It starts to rain during a freezing winter night, so you make your way to an underpass. You huddle up with a heroin junkie for warmth. He whips out a guitar, and plays the saddest songs about addiction and self-hatred you've ever heard.

I disliked this on first listen. It wasn't an attentive listen. Then I came back recently, and focused on it. I liked it better. Then I found myself playing it on repeat. It's fantastic, so tender and more varied dynamically than Roman Candle. These songs build and grow while Roman Candle's drone. I love both albums, but this one isn't too short the way Roman Candle is.

Are there many album openers in history better than “Needle in the Hay”? On the opposite end of the record is the similarly perfect closer “The Biggest Lie”. In between lies the definitive document of Smith's morose and romantic acoustic side as well as the first clear updates to the percussion-driven style from his Heatmiser days. Even when the songwriting isn't quite on point, this record carries a uniquely mystical quality that I can't quite put my finger on.
Favorites: “Needle in the Hay”, “St. Idles Heaven”, “The Biggest Lie”, “Christian Brothers, “Southern Belle”, “Coming Up Roses”, basically everything else really

Simply a perfect record. It's quiet and unassuming but has depth and darkness too. A highly recommended listen

favorite elliott smith lyrics on 'st. ides heaven' - "high on amphetamines/the moon is a light bulb breaking/it'll go around with anyone/but it won't come down for anyone/ and i'll go around with anyone/but i won't come down for anyone' amphetamines were definitely a big thing for him over his career, and were one of the only drugs still found in his blood after his death (but people don't often mention this because he had a prescription, however even prescribed amphetamines like adderall can still mess you up)

this is one of my all time favorite records and is probably tied with 'from a basement' for me. every song is amazing alone but it plays so well as a full album.

I haven't listened to an opener sadder and more desperate than "Needle in the Hay".

Not his best, but still another excellent collection of songs from one of the greatest songwriters of the nineties. Raw and intimate.

elliott smith was able to express his melancholy in the plucking of the strings he composed

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I love this album more than I love myself.