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Roman Candle (Remastered)

Elliott Smith

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Customer Reviews

Not bad for something recorded beneath the stairs

Amazing that he did this on the cheap, recording secretly in the basement onto an ordinary cassette tape with a Tascam Portastudio 4-track, trying to keep these songs to himself while living with his Heatmiser bandmates. Roman Candle's dissonant electric overlay of an elastic, shifting interval rubbed between the partial tones separating a major 7 from an octave is a preview of brilliant harmonic concepts to come. No Name #4 crushes me with its mix of comedy and tragic circumstance. Kiwi Maddog is allegedly a leftover from a recording he made while still in high school, which might be absolutely incredible if it were someone else. Always wondered what might have emerged if he gave the songs from the time of his first 3 solo releases (an insanely prolific and profound period which would include most of the material from New Moon plus a few more disks of as yet unreleased songs) the polished, multi-tracked, full arrangements he gave to XO and Figure 8 (and half of Basement–minus the polish), like comparing "first timer" to "Ghost Writer (From a Poison Well)"...
Such a devastating loss, the years have only made that more clear.

Raw and honest, featuring some of Smith's best songs

Unfortunately, the No Name tracks don't stand out very much, though they're worth a listen. But Roman Candle, Condor Ave., and Last Call are some of the most emotionally intense pieces of music I've ever listened to. If you don't want to buy the entire album, get those 3 tracks. Roman Candle is, as the name implies, a song full of tension and building anger and helplessness. Every time I listen to it, the impact hits me like a sledgehammer. Condor Ave. is like like a story being sung, more verbose than Roman Candle but equally powerful.

Last Call is another emotional punch to the gut, and, thematically, it's like a sequel to Roman Candle. I personally think it showcases Smith's very best sound, both musically and vocally. It has some of his best lyrics, too. I like the anger and more aggressive tone to his singing here. But it makes me feel sad that these songs came from so much hurt in his life.

It's obvious that this album was a form of catharsis for Smith. But it has a place among my favorites. I just wish the rest of the album was as powerful as those few tracks. The No Names sound more similar to the songs on Either/Or and the self-titled album.

Top 3 of my most favorite, don't die without it albums

Every song on here is part of something that is so much greater than the individual pieces.

I don't know how to explain it. You can change your life in 30 minutes with this album.

Biography

Born: August 6, 1969 in Omaha, NE

Genre: Alternative

Years Active: '80s, '90s, '00s

The celebrated folk-punk singer/songwriter Elliott Smith rose from indie obscurity to mainstream success in 1997 on the strength of "Miss Misery," his Academy Award-nominated song from the film Good Will Hunting. A native of Portland, OR, Smith began writing and recording his first songs at age 14, later becoming a fixture of the city's thriving music scene. As a member of the band Heatmiser, he debuted in 1993 with the LP Dead Air, issuing his first solo effort Roman Candle on the tiny Cavity Search...
Full Bio

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