Many albums could be cited to support the claim that great suffering yields great art. Elliott Smith's XO should not be one of them. Smith's 1998 major label debut defies the "tortured singer-songwriter" stereotype, and takes up this defiance as a central theme. At a time when Smith was being groomed for a particular (and particularly condescending) brand of stardom, he produced a record that eviscerated one of the central assumptions of singersongwriterdom: that pain is beautiful. XO insists that romanticizing personal tragedy can only leave you "deaf and dumb and done." And it backs up this claim with some of the most artful and intelligent music of its day. Matthew LeMay writes an original take on a widely beloved album, steering clear of the sensationalist suicide angles that have dogged most analysis of Elliott Smith's extraordinary work.
Elliott Smith's XO
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Editorial Reviews
Review
The case is skillfully put forward that [Smith] wasn't all gloom, but a studious musical perfectionist." Record Collector
(Jake Kennedy )"...the 33 1/3 series are a fascinating and revealing collection of books. Written by music fans for music fans, this series will never grow old, never grow boring, and goes far into explaining the mysticism and appeal behind these priceless bodies of work, for your own personal pleasure or just in case you happen to know someone who just doesn't understand."
Webcuts Music, 2009
The case is skillfully put forward that [Smith] wasn't all gloom, but a studious musical perfectionist." Record Collector
(, )"...the 33 1/3 series are a fascinating and revealing collection of books. Written by music fans for music fans, this series will never grow old, never grow boring, and goes far into explaining the mysticism and appeal behind these priceless bodies of work, for your own personal pleasure or just in case you happen to know someone who just doesn’t understand."
Webcuts Music, 2009
About the Author
Matthew LeMay has been a staff writer at Pitchfork Media since 2000. His band, Get Him Eat Him, will release their second album in the summer of 2007. He lives in Providence, Rhode Island.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
62 of 62 people found the following review helpful
By Larry Crane
Format:Paperback
I was allowed to fact check and was interviewed for this book and I feel it's one of the better things to come out about my friend. The second half, examining Elliott's portrayal in the media, is a great "setting the record straight" for this amazing artist.
-Larry Crane, Archivist for the Estate of Elliott Smith/recording engineer/producer
-Larry Crane, Archivist for the Estate of Elliott Smith/recording engineer/producer
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By Jason Li
Format:Paperback
XO is one of my favorite albums, and after reading this book, I am able to appreciate it in a new, deeper and more nuanced way. Lemay strategically employs Smith's own words, whether it be in an interview or in his lyrics, to steer us to an interpretation of XO that seems closer to what Smith had originally intended. (Larry Crane's review above affirms this idea.)
The book is split into two parts: Part one is a guided tour of the subtleties buried within XO (both lyrical and musical). Part two is about why we, as listeners, should free ourselves from the romanticized yet simplistic image of Smith painted by the popular press.
Both parts are extremely well researched and it shows: Lemay has amassed and analyzed quite a back catalog of Elliott Smith demos, live shows, interviews, reviews, on top of having conducted his own interviews with Smith's friends/collaborators.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who wishes to enjoy this album more, and to understand Elliott Smith as a human being who is more than just a "sad guy singing sad songs."
The book is split into two parts: Part one is a guided tour of the subtleties buried within XO (both lyrical and musical). Part two is about why we, as listeners, should free ourselves from the romanticized yet simplistic image of Smith painted by the popular press.
Both parts are extremely well researched and it shows: Lemay has amassed and analyzed quite a back catalog of Elliott Smith demos, live shows, interviews, reviews, on top of having conducted his own interviews with Smith's friends/collaborators.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who wishes to enjoy this album more, and to understand Elliott Smith as a human being who is more than just a "sad guy singing sad songs."
12 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
First off, let me say that i am a huge fan of all Elliott Smith's albums. And usually i really enjoy the 33 1/3 line of books.
So naturally, i thought i was going to really enjoy reading this book. I'm very sad to say though, that i didn't.
In comparison to other books of 33 1/3 that i have read, there is VERY little interview/ fact based stuff in this book. and very little about the process of writing or recording XO. it really is mostly what the author thinks about the album and everything else. his opinion.
What this book is made up of, essentially, is a bit on Elliott Smith around the time the XO was made, a lot on what the author thinks Smith's lyrics 'mean' and then some on how he first heard of Smith, how Smith's music effected his life.. things like that.
Being a musician and writer myself, i'm just so damn tired of people taking lyrics and breaking them down. down. down again. - analyzing everything. it might be hard for some people to believe but sometimes the words
musicians sing aren't a cryptic code that needs to be cracked.
I'm surly not saying that Simth's lyrics aren't amazing because i think that they are. and they deserve to be heard and felt. But what i am saying is that i did not enjoy reading page after page of a random guy picking apart, quite literally, every single lyric on the XO album (including the B-side songs).
This author has had no connection to Smith. he talks in the book about not even really liking Elliott Smith or XO until about 2006. i can't help ask myself the question, 'why is he writing this book?'
Some of what he said i agreed with, some i didn't. some of what he said was obvious, some was vague. it was just kind of boring. But more so, it felt a bit pointless to read this book.
Listen to XO yourself, see what YOU think about what Smith is saying and singing. How does it make YOU feel?
thats what should matter.
It makes me feel really sad to say it but,
i just don't feel that anyone who has thoughts of their own about the album XO needs to own this book.
So naturally, i thought i was going to really enjoy reading this book. I'm very sad to say though, that i didn't.
In comparison to other books of 33 1/3 that i have read, there is VERY little interview/ fact based stuff in this book. and very little about the process of writing or recording XO. it really is mostly what the author thinks about the album and everything else. his opinion.
What this book is made up of, essentially, is a bit on Elliott Smith around the time the XO was made, a lot on what the author thinks Smith's lyrics 'mean' and then some on how he first heard of Smith, how Smith's music effected his life.. things like that.
Being a musician and writer myself, i'm just so damn tired of people taking lyrics and breaking them down. down. down again. - analyzing everything. it might be hard for some people to believe but sometimes the words
musicians sing aren't a cryptic code that needs to be cracked.
I'm surly not saying that Simth's lyrics aren't amazing because i think that they are. and they deserve to be heard and felt. But what i am saying is that i did not enjoy reading page after page of a random guy picking apart, quite literally, every single lyric on the XO album (including the B-side songs).
This author has had no connection to Smith. he talks in the book about not even really liking Elliott Smith or XO until about 2006. i can't help ask myself the question, 'why is he writing this book?'
Some of what he said i agreed with, some i didn't. some of what he said was obvious, some was vague. it was just kind of boring. But more so, it felt a bit pointless to read this book.
Listen to XO yourself, see what YOU think about what Smith is saying and singing. How does it make YOU feel?
thats what should matter.
It makes me feel really sad to say it but,
i just don't feel that anyone who has thoughts of their own about the album XO needs to own this book.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thanks!!
This book is a must have for any Elliott Smith fan. The 33 1/3 books are definite collectors items. Thanks so much for selling this!!
Published 2 months ago by MARIEL N MEYER
4.0 out of 5 stars
A decent work about XO and Elliott
In all honesty I feel a little mixed about this book. But it is well written, pretty enjoyable to get through. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Geoffrey Cleaver
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not terrible
While I did enjoy this book, I didn't find it to be a very exciting of interesting book to read. I'm not sure if the author is an actual author, but this felt like a term paper,... Read more
Published 23 months ago by ragface
3.0 out of 5 stars
overly-analytical?
I found this book in the series to be too zoomed-in..
Everything is under the microscope with such a degree
that I found it a chore at times to read. Read more
Everything is under the microscope with such a degree
that I found it a chore at times to read. Read more
Published on January 17, 2011 by Iskandar Syeed
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not Very Insightful
I am a long-time Elliott Smith fan and was looking forward to a peek into how this great album came into existence. Read more
Published on December 27, 2010 by Nathan Cole
5.0 out of 5 stars
Disarming and Liberating
Larry Crane's approval should win this book your admiration, although it won mine on its own merits. Read more
Published on December 10, 2010 by Alexander Matheson
5.0 out of 5 stars
good look behind the scenes
interesting look at what went into the various ES favorites in the studio......recommended for ES fans who are musicians
Published on July 31, 2009 by TBo
5.0 out of 5 stars
Either this book is great, OR...
If you got the joke in my review title, than this book is DEFINITELY for you. The best thing about LeMay's criticism (and in this case, defense) is that he so clearly loves the... Read more
Published on April 8, 2009 by Timothy J. Thomas
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