Elliott Smith is the second album recorded by American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

 Elliott Smith

Elliott Smith

Steven Paul "Elliott" Smith was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and resided for a significant portion of his life in Portland, Oregon, where he first gained popularity...

. It was released by Kill Rock Stars

Kill Rock Stars

Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and based in both Olympia, Washington and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, making it difficult to pigeonhole as having any one artistic mission...

 on 21 July 1995 in CD and vinyl LP. It was Smith's first full-length release on the label.

The album is mostly acoustic, in contrast to Smith's later works which were often more instrumentally layered. Thematically, Smith said that he "personally can't get more dark" than his self-titled album.

Musical style

The album is of a similar musical style to Roman Candle

Roman Candle (album)

Roman Candle was Elliott Smith's debut album as a solo artist, even though he was still a singer and guitarist for the band Heatmiser. The album has a raw, homemade sound , with Smith playing each instrument and recording it on his four-track recorder. Kid Tulsa played snare and cymbal on tracks...

and Either/Or

Either/Or (album)

Either/Or is the name of the third album recorded by American singer-songwriter Elliott Smith. The album was released on Kill Rock Stars on February 25, 1997 on compact disc and vinyl LP....

in its minimalist, acoustic sound. Smith mostly appears alone on his acoustic guitar, although he is occasionally backed up by the odd musical instrument, such as a harmonica and drums. The lyrics are arguably Smith's darkest and most cutting, dealing with subjects like substance abuse ("St. Ides Heaven", "Needle in the Hay") and loss ("Good to Go"), although the album does also have a comforting, gentler sound.

Smith's gentle fingerpicking on the album has been noted by many critics, and the album has been described as a fusion of "the Beatles

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

' pop sense with Neil Young

Neil Young

Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...

's sense of doom". Pitchfork.com rated "Needle in the Hay" as the 27th best song of the decade.

Track listing

All songs written by Elliott Smith.

1. "Needle in the Hay
   Needle in the Hay
   "Needle in the Hay" is a song written by Elliott Smith first released as the opening track on his self-titled second release, Elliott Smith, then released on 7" vinyl. It later appeared in Wes Anderson's 2001 film, The Royal Tenenbaums, and can be found on the movie's soundtrack.Trumpet and...
   
   " – 4:16
2. "Christian Brothers" – 4:30
3. "Clementine" – 2:46
4. "Southern Belle" – 3:06
5. "Single File" – 2:26
6. "Coming Up Roses" – 3:10
7. "Satellite" – 2:25
8. "Alphabet Town" – 4:11
9. "St. Ides Heaven" – 3:00
10. "Good to Go" – 2:24
11. "The White Lady Loves You More" – 2:24
12. "The Biggest Lie" – 2:39

Outtakes

The following tracks were recorded during the same sessions as the album, but did not make the final cut.

Officially released

• "Angel in the Snow" - Featured on the "Yeti Zine 1" compilation, later released on New Moon
  New Moon (Elliott Smith album)
  New Moon is a 2-CD/2-LP posthumous compilation album by Elliott Smith, released on May 8, 2007 by Kill Rock Stars.It contains 24 previously unreleased songs recorded between 1994 and 1997, when Smith recorded his albums Elliott Smith and Either/Or, both also released by Kill Rock Stars. It peaked...
  
  .
• "Big Decision" - Featured on the Slice of Lemon compilation, later released on New Moon
  New Moon (Elliott Smith album)
  New Moon is a 2-CD/2-LP posthumous compilation album by Elliott Smith, released on May 8, 2007 by Kill Rock Stars.It contains 24 previously unreleased songs recorded between 1994 and 1997, when Smith recorded his albums Elliott Smith and Either/Or, both also released by Kill Rock Stars. It peaked...
  
  .
• "Some Song" [Extended Intro] - Featured on the "Needle in the Hay
  Needle in the Hay
  "Needle in the Hay" is a song written by Elliott Smith first released as the opening track on his self-titled second release, Elliott Smith, then released on 7" vinyl. It later appeared in Wes Anderson's 2001 film, The Royal Tenenbaums, and can be found on the movie's soundtrack.Trumpet and...
  
  " single.
• "Some Song" - Featured on the Kill Rock Stars compilation Some Songs.

Posthumously released

• "Riot Coming" - Featured on New Moon.
• "Talking to Mary" - Featured on New Moon.
• "Whatever (Folk Song in C)" - Featured on New Moon.