“Rose Parade” let’s a guitar sing chipper melodies while a deadpan story unfolds. “Between the Bars” wallows into a dark corner to bite anxiously at its own nails. After all, it’s the record that landed him an Oscar nomination because Gus Van Sant used some of its songs for Good Will Hunting’s soundtrack. As a stepping stone between the lo-fi acoustics of his first albums and the production he dabbled in during later years, the record offers up a look at the somber, quiet, and content times of a musician beginning to solidify his role in a music community that would only later, following his death in October of 2003, fall for him on a national scale.

Most people’s introduction to Elliott Smith came via Either/Or, his breakthrough third full-length. Smith offered up his heart without expecting much in return – perhaps that’s because he never expected anything to begin with. It’s present in his debut solo album, 1994’s Roman Candle, through to 2007’s posthumous LP New Moon. Locations don’t always matter in music, but Smith’s work deeply captured the tone and aura of the Pacific Northwest. The singer, songwriter, and musician was born in Nebraska and raised in Texas, but quickly uprooted to Portland, Oregon where he found himself at home. For someone who created such straightforward music, Elliott Smith is too complicated to sum up.

Elliott smith either or cover art