New Moon (Elliott Smith album)

New Moon
Compilation album by Elliott Smith
Released	May 7, 2007 May 8, 2007 May 26, 2007
Recorded	1994-1997
Genre	Indie rock
Length	73:18
Label	Kill Rock Stars KRS455
Producer	Elliott Smith, Larry Crane
Elliott Smith chronology
From a Basement on the Hill (2004) New Moon (2007)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
The A.V. Club	(A) [2]
Blender	[3]
Metacritic	85 [4]
NME	(7/10) [5]
Pitchfork Media	(8.7/10.0) [6]
PopMatters	[7]
Rolling Stone	[8]
Stylus Magazine	(B+) [9]
Tiny Mix Tapes	[10]

New Moon is a 2-CD/2-LP posthumous compilation album by Elliott Smith, released on May 8, 2007 by Kill Rock Stars.^[11] It contains 24 previously unreleased songs recorded between 1994 and 1997, when Smith recorded his albums Elliott Smith and Either/Or, both also released by Kill Rock Stars. It peaked at #39 in the UK. In the U.S., the album debuted at number 24, selling about 24,000 copies in its first week.^[12]

A significant portion of the proceeds will go to Outside In, a social service agency for low-income adults and homeless youth in Portland, Oregon, the city where Smith resided for a significant portion of his life.^[13]

Audio mixing was done by Larry Crane, the archivist for Smith's estate.^[14] The album cover was created by Portland artist Mike King, who has also produced work for numerous other musicians.

History

In August 2006, an "excited" employee at Kill Rock Stars made a post on the label's official website stating that an extended version of Either/Or would be released in 2006 to commemorate the record's tenth anniversary.^[15] This information was quickly pulled from the website, as the album was in very early planning stages.^[15] Eventually, Kill Rock Stars announced that Either/Or: Extended Edition (as it was to be called) had been scrapped in favor of a rarities and unreleased music compilation from Smith's time at the label (approximately 1994 through 1998).^[15]

Track listing

All songs by Elliott Smith, except where noted.

Disc one

1. "Angel in the Snow" – 2:39
2. "Talking to Mary" – 3:44
3. "High Times" – 3:13
4. "New Monkey" – 3:14
5. "Looking Over My Shoulder" – 3:41
6. "Going Nowhere" – 3:53
7. "Riot Coming" – 3:45
8. "All Cleaned Out" – 2:59
9. "First Timer" – 2:44
10. "Go By" – 3:48
11. "Miss Misery" (early version) – 2:58
12. "Thirteen" (Chris Bell/Alex Chilton) – 2:43

Disc two

1. "Georgia, Georgia" – 1:48
2. "Whatever (Folk Song in C)" – 2:19
3. "Big Decision" – 2:02
4. "Placeholder" – 2:32
5. "New Disaster" – 4:12
6. "Seen How Things Are Hard" – 3:23
7. "Fear City" – 3:31
8. "Either/Or" – 2:29
9. "Pretty Mary K" (other version) – 3:26
10. "Almost Over" – 2:13
11. "See You Later" (Elliott Smith/Neil Gust) – 2:56
12. "Half Right" (Elliott Smith/Neil Gust) – 3:50

Recording origins

• "Angel in the Snow", "Talking to Mary", "High Times", "Riot Coming", "Georgia, Georgia", "Whatever (Folk Song in C)", and "Big Decision" are taken from the Elliott Smith sessions.

• "New Monkey", "Looking Over My Shoulder", "Going Nowhere", "Go By", "Placeholder", "New Disaster", "Seen How Things Are Hard", "Fear City", "Either/Or", "Pretty Mary K" (other version), and "Almost Over" are taken from the Either/Or sessions.

• "Thirteen", "See You Later", and "Half Right" are taken from a 1996 radio session.

• "All Cleaned Out", "First Timer," and "Miss Misery" (early version) were recorded at Jackpot! Recording Studio in 1997.

Confusion over "Pretty Mary K"

For the Either/Or record, Smith recorded a song entitled "Pretty Mary K", which is featured on this set. However, after scrapping this song, Smith used the title "Pretty Mary K" for a different song on his Figure 8 album. Later, while recording From a Basement on the Hill, Smith recorded a new version of the former song under the title "Everything's OK". Thus, "Pretty Mary K (other version)" on the New Moon set is essentially an early version of "Everything's OK".

References

1. ^ Allmusic Review of New Moon by Elliott Smith. Review by Marisa Brown.
2. ^ AVclub - New Moon
3. ^ Blender - New Moon^{[dead link]}
4. ^ Metacritic - New Moon
5. ^ NME - New Moon
6. ^ Pitchfork Media - New Moon
7. ^ Popmatters - New Moon
8. ^ [31 May 2007, p.96]
9. ^ Stylus Magazine - New Moon
10. ^ Tiny Mix Tapes - New Moon
11. ^ Phillips, Amy (2007-02-14). "Exclusive: Elliott Smith Rarities Due on Kill Rock Stars". http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/41148/Exclusive_Elliott_Smith_Rarities_Due_on_Kill_Rock. Retrieved 2007-02-14. 
12. ^ Katie Hasty, "Buble Sidesteps Bone Thugs To Claim No. 1", Billboard.com, May 16, 2007.
13. ^ Ramirez, Charlie (2007-02-14). "New Moon". SweetAdeline.net. http://www.sweetadeline.net. Retrieved 2007-02-14. 
14. ^ Brown, Jake (2007). "GLONO Interview: Larry Crane, Archivist of Elliott Smith's Estate". Glorious Noise. http://www.gloriousnoise.com/articles/2007/elliott_smith_new_moon_larry_c.php. Retrieved 2007-03-07. 
15. ^ ^{a b c} Ramirez, Charlie (2006). "latest news - untitled kill rock stars unreleased/b-sides record - spring 2007". sweet adeline, the official elliott smith site by fans. http://www.sweetadeline.net/music.html. Retrieved 2006-10-26.