In the notes in
To: Elliott From: Portland
,
Expunged Records
president
Anthony Davis
writes, "
Elliott Smith
was someone who told your sad story and made you feel like you were not alone." With this in mind,
Davis
set out to release a tribute album to the late singer, featuring covers from other Portland musicians (the city that
Smith
called home) with whom
's distinct, fragile style resonated and who counted themselves among his many fans. Tribute albums are always accompanied with much dissent, because almost never are the new versions of the songs better than the originals, but
's songs had touched too many people to not make one. Though die-hard fans will most certainly object to
Lifesavas
'
hip-hop
rendition of
"Happiness,"
or
To Live & Die in L.A.
's made-for-modern-
rock
-radio
"King's Crossing,"
for the most part, the artists stay true -- almost too true -- to the original versions, keeping the sparse, melancholic arrangements, the breathy vocals, the quavering, emotional voice. While
"The Ballad of Big Nothing,"
performed by
the Thermals
(and mixed by
Joanna Bolme
's ex-girlfriend), is a near copy of the original, and very good, the most successful arrangements are in fact those that are willing to stray slightly from
's already proven path.
Amelia
's version of
"Between the Bars"
brings a fantastic song to greater heights as vocalist
Teisha Helgerson
pulls even more emotion out of the melody, and the
electronica
-esque
"Angeles,"
by
Crosstide
, shows how well
's songs can transfer from genre to genre (the same cannot be said, sadly, of
' version of
which doesn't actually come together as a song until the very end). But the star of the show is a cover of the previously unreleased
"High Times,"
by former roommate
Sean Croghan
, whose angry guitar and angry voice reflect the feelings shared by everyone
had affected: the sadness for the promise lost with his friend's early death. ~ Marisa Brown