{"product_id":"elliott-smith-figure-8","title":"Elliott Smith - Figure 8","description":"\u003ch6 class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOn \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFigure 8\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, Elliott Smith took songs that could have survived with nothing more than voice and guitar and built an entire Technicolor world around them.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/h6\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOriginally released in \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e2000\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFigure 8\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e was Smith’s fifth studio album and the second following his move to DreamWorks. After the increasingly elaborate arrangements of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eXO\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, he pushed even further outward, working again with \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRob Schnapf and Tom Rothrock\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e while recording across studios including Sunset Sound, Capitol, and Abbey Road. The result was his most expansive record yet, full of layered guitars, piano, strings, stacked harmonies, and flashes of orchestral pop without losing the intimacy at the center of his songwriting.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“Son of Sam” opens with acoustic guitar before blooming into a densely arranged pop song, while “Junk Bond Trader” and “L.A.” demonstrate how forceful Smith could sound when surrounded by a full band. At the opposite extreme, “Everything Reminds Me of Her” and “I Better Be Quiet Now” retain the bruised intimacy of his earlier work. “Everything Means Nothing to Me,” “Happiness,” and the towering “Can’t Make a Sound” reveal just how ambitious his arrangements had become.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe influence of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Beatles and late-’60s studio pop\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is unmistakable, but \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFigure 8\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e never feels like pastiche. Smith uses that vocabulary to enlarge his own world, setting intricate chord changes and deceptively beautiful melodies against lyrics filled with frustration, isolation, dependency, and the uneasy push between self-destruction and escape.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e gives that world even more room to unfold. The original 16-track album is spread across two LPs, while a third LP adds \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eseven bonus tracks\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, including “Figure 8,” “A Living Will,” acoustic versions of “Son of Sam” and “Happiness,” an alternate “Pretty Mary K,” “I Can’t Answer You Anymore,” and Smith’s haunting rendition of The Beatles’ “Because.” The deluxe program appears on vinyl here for the first time, mastered by \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJustin Perkins at Mystery Room Mastering\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e with lacquers cut by \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRyan Smith at Sterling Sound\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFigure 8\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e would become the final Elliott Smith album released during his lifetime. Twenty-five years later, it remains one of his defining achievements: \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eintricate, melodic, emotionally devastating, and proof that making his music bigger never made it any less personal.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Elliot Smith","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48183700684854,"sku":"00602557286441","price":70.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0674\/2592\/7222\/files\/elliot-smith-figure-8.jpg?v=1792356757","url":"https:\/\/greycatrecords.com\/products\/elliott-smith-figure-8","provider":"Greycat Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}