MP3: Elliott Smith – “Between the Bars” from An Introduction to… Elliott Smith, out November 2 on KRS. Originally on Either/Or.

A new “best of” compilation is sure to disappoint longtime fans, excluding favorite songs, but this Elliott Smith collection looks like a pretty nice starting point for newbies, despite its obvious lightness on the Dreamworks era (XO, Figure 8).

I’m happy KRS was able to license “Waltz #2 (XO)” since it’s arguably his best song. But to use the early version of “Miss Misery” instead of the finished version from the Good Will Hunting soundtrack feels a little disrespectful. It was cool to include it on the collection of outtakes, New Moon, but Smith was such a perfectionist when it came to his songwriting that I can’t imagine he’d be pleased to see this clumsy, unfinished version canonized on a compilation like this.

Elliott Smith: iTunes, Amazon, Insound, wiki

An Introduction to… Elliott Smith

1 Ballad of Big Nothing – from Either/Or

2. Waltz #2 – from XO

3. Pictures of Me – from Either/Or

4. The Biggest Lie – from Elliott Smith

5. Alameda – from Either/Or

6. Between The Bars – from Either/Or

7. Needle In The Hay – from Elliott Smith

8. Last Call – from Roman Candle

9. Angeles – from Either/Or

10. Twilight – from From a Basement on the Hill

11. Pretty (Ugly Before) – from From a Basement on the Hill

12. Angel In the Snow – from New Moon

13. Miss Misery (early version) – from New Moon

14. Happiness (single version) – from Figure 8