As soon as I saw the track listing for this, my instant thoughts were “what, no...?”, “how have they left that off?”, “why is that on it, but not that?”, and so on. It was a gut reaction to one of my favourite recording artists of all time being reduced to a mere fourteen tracks on a CD. I was a bit disappointed, a tad angry, and slightly perplexed.
Upon reflection, however, this is not a greatest hits, nor is it a career retrospective. It must be remembered and stressed, this is ‘An Introduction to…’: a gateway into the wonderful, twisted and melancholic world of Elliott Smith. A format perhaps not embraced enough. So one must approach and embrace this from that perspective - not from that of a fan, familiar with all of his output. The simple question: if I had never heard this man before, would this compilation entice me to explore more? Yes, yes it would.
Elliott was a true rarity in music, oozing talent, beauty and woe in equal measure. His tale was tragic but somehow fitting, his voice possessing a fragility and darkness that somehow captured the essence of life and death simultaneously. This juxtaposition renders him one of the greats. His vocal ranged between the sweet bedtime whisper and the venomous frustrated strain. Very few people can execute swear words with the conviction and intensity of Elliott Smith - always justified, never trite.
Revisiting these songs only seems to highlight how underrated he was as a songwriter - his biting lyrics sometimes hurtful yet full of love, self-loathing, and despair. Between The Bars - which as good as floats out of your stereo - is being taken as a single from the album, and the bigger numbers such as Pictures Of Me demonstrate Smith’s ability to craft seamless pop songs with a sickening ease.
There was always a sense of hanging on in Elliott’s music, like something was never far from snapping, disintegrating, or simply vanishing; and sadly all three of these things did happen. These songs will travel through generations to come, and if this CD can open up more ears to Elliott’s songs then that is a truly wonderful thing. Track listing preferences are irrelevant, as this album completely fulfills its aims.