Two classic Elliott Smith albums have been reissued in expanded versions to mark what would have been the singer’s 50th birthday.
‘XO’ and ‘Figure 8’ have had a total of 16 extra tracks added to the original tracklisting, including his Oscar-nominated song ‘Miss Misery’.
Smith would have been 50 yesterday (August 6). He died aged 34 in 2003.
You can hear the expanded versions below, with the albums available to stream now.
‘XO’ was released in 1998. Its nine additional songs include ‘Miss Misery’, which was nominated for an Oscar when it was featured on the soundtrack of Good Will Hunting in 1997.
Other rarities added include ‘Our Thing’, ‘How To Take A Fall’ and ‘The Enemy Is You’. There are also demos of ‘Waltz #1’ and ‘Bottle Up And Explode!’, a remix of ‘Baby Britain’, an alternative version of ‘Some Song’ plus the radio edit of ‘Waltz #2’.
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‘Figure 8’ followed ‘XO’ in 2000. The expanded edition adds seven songs, including Smith’s cover of The Beatles‘ ‘Because’ from the soundtrack of American Beauty.
The title track of ‘Figure 8’ is another additional track, which was previously only available on the Japanese version of the album.
Other rarities are ‘I Can’t Answer You Anymore’ and ‘A Living Will’, plus acoustic versions of ‘Son Of Sam’ and ‘Happiness’ and an alternative version of ‘Pretty Mary K’.
Elliott Smith’s death in 2003 has remained controversial. It was initially ruled as suicide after a possible suicide note was found, but a coroner recorded an open verdict. The singer died from two stab wounds to his chest. There were no signs of hesitation wounds, which are typically common in death by suicide.
After ‘Figure 8’, Smith was working on the album ‘From A Basement On The Hill’. This was completed and released posthumously in 2004 following his death.