Elliott Smith's self titled sophmore effort reaffirms the abilities of a stripped down album to ridicule the worth of superfluous instrumentation. Wherever there are albums with thousands of tracks there will also be those that show that the most vital 'track' of all is the track itself, the song, the lyrics and the melodies. Released in 1995 and recorded in friends' houses, this album sees Smith displaying a way with words and their relationship with melody that draws the listener in. The lo-fi sound is not a statement of scene or of laziness - it just is.

The opening track Needle In The Hay weaves a story with beautifully downstroked guitar and it really seems that Smith is talking to a mirror image of himself and expressing a loss of purpose and a reliance on something too hard to find. From the very beginning it seems that the tone of Smith's voice could not be more like a whisper; the vocals are subtly layered and show no pointless effort. Christian Brothers continues with a similarly driving rhythm, but slowly breaks into a darker set of riffs and confrontational lyrics:  

"No bad dream fucker's gonna boss me around / Christian brothers gonna take him down / But it can't help me get over, don't be cross it's sick what I want / I've seen the boss blink on and off"

He continues to introduce the ideas of want.

The introduction provides a gap between the dark Needle In The Hay and the introspection that starts with the entry of the vocal in Christian Brothers. The drums are also integral in the progression of this song, often seeming random, but providing the extra drive, and adding more strength to the song. Clementine begins to show the sweetness that is present on the album musically; it features softer melodies than the opening two tracks, and as Smith's voice follows the notes of his guitar it achieves a simple beauty. The picture of someone recognising the rain "...by the sound of the cars" is such an imaginative image and there is a clear apologetic tone to this song, but to mix up an arguably innocent apology with the sweet music would be a mistake.

The ideas of denial and prevention are so prominent on this album, and are clearly present on the shuffling Southern Belle, when Smith sings "but I wouldn't have you how you want". The analysis of the South seems to relate to death; the idea of the "Southern Belle" could be seen in different ways, but there seems to be a very strong sense of the role of possession and control, and the idea of pushing this away. The melodies throughout this song are so pretty; it’s a showcase for how Smith creates such intelligent clashes between music and lyrics.

The next song that really drives this home is the sixth track Coming Up Roses, which uses the build up of the portrayal of the continuing theme of death and the "idiot kid", and also that of waiting in the fifth track Single File. Smith shows us musical and lyrical pictures of the sky and the moon, and the continuing theme of death: "...it will kill you in time". Yet again the song features pop attractions, such as the guitar solo, which seems like it could quite happily inhabit a small song in the 1960s.

Satellite - as with several pairs of songs on this album - holds a relationship with the previous track, the "satellite" linking closely with the idea of the moon and sky in Coming Up Roses. The music follows a gently sweeping chord progression intertwined with a rootsy guitar riff. The line "It acts just likes lovers do, satellite" sums up the idea of a lost relationship, which has no end, and is perhaps an indication of the persistent idea of death on this album as a solution to this.

The slowly loudening harmonica of the introduction of Alphabet Town provides a slightly country feeling, and the metaphor of the "alphabet town" seems to apply to words and the pain of explaining. This song is arguably a pause, and it feels very different to its neighbouring tracks.

The downstroke guitar of the first two tracks returns on St. Ides Heaven, and the appearance of a female voice in harmony with Smith’s at points adds an increased softness. It feels as if it is the beginning of the conclusion of the album, referencing the moon and the idea of haunting, is alluding to the subjects of previous tracks. The final lyrics, "I won't come down for anyone", show a return to this denial and need for prevention that seems to be filling Smith in this album. The following two tracks, Good To Go and The White Lady Moves You More, show a deep introspection. Good To Go appears to focus on a journey, the idea of the "junkie girl" who is travelling south and the process of what is left are described; as a metaphor, there seems to be a focus on the 'if' of a disappearance, and its pointlessness: "I wouldn't be a hero, if I wasn't such a zero". The White Lady Moves You More seems to be a persuasion, an argument for a love, for a hope, and the slowly driving voice of Smith seems to whisper in the eye of someone who is blind to the truth.

The Biggest Lie is an apt end to the album as Smith describes waiting at a station at the very beginning, revisiting this idea, and the song meanders slowly along, the guitar solo fits perfectly, melodically as Smith sings: "Oh we're so very precious, you and I / and everything that you do makes me want to die / oh I just told the biggest lie / I just told the biggest lie / the biggest lie"

The final lines of the album seem to show a solution to the theme of death throughout, and the idea of the satellite in orbit, the relationship going in circles, is solved, summed up in a perceived want for escape from something that you really can't do without.

Elliott Smith is an album that brings together lyrics that are dark and at times confusing with music that sounds so sweet whilst still introducing an idea of pain and difficulty. There is a great deal of character in Smith's songs, both from him and the people he describes. Coming close to perfection with something that appears to be so simple sounds ridiculous, but this is not simple; the choice of words and the way Smith writes melodies that work musically and become a focal point with their juxtaposition to the lyrics are complex. So much is shown in this album, snippets of stories, ideas, paranoias - and throughout, Smith accepts no idea of superiority; in many ways the album is best described by comparing it to his voice - it is like a whisper, a broken vocal, full of honesty and a self-accepted inferiority.

Release date: 21/07/1995
Label: Kill Rock Stars

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