Elliott Smith - Elliott Smith ALBUM REVIEW 

One of my absolute favorite albums ever. Not a single weak track, in my opinion.

I had hoped against hope we would finally get an Elliott Smith review for classics week this year. Thank you

You know an album is amazing when the comments are actually talking about the music.

elliott is my #1 artist of all time and i’m absolutely stoked to see you reviewing this. also shouts out for singling out coming up roses for how catchy it is, it’s straight up infectious

The older I get the more I wish people were familiar with Elliotts work. Got me through some of my hardest times. An absolute underrated song writer and guitar player. In my opinion should be revered as one of the greats. Glad this is being reviewed. R.I.P Elliott Smith

This shit is timeless, same with all his other work. Elliott was a genius. Got me through some of my darkest moments. He deserved better when he was still around

Just in time for seasonal depression. Fantastic album

it's nearly been 20 years and i still miss him. man deserved better in life. I was going through some difficult times not too long ago staring loneliness in the face and his song Waltz #2 (XO) helped me get through all that. RIP elliott smith.

elliott smith is the greatest singer-songwriter of all time and i'll die on that hill

I haven't seen the review but the fact alone that you reviewed Elliott (no matter what album, because he has no bad albums) is a BIG w Edit: seen it, was great, I luv u

Elliott Smith deserves more recognition as his work is pure masterpieces.

a girl literally JUST lent me this album on CD to use in my car, i had literally never heard it before. can't stop listening to it every time i drive somewhere. i don't even believe you just uploaded this review 😭 ily anthony

Totally wasn't expecting this one. This is seriously one of the best singer/ songwriter albums of all time. His way of playing the acoustic guitar is incredible. Definitely recommend One Foot In the Grave by Beck if anyone likes this album !

Elliott Smith is my favorite solo artist of all-time. While this album certainly isn't my favorite in his amazing discography, I have a strong appreciation for it and I'm glad you got an opportunity to finally discuss one of his albums. I hope we might get some more in the future

happy to see elliott make it to classics week, especially with this project that i feel like is often overshadowed by either/or and XO. they’re all amazing projects but this one is so subtly brilliant and beautiful and his lyrics are so mesmerisingly haunting, i adore it. happy to see you give it the props it absolutely deserves

St. Ives heaven has the most beautiful harmonized vocals.

if you're seeing this and haven't listened to Elliott Smith before, just listen to his whole discography in order, it's perfect, it changes and evolves, it covers so many moods (although mostly melancholy), it's really just sublime. My absolute favorite artist.

One of my favourite albums, pretty much a flawless collection of songs, but Alphabet Town will never not be a mini-masterpiece to me. The groove, the backslap of the strum, the chord progression, the chorus. Even JUST the lyricism when you work out how much he's playing with drug metaphors cryptically describing a relationship between junkies without telling you *anything* about it, almost like he's coding his anecdotal experience so it doesn't piss his companion off - "You threw up whatever she shot down" - just absolutely incredible

Love this album. St Ides Heaven will always be one of my favorite songs ever

Elliott's lyricism & intimacy is unmatched. Truly a tour de force.

Thanks for turning me onto this record. I have heard his name dozens of times but never dove in. Needle in the Hay is just haunting - the refrain and of course the story. It moves me deeply. Agree 100% on the darkness - it has a deep pain that shows through. Given the opioid crisis as it is today, sadly, this album drives home a point.

I’ve been slowly getting into Elliott Smith for a bit, I think it’s time to give this album a full listen

This is actually the best classics week you’ve ever done.

Didn’t expect to see elliott smith on classics week, he’s been my favorite artist since middle school and has got me through a lot. Glad his work is still so appreciated.

My depression in high school made me feel alienated and crippled, and this album helped me so much back then. Made me feel like i wasn't alone going through all that shit. One of the best albums of all time imo :)

Elliott Smith has an undoubtedly flawless discography

Really the best songwriter there ever was. So nice to see all the love in the comments.

I remember searching for an Elliott Smith review after I became an avid viewer of Anthony and there's just something about this feeling of finally getting something you hoped that makes me happy

It’s one of those albums that’s so perfect in its sadness that it will make you just as sad and depressed even if you’re completely happy and content with life. There should be a warning label on this album

FINALLY! Been waiting for such a long time to hear you review an Elliott Smith record for classics week. Would still love to hear a review of Either/Or, but very happy to see this one. XO

If he reviews the Lonesome Crowded West this week I will cry.

Great commentary melon. Elliott Smith was my college go-to, helped me through some dark times. Would love to see you do an Elliott Smith discography ranking!

I'm more of an XO fellow, but damn every album of his is a masterpiece. Got me through some dark, dark moments.

Elliott Smith's self-titled album is truly wonderful. It is at the same time a biographical album and a concept album, where the production is seamless with the content of the songs. When there is a guitar or drums in a song, it sounds as though he found somewhere to crash that had the instruments lying around. The songs feel like you are inside his head as he goes through his life. Today, I don't know if someone like him would ever get noticed. There are absurd qualifications ascribed to 'indie' music now. Musicians must, with no exceptions, fit in to at least one protected class, and certain criteria disqualifies some applicants immediately. All demos must be submitted to 'industry standard' specs, i.e., they must be practically ready for release with a massive audience ready to receive them. An album in this stage would never see the light of day at the moment. It was a different time. One before the widespread use of the internet. One with non-ironic filament lightbulbs, payphones, rotary phones in some cases, roller rinks, newspapers, wooden televisions, etc. Here, everyone is too connected, too self-conscious, too concerned with fame, and too sensitive to trends. I mean, can this many people really be famous without a collapse in society? There are probably musicians who can take modern culture and make it interesting. If there are, I would like to know about them.

Holy shit, Tony's covering Elliott!! I'm so glad you picked this one too. Don't get me wrong, Either/Or and XO are amazing, but the super intimate vibe of this one makes it my favorite from him (and also my 2nd favorite singer-songwriter album behind Illinois by Sufjan Stevens).

I absolutely adore Elliott's music. Either/Or and this album are undoubtedly his best ones in my opinion. He was one of my go-to artists during my freshman year of high school, his music helped me through anxiety I experienced at that time. Thankfully, I have gotten better at managing my anxiety over time, but I still have not lost my love for Elliott's work. You did a really good job breaking down this album's lyrical content, especially how ambiguous the lyrics come off on multiple songs. His musical evolution from there was also fascinating, and so is the influence he has left on other artists in this indie singer/songwriter lane, including veterans such as Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes and Sufjan Stevens, as well as new younger artists like Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Adrianne Lenker of Big Thief. As always, great review, keep up the good work!

Roman Candle and Figure 8 are my favorites from him, thanks so much for reviewing him seems like such a weird coincidence as I just watched his documentary and have been on a crazy Elliott kick recently. My boyfriend loves your channel:)

planning on listening to every album you review this year

Love Elliott Smith as a whole. Have listened to all his records, even Basement On A Hill. I do personally like Roman Candle the most though. That one is so raw yet intricate and intimate with certain feelings.

Been hoping for an Elliott classic week review for years, so happy you got around to it!!

so happy to see you review Elliott :’) this album is one of my favorites & is SO dang timeless. lyricism aside, it’s such a beautiful album that i’ll never get over!

Elliott Smith is amazing, taken from us too soon. May he rest in peace

Have listened to this album many many times and never really thought of some of the things you mentioned in this video, so it was really nice hearing some fresh opinions on it, Elliott is one of my all time favourite musicians

My life is complete now that there is an Elliott Smith review on classics week. Thanks Anthony!

I do love hearing Melon talk about a Nebraska music legend like Elliott! The tone and mood of his music encapsulated the loneliness and anger one gets being lost in Nebraska country gravel roads.

ive been waiting for an elliott smith classsic review all my life

Yes- you finally did Elliott! I remember requesting NIN and Elliott for Classics Week on one of your streams like over a year ago- and you finally did both!!

very happy to see anthony pick elliotts self titled, has to be my fav from his discog

I spent many of my college days being depressed while listening to this album. Thanks for reviewing it, Melon

I've been waiting years for you to do an Elliott Smith record, and you just go and pick my favorite one. Way to come through, Fantano.

Angeles by Elliot Smith was in my favorite movie of all time. The Girl Next Door (2004) with Emile Hirsch, Elisha Cuthbert, and Timothy Olyphant

thank you Anthony for your videos man, you got me smiling ear to ear just from the intro. ty so so much

Holy crap. I expected Either/Or, but Self Titled is incredible too! Elliot was easily a top 5 songwriter.

I discovered Elliot’s music quite late, actually last year. He became my number one played artist on Spotify in 2021 and one of the most inspiring singer songwriters for me.

It would be so cool if fantano did one of these classic reviews a week, there’s definitely enough classics out there to do it

Getting this on vinyl was one of the best things ever. Love the purple vinyl.

Thanks for reviewing this. Honestly wish could listen to it more but it does bring one back to a very dark time. Beautiful album, maybe the most beautiful dark music ever.

One of the best singer songwriters of all time! Buzzing you reviewer this for sure my favourite Elliott album and one of my favourite albums of all time

One of the greatest things I love about Elliott's music is it how completely bitter, nasty and hostile his lyrics are. They are equally viscous whether aimed at himself or other people. Reminds me of how nasty Dylan was at times.

Listening to music helped me identify my depression when I was younger. I owe him so much for creating music that you could find comfort in when you felt so low. He's the only reason why I ever picked up a guitar.

Love the song Coming Up Roses, very Beatles-esque. Great pick!

Nice to see one of the greatest songwriters of all time get some recognition. Anyone who hasn't heard Elliotts music is just missing out.

I used to go see him like every week back in tiny clubs in NYC the mid/late 90s. The last time I saw him was in 1998 opening for Beck, he looked so small on that huge stage.

One of my favorite album from one of my favorite singer. Discovered it while watching royal tenenbaums, the scene with needle in the hay is amazing.

This album is so good that I can’t even choose a favorite track, they’re all 10/10

i’ve never been this simultaneously happy and sad from a youtube notification in my life

omg thank youuu!!! this album is on constant rotation.

so sick youp picked Elliott! and it is interesting you pick this record. respect.

Prefer this album over Either/Or, one of my all time favorites

I discovered Elliott in May of 2021 and what an artist he was. I cry a lot to his music, and I am known by many people as someone who does not get in touch with my emotions. I bottle everything up and explode when anything goes wrong in my life. I love you Elliott, and thank you Melon for reviewing my favorite album of all time.

Elliott Smith became my favorite Singer/Songwriter very quickly after discovering him. Making tutorials for his songs, I always notice how cleverly written and complex his songs are while still beeing super catchy.

Been looking for a good entry point to his work but didn’t want to just dive it haphazardly. This seems like a good starting point. Thanks.

Im glad youre dedicating classics week to the rest of Elliotts discography, thank you melony.

Either/or and XO are already classics, so it’s insane that this record still triumphs over both of them. Elliott truly was a one of a kind talent.

I really need to take the time to finally check this one out. I've always been a big fan of the handful of songs I've heard from him. It would be cool to get his self-titled album on vinyl. I've been obsessed with Strange Days by The Doors lately. It would be awesome to hear your take on that classic. Thanks.

I have been waiting for this day to come

I really hope you decide to do more elliott reviews, elliott came to me at such a hard time during my life and was just the light at the end of the tunnel. This is seriously my second favorite elliott album for good reason, it is so amazing and whenever I hear any song from it I just can go back to better times.

Was not expecting an Elliott Smith review. Best songwriter of all time

Never thought I’d see you do a review on him!

Finally. Thank you for reviewing one of my favorites, such an intimate album. We miss you, Elliott 🎈

so glad you're reviewing elliott smith! have been watching your channel for years and always hoped to see a review, elliott is definitely one of my favorite artists of all time and his lyrics as well as songwritting is genius!

thank you, melon, for this one! elliott is my absolute all time favourite artist.

I’m so excited to see Elliot getting a review!

Loved that you reviewed this

Needle in the Hay makes me cry every time I hear it

Yay. Elliott will always be one of the most important musicians in my life

love elliott and this album so much, thanks for the review melon.

Been waiting for this for SO LONG

There is no better song to cry yourself to sleep to than Needle In The Hay

I was obsessed with Either/Or for a while, but could never get into any of his other works. But the thing I like the most about Fantano is his ability to make me love new music, so I'll definitely spin this one again later

IVE BEEN WAITING SO LONG FOR AN ELLIOTT SMITH REVIEW THANK YOU KING

I think I found this album when I was watching one of your reviews and you had it displayed on your vinyl shelf.

most curious scene is that self-titled album is prophetic entirely. He wasn't a junkie in any capacity when doing this album.

This is the best Elliott Smith album, great pick for classics week!

Thank you for doing this album it is one of my favourites ever. So beautiful but so dark both at once. Elliott will be forever missed.

I find the healthiest way to watch these videos is to listen to a detailed and very literate explaination and review of something you HAVEN'T heard before in attempts to find something you're interested in listening to. I feel like alot of people watch these vidoes looking for validation of the music they like from the worlds most succesful critic of music. It's impossible to watch this and not find his discription of this album intriguing and I will probably listen to it, I find myself watching this channel for that kind of experience and only that experience these days.

The biggest lie is so incredibly haunting, one of my favorite tracks of all time.

Also Needle in the Hay sounds in The Royal Tenenbaums in the bathroom scene. It's a very powerful moment of the film. That Wes Anderson and Elliott Smith combination is just something else

You’re so wise to pick this record from his discography. Thank you!

How weird! I was checking last night if you had any elliott Smith videos which you didn’t, and you upload one today!