Elliott Smith : Cover Songs & Music Videos Category

  • The Laptop Sessions: “Waltz #2 (XO)” (Elliott Smith Acoustic Rock Cover Song)

    Thursday, March 20th, 2008

    By Chris Moore:

    Hello and welcome to not only a brand-new Laptop Session, but the introduction of a new artist to our list of covers! Today, I’m playing “Waltz #2 (XO)” from Elliott Smith’s XO album. I actually just realized a couple weeks ago that he did indeed have an album between my two favorites from him — Either/Or and Figure 8 — and I had to get it. I’ve been listening to it ever since, and it feels kind of like a new album to me, considering that I thought I had heard all of his studio material.

    Like I said, I’ve been listening to the album for over a week, and even though I still have several Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash “Laptop Sessions” videos, I just had to sit down and record this one (thus, the late-night, down-to-the-wire posting).

    I hope you enjoy it; I certainly enjoyed learning it and playing it! Don’t forget to check out an all-new session from Jeff tomorrow, right here at http://LaptopSessions.com !

     



Elliott Smith Acoustic Cover Songs

Widely respected and yet not widely popular, Elliott Smith epitomized the indie music artist. He had no interest in the mainstream music scene, even when opportunities to succeed in it were presented to him. He was one of the most personal and emotional songwriters ever to pick up a guitar. His largely acoustic guitar music could be sad and lamenting at times, and yet biting and condemning at others – he possessed a stellar range. He helped define what alternative music was, particularly for artists who wrote and performed predominately acoustic songs. In addition to his own music, he was certainly not above recording covers of songs he respected; one of his YouTube videos showcases an amazing rendition of George Harrison’s “Isn’t It A Pity.” Aside from the ex-Beatle himself, few could even hope to play this song so touchingly. Needless to say, his largely unplugged style translates very easily and very well into material for the Laptop Sessions video blog.