Roman Candle
by Elliott Smith

Every Elliott Smith album is just about perfect. I love the debut because the songs sound so intimate. This album always makes me feel good. "No Name #1" in particular is a really charming song.

A concise collection of tuneful and bittersweet lo-fi folk songs without much in terms of variety except a little harmonica on “No Name #3”, drums on “Kiwi Maddog 20/20”, and electric guitars on the last two tracks. The full Elliott Smith sound might not be fully developed yet but there's still no weak tracks, and highlights like “Condor Ave” and “No Name #1” are some of his best.
Favorites: “Condor Ave”, “Roman Candle”, all the “No Name” tracks, “Last Call”

A soft album from a great songwriter yet to gain his confidence as a solo artists. It's great, but not open enough to be the instant classics his next few works would be.

From Nobodyisemo 10/13/2017 01:40 | #199431 | TOP COMMENT

I could listen to only this album for days. It's my favorite of his. Just a gorgeous, crushing picture of a sad guy and his tenuous relationship with everything around him, but he very obviously desperately wants something to hold dear. Love the minute chord changes, really unbelievable stuff, and it just gets better with each listen.

An incredible debut album, my favorite from Elliott Smith. Ironically, his most of his unfinished tracks are his best, and this album shows Smith's talent early.

Highlights- No Name #1, No Name #3, Last Call

My second favourite Elliot Smith album after, either/or, Roman candle, is probably even darker than that record. It's a brilliant record that needs to be listened to in one sitting. All the tracks are excellent. Just another superb Elliot Smith album, just think how many more there could have been. A much missed songwriter.

This is my favorite Elliott Smith album, it just took a while. But it wasn't tell I had found it on vinyl did I realize what was going on. Could not stop listening to it for about a month and a half.

From nachosbob 08/29/2014 22:01 | #120775

I feel that this album does just about the same thing as his self-titled, but a little worse in every way. A little disappointing for me as I also listened to his self-titled today. Maybe this will grow on me though, as his self-titled did too.

Intimate and beautifully suggestive. Elliott wears his heart on his sleeve and lets us all into his thought process. The depression in this album is overwhelming but its fragile structure makes for an amazing experience. The reason why I rate this album a little lower than Elliott Smith and Either/Or is the poor production quality, which makes the record hard to listen to at points.

Favourite Songs: Roman Candle, Condor Ave., No Name #2, Last Call

Elliott Smith's work has always been deeply personal. Even at his most pop influenced, Elliott was never writing for anyone other than himself. In the case of Roman Candle, he never even intended for anyone other than himself to hear his art. This is unexpected the start of Smith's career of melancholy genius, showcasing him at his most personal, his most relatable, and his most vulnerable. Elliott Smith is playing directly to the listener with a starkness and a sense of utter sincerity. From when this album begins till when it ends, I feel like I might just have some idea of what it's like inside the troubled mind of this genius, and it makes me want to cry. Possibly the most intensely intimate album ever recorded.

He left us far, far too young