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From a Basement on the Hill is the sixth and final studio album by the American singer-songwriter Elliott Smith. Recorded from 2000 to 2003, and faced with multiple delays due to Smith's personal problems leading up to his death, it was released posthumously in the UK and Europe on Domino on October 18, 2004, and in the US the following day on October 19, 2004, through record label Anti-, almost a year after his death. The album was initially planned as a double album, and was incomplete at the time of Smith's death. Many of the songs Smith intended for the album remained unfinished, in some cases lacking only vocals. Smith's family hired his former producer Rob Schnapf and ex-girlfriend Joanna Bolme to sort through and finish the batch of over thirty songs that were recorded for the album, although the estate retained final decision on which tracks to include. Many of the songs reference Smith's struggles with drug addiction and depression. His cause of death is officially unknown, as the coroner's report remarks that some aspects pointed to suicide and some to murder. The official nature of the case and statements from close friends state that his death is still under speculation. It has not been investigated further. From a Basement on the Hill became Smith's highest-charting album in the US and was praised by critics, with reviewers complimenting the album's attempts to expand Smith's sound, such as the incorporation of instrumental passages, as well as heavier, guitar-based material.
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From A Basement On The Hill is the final album by Elliott Smith. As on his other records it's full of fragile sad songs. The arrangements and instrumental parts on this album are somewhat expanded, but cannot hide the disturbing feeling of his death pressing on to it. "A Passing Feeling" and "A Fond Farewell" (and many more) are utterly beautiful, but sound horribly devastating now. I find it hard to listen to the lyrics.
Gave the other 2 albums high scores and this is no different. I have an affinity to his whole style and although this wasn't 100% finished it's still good. I felt a real feel for the Beatles from this album......weird...
From A Basement On The Hill offers unremarkable singer-songwriter stuff that is really mostly middling with the odd interesting high, like Don't Go Down, which is a bit heavier in style and substance, and A Passing Feeling which has a nice bridge into the outro giving it a weight and feel that does a better job of trying to define the record than the other tracks. It's too long at nearly an hour, I don't think this would be nearly as revered by those who like it like they do were it not a posthumous release soon after his death, it's not good enough throughout for a 3/5 so gets a 2.
An often overlooked part of Smith’s discography, and perhaps his most emotionally raw LP. The usually subdued guitar is gone, replaced by shockingly aggressive parts that make this album feel wholly unique compared to Smith’s other projects. The usual sad tinge has become a full on torrent, and the songwriting reflects a much greater of loss and desperation. By far the hardest-hitting combination of instrumentals and lyrics Smith recorded, and no wonder given how this LP was recorded during the final few years of his life as drugs consumed him (and ultimately had to be released posthumously). Thank you for adding this, tough listen in the context of its history but a necessary complement to ‘Either/Or’ on the main 1001.
Elliott Smith had such a sad end. Emotional final album. How fortunate that there were those around that loved him to finish these songs.
Gorgeous songs, beautifully sung, and expertly put together. Such a sad story, such a brilliant discography
This is probably the weakest album in his discography and it's still a 4/5. Really heart-wrenching stuff, he really was a great lyricist.
This artist had come up before. I strangely kind of want to dislike him because he is so revered by a certain set and is so much the archetype of the tortured soul artist. But honestly the goods are there and his influence on so much of the gentler side of alt rock is clear and indelible. Which make his sad and strange death all the more gloomy, but there you go.
It's just so fucking sad that we'll never know the final vision Elliott Smith had for this album. Like, that eerie synth melody on the delicate "Twilight", would it have sounded so stripped down and melancholic in the final result? Conversely, would the power chords distortions on the stellar opener "Coast To Coast" have been conveyed with even stronger and more blatant in-your-faceness? Would the guitar flourishes on "Shooting Star" have sounded so dirtied and unstable? Or would they have been cleaned up to an extent -- so as to give this great song the gravitas it could also have used in an alternate universe? And would the addition of other tracks intended for what was planned as a double album (Elliott Smith's own take on a White Album-like, all-in-the-pot aesthetics, in keeping with his love for the Beatles) have radically changed the journey now offered by this posthumous release? Alas, we'll never know... There are a thousand questions like that pestering the experience of listening to this LP, where the "unfinished" nature of the recordings is so obvious for a large part of the songs... I am among the group of listeners preferring Elliott Smith's early era in his unfortunately short career, over the DreamWorks major label period -- where, on the whole, more resources and more sophisticated production arrangements were ironically thrown towards lesser songs. For me, nothing can beat Smith's second eponymous album and *Either/Or*, where his trademark chord changes and wonderful double-tracked vocal lines did so many wonders. And what is terrific about this suggestion is that some of the songs I am discovering now are distinctively tapping into that initial artistry for my ears. Not long before Smith tragically passed away, he seemed to have come full circle. And this can only add to the emotion of fans and even more casual listeners. "A Fond Farewell" is an absolute gem, for instance. Introduced by a simple-sounding yet elated guitar hook, and graced with such smart music writing -- which sees the verses instantly transitioning to an amazing chorus --, the song has a directness and a singular presence I never really found in *XO* or *Figure 8*... Fresh out of his intrusive DreamWorks label deal, radically cleaning up his substance abuse habits and adopting a hard drug and alcohol-free lifestyle for the most part (maybe too quickly given the final outcome...), Smith sounds rejuvenated as a songwriter in *From A Basement On The Hill*. One example: reading stuff about "A Fond Farewell", and then comparing those takes with the actual lyrics of the song, I think there's a recurrent misunderstanding about what this song is really about. For me, Smith says farewell to his old self in the tune, he doesn't say farewell to his existence on earth itself. It is a life-affirming song, plain and simple. Hot take? I'll let you all be the judge of this... You can never tire of listening to that jewel anyway... Of course, Elliott was still a very tortured soul, as subsequent cut "King's Crossing" proves. Contrary to its predecessor in the tracklist, the suicidal ideations in the whole song are here designed to sound like a disturbing call for help -- a situation that the overdose and jump-from-a-cliff immune Smith had already experienced many times in his young life. But what's still very striking in the album is that most of the tunes from this final batch of songs are actually not conducive to a depressing listen. *Figure 8* had tried to harness optimism as well at times, but that previous record mostly came off as one too often lacking true emotional intensity. In comparison, *From A Basement On The Hill* feels like the best of both worlds. And given the circumstances, we should all feel lucky that we can even listen to it. So yeah, the sound and mix of *From A Basement On The Hill* clearly betrays its posthumous release nature, and maybe the tracklist sounds a little patchy in the second half of the LP. But the highlights of this record make up for those flaws tenfold. "Coast To Coast", the very White Album-adjacent "Pretty (Ugly Before) and "Don't Go Down", "A Fond Farewell", "Twilight", "Shooting Star"... They're up there with the best songs Elliott Smith has ever written. For a list of most essential studio album releases, Smith's second eponymous album would take precedence over *From A Basement On The Hill" for me (reminder: *Either / Or* and *Figure 8* are already in the original list). But that doesn't mean the user who suggested this posthumous record doesn't have my blessing. Rest in peace, Elliott. 3.5/5 for the purposes of this list dedicated to essential albums, rounded up to 4. 8.5 /10 for more general purposes (5 + 3.5) ---- Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ---- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 108 Albums from the users list I *might* select for mine later on: 117 Albums from the users list I won't select for mine: 252 (including this one -- the very nature of this album prevents me from doing so. There's no way to know for sure Elliott Smith himself would have condoned this release in the state its recordings were in...) ---- Émile, *quatre* nouveaux messages pour toi au dessus, du *Solid State Survivor* de Yellow Magic Orchestra au *Atrocity Exhibition* de Danny Brown !
Plain and simple
Man, Elliott Smith just doesn't do it for me. I know as a Xennial I'm supposed to revere him, and the dude was talented, no doubt, but his voice is just grating to me. I don't hate it, per se, but it's just not my style. Lyrically, it's very strong, and I can see why a lot of people like him. Just not my jam; at least, this album isn't. 2.5/5, but rounding up to a 3 for strong lyricism.
Didn't enjoy this one as much as the others. I think 2 was already sufficient. My personal rating: 3/5 My rating relative to the list: 3/5 Should this have been included on the original list? Yes
Rating: 6/10 Best songs: Coast to coast, Twilight
Another good album by Elliott Smith, don’t think it’s as good as his others on the list, but something special about it being his tragic last.
Twilight //
Sad but good
Sounds like Elliot Smith to me
Compared to the other two Elliott Smith albums on the main list, this skips and frolics in the meadows. Let's ditch either of those and put this one in. Not because it's good - it isn't - but because it's way better than either of the others.
Indie rock. Ni fu ni fa.
Nice
Tried Elliot Smith so many times, but I just can't get into it. Radiohead is my favorite band, but somehow I can't relate the two as others have done.