New Moon is a 2-CD/2-LP

LP album

The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...

 posthumous compilation album

Compilation album

A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

 by 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...

, released on May 8, 2007 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...

.
It contains 24 previously unreleased songs recorded between 1994 and 1997, when Smith recorded his albums Elliott Smith

Elliott Smith (album)

Elliott Smith is the second album recorded by American singer-songwriter Elliott Smith. It was released by Kill Rock Stars on 21 July 1995 in CD and vinyl LP. It was Smith's first full-length release on the label....

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....

, both also released by Kill Rock Stars. It peaked at #39 in the UK. In the U.S., the album debuted at number 24, selling about 24,000 copies in its first week.

A significant portion of the proceeds will go to Outside In

Outside In

Outside In is a nonprofit organization in Portland, Oregon that helps homeless youth and other marginalized people move towards improved health and self-sufficiency by providing social and medical services. Founded in 1968 in Downtown Portland, Outside In has continually revised their services to...

, a social service agency for low-income adults and homeless youth in Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

, the city where Smith resided for a significant portion of his life.

Audio mixing

Audio mixing (recorded music)

In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...

 was done by Larry Crane

Larry Crane

Larry Crane is an American editor, recording engineer and archivist based in Portland, Oregon. Crane is the editor and founder of Tape Op Magazine, the owner of Portland's Jackpot! Recording Studio, a freelance engineer, and the archivist for musician Elliott Smith.-Career:Tape Op was started in...

, the archivist for Smith's estate

Estate (law)

An estate is the net worth of a person at any point in time. It is the sum of a person's assets - legal rights, interests and entitlements to property of any kind - less all liabilities at that time. The issue is of special legal significance on a question of bankruptcy and death of the person...

.
The album cover was created by Portland

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

 artist Mike King, who has also produced work for numerous other musicians.

History

In August 2006, an "excited" employee at Kill Rock Stars made a post on the label's official website stating that an extended version of Either/Or would be released in 2006 to commemorate the record's tenth anniversary.
This information was quickly pulled from the website, as the album was in very early planning stages. Eventually, Kill Rock Stars announced that Either/Or: Extended Edition (as it was to be called) had been scrapped in favor of a rarities and unreleased music compilation from Smith's time at the label (approximately 1994 through 1998).

Track listing

All songs by Elliott Smith, except where noted.

Disc one

1. "Angel in the Snow" – 2:39
2. "Talking to Mary" – 3:44
3. "High Times" – 3:13
4. "New Monkey" – 3:14
5. "Looking Over My Shoulder" – 3:41
6. "Going Nowhere" – 3:53
7. "Riot Coming" – 3:45
8. "All Cleaned Out" – 2:59
9. "First Timer" – 2:44
10. "Go By" – 3:48
11. "Miss Misery
    Miss Misery (song)
    "Miss Misery" is a song by singer-songwriter Elliott Smith who wrote both the music and lyrics. Featured in the closing credits and the soundtrack of the 1997 film Good Will Hunting, the song was nominated for Best Original Song in the 1998 Academy Awards...
    
    " (early version) – 2:58
12. "Thirteen
    Thirteen (song)
    "Thirteen" is a song by the American rock band Big Star. Rolling Stone describes it "one of rock's most beautiful celebrations of adolescence", and rated it #396 in a list of the 500 greatest songs of all time...
    
    " (Chris Bell
    Chris Bell (musician)
    Christopher Branford "Chris" Bell was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist born in Memphis, Tennessee. Along with Alex Chilton, he led the power pop band Big Star, which recorded albums during the early 1970s...
    
    /Alex Chilton
    Alex Chilton
    William Alexander "Alex" Chilton was an American songwriter, guitarist, singer and producer, best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star...
    
    ) – 2:43

Disc two

1. "Georgia, Georgia" – 1:48
2. "Whatever (Folk Song in C)" – 2:19
3. "Big Decision" – 2:02
4. "Placeholder" – 2:32
5. "New Disaster" – 4:12
6. "Seen How Things Are Hard" – 3:23
7. "Fear City" – 3:31
8. "Either/Or" – 2:29
9. "Pretty Mary K" (other version) – 3:26
10. "Almost Over" – 2:13
11. "See You Later" (Elliott Smith/Neil Gust) – 2:56
12. "Half Right" (Elliott Smith/Neil Gust) – 3:50

Recording origins

• "Angel in the Snow", "Talking to Mary", "High Times", "Riot Coming", "Georgia, Georgia", "Whatever (Folk Song in C)", and "Big Decision" are taken from the Elliott Smith
  Elliott Smith (album)
  Elliott Smith is the second album recorded by American singer-songwriter Elliott Smith. It was released by Kill Rock Stars on 21 July 1995 in CD and vinyl LP. It was Smith's first full-length release on the label....
  
  sessions.

• "New Monkey", "Looking Over My Shoulder", "Going Nowhere", "Go By", "Placeholder", "New Disaster", "Seen How Things Are Hard", "Fear City", "Either/Or", "Pretty Mary K" (other version), and "Almost Over" are taken from the 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....
  
  sessions.

• "Thirteen", "See You Later", and "Half Right" are taken from a 1996 radio session.

• "All Cleaned Out", "First Timer," and "Miss Misery" (early version) were recorded at Jackpot! Recording Studio in 1997.

Confusion over "Pretty Mary K"

For the Either/Or record, Smith recorded a song entitled "Pretty Mary K", which is featured on this set. However, after scrapping this song, Smith used the title "Pretty Mary K" for a different song on his Figure 8

Figure 8 (album)

Figure 8 is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Elliott Smith. Released by DreamWorks Records on April 18, 2000, it became Smith's second release on a major label and the last album he would complete before his death...

album. Later, while recording From a Basement on the Hill

From a Basement on the Hill

From a Basement on the Hill is the sixth and final studio album by the late singer-songwriter Elliott Smith. Released posthumously on October 19, 2004 by ANTI- Records in CD, double LP, and digital download, it peaked at #19 in the US and #41 in the UK....

, Smith recorded a new version of the former song under the title "Everything's OK". Thus, "Pretty Mary K (other version)" on the New Moon set is essentially an early version of "Everything's OK".