Crooked spin can’t come to rest — A 25 year reflection on Elliott Smith’s most acclaimed album Either/Or

A look back at the impact he has on modern music, almost 20 years after Smith’s death

A hauntingly beautiful follow up to Elliott Smith’s first solo Roman Candle (1994) and subsequent self-titled album (1995), 1997’s Either/Or represented Smith’s true debut as a solo artist with his band, Heitmiser, having broken up the year prior. While the album kept the same raw emotionality of his earlier solo-works, like the aforementioned Roman Candle, it expanded upon his innate pop sensibilities, making for a masterful work of art which somehow managed to achieve cult-classic status while also propelling songs like “Say Yes,” “Between the Bars” and “Angeles” to mainstream recognition. 

Smith was often dubbed by the public as “Mr. Misery,” a play on one of his most acclaimed songs “Miss Misery” and the overall melancholic properties of his music. While a large part of Smith’s discography can accurately be described as gloomy, the artist was so much bigger than the moniker implies. Smith was a prolific musician, poet, and lyricist. A songwriter who was able to cover difficult topics such as depression, addiction, religion, death, love and loss with haunting vulnerability and beautiful simplicity. Even the raw and simplistic properties of a good deal of his discography can be misleading, as much of Smith’s instrumentalism is complicated at best. Tracks like “Angeles” incorporate finger-picking techniques which are extremely difficult to master, even before adding the vocal line. And yet, to see Smith perform the song with such ease would lead most to forget the technical complexity of his craft. 

Smith’s Either/Or integrates his well-documented love of The Beatles with Beatles-esque tracks (such as the romantic albeit sad “Say Yes”) while still managing to remain distinctly his own. The first track of the album, “Speed Trials,” is one of the most distinct from the collection in that regard. His whisper-like vocals accompanied by suspenseful instrumentalism give the song a haunting quality, which has been emulated by the likes of Phoebe Bridgers, Sufjan Stevens, Jessica Pratt and more. The album’s impact is immeasurable, and many of the present leading artists within his genres (singer/songwriter, alternative/folk rock, etc.), including the aforementioned Bridgers, continue to name him as primary influence. 

Beyond that, his music continues to provide comfort to listeners worldwide, with almost 2 million monthly listeners a month on Spotify alone. Three of the songs off of Either/Or, “Between the Bars,” “Angeles,” and  “Say Yes” are also consistently among the top five of his most listened to tracks. As a Smith fan myself, listening to “Angeles” for the first time left a permanent mark on me, and I have been coming back to his music consistently ever since. Although Smith’s musical genius can’t be described in a few sentences, his signature chord progressions and vocal/instrumental layering alongside the poignant vulnerability of his lyricism combine to form a body of work that won’t soon be forgotten. 

There have not been many artists as sincere as Smith and that sincerity is what continues to captivate listeners, such as myself, almost 20 years since his passing. Give Either/Or a listen, it’ll be worth your while. 

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