Elliott Smith – Figure 8 (Vinyl 2LP)

Multi-instrumentalist Elliott Smith became a cult icon on the Portland, Oregon rock scene in the early 90s while fronting the alt-rock band Heatmiser. Smith embarked on a solo career in 1994 when he issued Roman Candle, which established him as a prodigiously talented songwriter and musician whose introspective lyrics and unique vocal style would mark him out as one of the most important indie-folk artists of the decade.

Smith’s subsequent albums were masterpieces of informal confessional songwriting, though his growing confidence as a musician led him to the expanded palette of 2000’s Figure 8, on which he provided string arrangements, as well as playing bass, drums and percussion, along with organ and Chamberlin electric piano. Co-produced with Bong Load indie label co-founders Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf, the album became Smith’s highest-charting release in his lifetime, entering the Top 40 in the UK.

LP1

1. Son of Sam
2. Somebody That I Used to Know
3. Junk Bond Trader
4. Everything Reminds Me of Her
5. Everything Means Nothing to Me
6. L.A.
7. In the Lost and Found (Honky Bach)/The Roost
8. Stupidity Tries

LP2

1. Easy Way Out
2. Wouldn’t Mama Be Proud?
3. Color Bars
4. Happiness/The Gondola Man
5. Pretty Mary K
6. I Better Be Quiet Now
7. Can’t Make a Sound
8. Bye