Customer Reviews

To: Elliott From: Portland

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Tribute albums tend to fail their intended audience time and again, mainly because the audience they target are purist fans of the original work. More often than not, these fans view any reworking of the material as a form of sacrilege. Sadly, this is already the case for what is in reality, an outstanding tribute to Elliott Smith, "To:Elliott/From:Portland." Reading the message boards on various Smith fan sites, it doesn't take long to see that this release is loathed by his fan base. The crux of their collective wrath seems to be aimed at the non-sparse production, the reverse of which was a Smith trademark. Unfortunately, they are missing the real worth of this CD - that he was a remarkable songwriter, and given that fact, even relatively unknown artists (all of the bands on this disc are from his hometown of Portland) have a hard time sounding bad when given such a great song to work with. The CD kicks off with the best known band of the bunch, The Decemberists, and their cover of Clementine, and it's performed
almost as sparse as Elliott's original - acoustic guitar, harmonica, and the sound of a crackling fire in the background. The fire is a great effect - and reminds me how few of today's songs would actually sound so good at night in the woods with the smell of burning brush and branch permeating the air. From there, the production gets more lavish as each of the artists takes on the task of honoring his work. In spite of this, these artists do a fantastic job with Smith's material - and for people who were not a part of the near lunatic fanaticism that made up Smith's fan base while he was alive, I think they will be drawn even closer to his original work. Much like one of Elliott's biggest inspirations, The Beatles, a great song still sounds like a great song - even if performed by a guy at the corner pub. Unless you live in Portland, you won't know many (if any) of these artists, with the exception of the Decemberists and Eric Matthews - but please don't let that stop you from discovering this fine CD.
You'll thank yourself later for owning it.

Michael Monahan
Atlantabluesky.com

A great tribute arranges the music to their own style, as if it is their own original. This CD does that. If you know these bands you could see that clearly. Good song selection. Great job.

I am a little hesitant about Elliott Smith tribute albums because, obviously, I love Elliott Smith's music and would hate to hear someone butcher it. I decided to go for this album since I'd read a couple of positive reviews and because some money would go to charity. I'm glad I decided to try it! Some of the versions on this album are quite different than the originals, which turns out to be a good thing. I knew Elliott Smith had a rare gift for songwriting, but hearing his songs performed by someone else only highlighted the strength of the songs. The performances on this album all allow the songs themselves to really shine. It's not Elliott, but I would recommend this album for anyone who wants to revisit the songs from a new perspective.

Being a really big fan of Elliott Smith, I really liked this compliation. You can feel that the artists here actually love Elliotts and enjoy giving their own interpratation to his work.

Before I even put the CD in my player, I read the dedications on the inside cover and those alone made my heart ache. I think anyone who is a fan of Elliott has a story of their own to tell about his music; and the small bits of input from the bands and the "hidden" dedication under the CD make a beautiful little introduction to this album.
The CD itself is outstanding, the artists that contributed to this collaberation did a phenomenal job bringing their own style to some of (in my opinon) the best of Elliott's music while staying true to the original sound and feel of the songs. This is deffinately one of the most fantastic tributes to any musician I have ever heard and I highly recommend it.

Well, another Elliott tribute. He deserved all these and many more. People doing songs made famous by someone else usually don't amount to much but occasionally (Peter, Paul, and Mary covering Blowin In The Wind for example) they do the songs justice. The Decemberists' cover of Clementine to open the CD was incredible. The rest of the songs were equally strong (King's Crossing, Between the Bars). The only thing I didn't really enjoy was the wailing on the end of Speed Trials, but that's, as I said, the only thing I didn't like. I would've given the album more than 5 stars if I'd had the opportunity. Beautiful work.

Not every song knocks it out of the park but this tribute does a great job holding on to the essence of elliott while bringing something new to the table.

Honestly, i just heard that other tribute album and felt compelled to come and review this one. If you are deciding between the two, let me just settle it for you. This one.

I bought this CD because I liked "Division Day" by We Are Telephone when I heard it on Pandora. Plus, I looked at the reviews here on Amazon and was hopeful. That was a mistake.
"Rose Parade" is good. The rest of the covers, to me, lack any real intensity or passion. Based on other comments here, supposedly this tribute was by bands that really like Elliott Smith's music. Somehow I'd think this attachment would produce some flair or heart but if the bands feel it, they don't convey it.
Contrary to other reviews, perhaps these songs fail to impress because I am totally unfamiliar with the original versions...perhaps hearing a song you already like, even if done badly, makes it better? I can only speculate, give this CD 2 stars and move on to my next acquisition.

My favorite is the cover of Happiness. I am plenty happy to disburse the brilliance of this compilation to family and friends.

BTW im not a kid im just using a gov fumded computer to write this review and cant log in....now that that is out of the way (whew!) on to the review. I bought the album because im an abid Elliott fan (been one way back sense the heatmiser days) The thing about Elliott was that he was an amazing songwriter with a beutiful shy voice that was as smooth as butter. He could put into words feelings that many people could relate to. He had what i call a "beutifull sadness" So when i bought this album i was a little leary of whether or not artists such as the decemberists or the thermals or lifesavas for crying out loud could do his songs justice. Now i must say i would always prefer the Elliott versions of these songs, but some if not all of these covers are pretty good. It should be noted that many of the artists on this album new Elliott personally and one of my favourite songs on this album is Eric Matthews cover of "Needle in a Hay", When elliott originally recorded this song Eric played the trumpet on the track but elliott later reverted the song back down to just the acoustic guitar instead of the fully instrumental version that he had earlier recorded. Eric brings back the tuba and an electric guitar in this rocked out version of a beutifull meloncolly song. Now the cd isnt perfect per se but it is worth checking out. I still cant help but think that Elliott would feel unconfortable about so many people playing his songs after his death. It almost seems a little wrong...or maybe i'm just overthinking things. Oh yeah i can't forget to tell you that 10% of the proceeds of this album goes to Elliott's Arts for Abused children charity which he founded a year or two before he died. May he rest in peace.... *sniffle* *sniffle*