While recording Either/Or, Elliott was highly influenced by the pop sounds of the Beatles, and he reportedly listened to their 1967 album Magical Mystery Tour daily. Recording sessions were never really long and drawn out with him. Crane recalled some of the sessions years later:
We would just do one album, see how it went, and then discuss it again.īut Kill Rock Stars wanted Smith to release another album, and thus Smith took some pre-written material and set up a little homemade studio in several important locations: his then-girlfriend’s house, Mary Lou Lord’s house, Larry Crane’s basement, and a studio called The Shop. We never did multi-record deals at Kill Rock Stars back then. In the aforementioned Pitchfork article, Kill Rock Stars associate Slim Moon noted that: While it, just like the album, wasn’t a financial success, Smith’s underground popularity only continued to grow and he would often continue doing tours and shows to support himself. Soon enough, Kill Rock Stars associates were ready to push out a 7” single-something that was considered “rare” for the label to do. Smith began making a name for himself as a solo artist in the underground Portland scene, as he’d often play at small cafés and venues around the Portland area. At that point in time, Kill Rock Stars was a label supporting small garage rock and punk acts like Bikini Kill and Bratmobile, and an artist like Smith stuck out like a sore thumb, and his sophomore effort sold poorly. The latter was such an emotional and important album for Smith and his career, as it was the first album of his to be recognized by other major artists at the time (i.e, The Beastie Boys), as well as being the first album of his to be released on the Portland-based independent record label Kill Rock Stars. In the years leading up to his seminal release, Smith released two albums: 1994’s Roman Candle and 1995’s Elliott Smith. Margaret Mittleman in an interview with Pitchfork commemorating Elliott Smith’s life and careerĮven though Elliott Smith had been involved with a punk band for most of the early to late 1990s, he was making soft, acoustic music that was too ambitious to be labeled as ‘folk’. When I would tell the other bands I was working with that I was working with Elliott Smith, they’d be like, “Oh, why? That’s weird.” Eventually, of course, they became his biggest fans. Today, we remember an influential artist and his beloved masterpiece: 1997’s haunting Either/Or.
Hello! Each Monday, either me or a special guest presents a critically acclaimed album that’s considered important or influential because of their impact on music history and explain the history behind it and it’s legacy.
Pictured: Undated photograph of Elliott Smith wearing the same outfit that appears on the cover of Either/Or
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