The last chapter of Elliott Smith“From A Basement On The Hill,” is set to be revived with a new 20th anniversary reissue courtesy of Kill Rock Stars. A record released posthumously in 2004, almost a year after the singer-songwriter's death, which still seems to represent Smith's extreme attempt to confront his demons.
Despite the original release via ANTI-Records, the album has consolidated over time as a fundamental part of his artistic legacy, offering traces of a musical journey that perhaps we will never fully know. Supervised by Larry Crane, the singer-songwriter's official archivist, and remastered in collaboration with Adam Gonsalves, this work stands out for the meticulous recovery of the original tapes: the mixes on 1/4 inch tape by Rob Schnapf and Joanna Bolme were digitized with an obsessive care, trying to preserve the essence of the album.
The Crane-Gonsalves duo is no stranger to this type of intervention, having already brought gems like “Either/Or” and the self-titled “Elliott Smith” back to life. But this time, the undertaking is different: with “From a Basement on the Hill” we handle fragments of a legacy, desperate visions and flashes of introspection that touches the border between genius and disintegration. The new reissue, available from November 22nd, is not only a tribute to the past, but an attempt to imagine the future that Smith had only begun to glimpse, letting every trace of his last journey resonate once again in all its unparalleled authenticity .
Antonio Santini for SANREMO.FM
