Elliott Smith struggled with depression during the recording of the heartbreaking pop poison of his expansive major label debut. While his last album on the Kill Rocks Stars label 'Either/Or' received critical acclaim, it wasn't until some of his songs were included in the film 'Good Will Hunting' that he was offered a deal with DreamWorks. Smith would consider: "I knew they weren't signing me to write No. 1 hit songs, you know? I don't look the part. I don't act the part. You'd have to be insane to think that I was gonna compete in that particular arena. I think despite the fact that sometimes people look at major labels as simply money-making machines, they're actually composed of individuals who are real people, and there's a part of them that needs to feel that part of their job is to put out good music. Maybe I'm just flattering myself. I guess you'd have to ask them more than me, why they wanted me."
'XO' was recorded in Portland and Los Angeles with Smith co-producing with Rob Schnapf and Tom Rothrock. The sessions featured Elliott Smith on string and horn arrangements, production, recording, and all other instruments except for Rob Schnapf on guitar ("Baby Britain"), production, and recording; Paul Pulvirenti on drums on "Baby Britain"; Tom Rothrock on drum programming ("Independence Day"), production, and recording; Joey Waronker on drums ("Bled White", "Bottle Up and Explode!"); Jon Brion on vibraphone and Chamberlain keyboard ("Waltz #1", "Bottle Up and Explode!", "Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands"); Shelly Berg and Tom Halm on string and horn arrangements Bruce Eskovitz on bass saxophone, baritone saxophone, and flute; R. James Atkinson on French horn; Roy Poper on trumpet; and Farhad Behroozi, Henry Ferber, Jerrod Goodman, Pamela DeAlmeida, Peter Hatch, Raymond Tischer II, Russel Cantor and Waldemar DeAlmeida on strings.
The album made it to number one hundred and twenty-three in the UK, one hundred and four in the US, forty-six in Australia, and number forty-one in Sweden, selling more than four hundred thousand copies.
http://www.sweetadeline.net/
"Sweet Adeline"
"Tomorrow Tomorrow" 3:07
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ogg2RbPypug
"Waltz #2 (XO)" 4:40
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3It_TBNXW8
"Baby Britain" 3:13
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJm3cFkEJQo
"Independence Day" 3:04
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VardolDf4_g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzuYdUAPXxw
"Bled White" 3:22
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCxRjCRSPHk
"Waltz #1" 3:22
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FupAoedA1RE
"Amity" 2:20
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYjPmHv_lUo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBJNkenh_pY
"Bottle Up and Explode!" 2:58
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TImvarF-Z0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHpbovYq-Vk
"A Question Mark" 2:41
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTRk5TB5DgA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ub-y4b91vSY
'XO'
full album:
All songs written and composed by Elliott Smith.
1. "Sweet Adeline" 3:15
2. "Tomorrow Tomorrow" 3:07
3. "Waltz #2 (XO)" 4:40
4. "Baby Britain" 3:13
5. "Pitseleh" 3:22
6. "Independence Day" 3:04
7. "Bled White" 3:22
8. "Waltz #1" 3:22
9. "Amity" 2:20
10. "Oh Well, Okay" 2:33
11. "Bottle Up and Explode!" 2:58
12. "A Question Mark" 2:41
13. "Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands" 4:25
14. "I Didn't Understand" 2:17
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