ECHOES Expansions (Flying Dutchman) lp 12.98

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**
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)"