From a Basement on the Hill

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Template:Album infobox From a Basement on the Hill (2004) is the name of the final album by the late Elliott Smith, which was released posthumously on October 19, 2004. Originally intended to be a double album, Basement was incomplete at the time of Smith's death. Smith's family hired Smith's former producer Rob Schnapf and ex-girlfriend Joanna Bolme to sort through and put the finishing touches on the more than thirty songs that were recorded for the album; although Smith had stated many times before his death that he wanted Basement to be a double album, they put together a single album of fifteen songs, as contractual obligations with the singer's former label DreamWorks (now Interscope) prevented them from releasing a double album on an independent label. In addition, many of the songs Smith intended for the album remained unfinished, in many cases lacking vocals. Also, many of the darkest songs were not included, such as "True Love" (which deals graphically with addiction and then rehab), "Abused", and "Suicide Machine". [1] It is rumored that it was the family's wishes not to have these songs on the record, as they had the final say in what should or should not be released.

David McConnell, the man who produced most of the album with Smith and thus obviously present through much of the actual recording process, was not consulted during the mixing, nor was he asked for the extensive "three years worth" of notes made by himself and Smith while the album was being finalized. [2] The producer also noted that the track "Ostriches & Chirping," a strange and short instrumental made from sampling and looping the noises made by a toy bird, had nothing to do with Smith and was something that McConnell had recorded by himself. [3] Smith most likely did not intend for this song to be on the album. When asked what he believed the late Smith would think of the released version of the album, McConnell told Elliott Smith and the Big Nothing author Benjamin Nugent, "I don’t think he would have delivered {that} record. The record he would have delivered would had more songs, would have had different mixes and {been} a little more in your face."

Jennifer Chiba, Elliott Smith's live-in girlfriend at the time of his death, was also not consulted while the album was being finalized, although the singer had spent hundreds of hours talking to her about his directions for the record (SPIN, Dec. 2004).

Due to the album's originally intended length, the possibility remains that a collection of unreleased material may someday be released. However, due to the aforementioned contractual obligations, all of the remaining material is the property of Interscope, making a release unlikely without a boom in the popularity of Elliott Smith's music.

The album was released on Anti- Records on Compact Disc and vinyl LP.

Track listing

(All songs written by Elliott Smith)

1. "Coast to Coast" - 5:33
2. "Let's Get Lost" - 2:27
3. "Pretty (Ugly Before)" - 4:45
4. "Don't Go Down" - 4:34
5. "Strung Out Again" - 3:12
6. "A Fond Farewell" - 3:58
7. "King's Crossing" - 4:57
8. "Ostrich & Chirping" - 0:33
9. "Twilight" - 4:29
10. "A Passing Feeling" - 3:22
11. "The Last Hour" - 3:27
12. "Shooting Star" - 6:01
13. "Memory Lane" - 2:30
14. "Little One" - 3:14
15. "A Distorted Reality Is Now a Necessity to Be Free" - 4:32

Personnel

• Sam Coomes (of Quasi, formerly in Heatmiser) - bass guitar and backup vocals on "Pretty (Ugly Before)"
• Steven Drozd (of The Flaming Lips) - drums on "Coast to Coast"
• Aaron Embry - keyboards on "Pretty (Ugly Before)"
• Scott McPherson - drums on "Pretty (Ugly Before)"
• Fritz Michaud - drums on "King's Crossing"
• Aaron Sperske - drums on "Coast to Coast"

Notes

• "Coast to Coast" features poetry by Nelson Gary. Smith told Under the Radar Magazine in 2003: "I asked this friend of mine to make up something he could say as fast as he could in fifteen minutes about people healing themselves or being unable to heal themselves. While he's saying this thing there is a main vocal that goes over that."
• "Pretty (Ugly Before)" previously appeared on a 2003 single on Suicide Squeeze Records, along with a different version of "A Distorted Reality Is Now a Necessity to Be Free". Smith did not intend to have "Pretty (Ugly Before)" on the album.
• "Ostriches and Chirping" is a short instrumental track, apparently not intended for the album and not even created by Smith.
• "Twilight" was originally entitled "Somebody's Baby".
• Some of the songs that Smith may have been working on at the time of his death that did not make it onto the fifteen-track disc leaked online about a year after the release of this album. They can be found at http://www.elliottsmithbsides.com/BasementIIDemos.htm and at http://www.trashtreasury.com/html/basement-II.html

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