This July will mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of Elliott Smith’s self titled album—which is plenty of reason for his label Kill Rock Stars to celebrate with an elaborate reissue of the record, complete with remastered songs, a previously unheard 1994 live set from Portland’s Umbra Penumbra, and a fifty-two-page coffee table book of hand-written lyrics and photographs by JJ Gonson who shot the album’s cover.
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Leading up to the record’s August 28 release, Gonson will be selling monthly prints from her collection, which you can check out here. Additionally, it seems KRS will also be rolling out cuts from the live album, beginning today with Smith’s performance of “Big Decision” from the Umbra set, which is believed to be his earliest known solo recording. KRS will also be working with Amazon and other artists to promote the release with a series of covers from the record, beginning today with Califone’s take on “Needle in the Hay.” Expect more covers from Bonny Light Horseman, Marisa Anderson, MAITA, Prateek Kuhad, and more in the coming months.
“I’ve always felt like this record is underappreciated,” Slim Moon, founder of KRS, shared in a press release this morning. “A lot of people overlook Elliott’s first two records—they think of them as a prelude to the bigger albums that followed—but when you go back, you discover they’re really great. This is Elliott’s most fragile and delicate music, and we wanted to honor that with a special and beautiful package.”
The package is available for pre-orders now—do so here.
