If you already own a copy of it, consider going for a double-dip on the strength of the remaster, particularly if you’re a stickler for fidelity. This is the best way to experience this classic album. If you’ve never heard Either/Or before, ignore the “low” score above and get this version of the album. I suppose this is the best excuse to get this material out there-I doubt XO will get its own reissue-but if you’re a bigger fan of Either/Or than you are of the man who made it, you won’t get much out of the extra stuff here. Also, the demos and alternate takes are only of songs from albums that predate and follow Either/Or. Only two of the five live cuts here consist of songs from the album of which this release marks the twentieth anniversary of. These aren’t bad cuts but they’re here to please Elliott Smith devotees more than they’re here to decode Either/Or. What’s less worthwhile are the included live tracks and alternate versions of songs. “Speed Trials” sounds even more sinister with its cleaned-up multi-tracking, and that’s just the first track. Put simply, the album has never sounded better, in the best sense of the term. But whatever concerns that a cleaned-up version of Either/Or would consist of a glossy sheen on a masterwork should be discarded. This edition offers both remastered versions of the whole album as well as a smattering of live songs and alternate versions.Įither/Or is a rather intimate album, one whose bit of roughness could be considered part of its appeal. Crucially, though, this isn’t a review of Either/Or but its expanded anniversary edition. Twenty years later, Either/Or is as alive as when it was new. A testament to Smith’s ear for music and lyrical pen. It is all at once breathtaking, intimate, thrilling, somber, and uplifting. This is the best album from one of the best singer-songwriters of our time. There’s almost nothing to add to the conversation about Either/Or‘s merits. However, I can’t begrudge anyone who says this is their favorite album of its year, its decade, or of all time. Mainly because OK Computer was the best of the lot. I can’t go as far as to call Either/Or the best of the lot. And of course, Bjork’s Homogenic and Radiohead’s OK Computer. Oh, and also Modest Mouse’s The Lonesome Crowded West and Ben Folds Five’s Forever and Ever Amen. 1997 was the year of Bob Dylan’s Time Out of Mind, Mogwai’s Young Team, and Erykah Badu’s Baduizm. That might sound like oddly specific praise, even mitigation, but 1997 was a stacked year for quality work. Kill Rock Stars,Įither/Or is an acceptable pick for the best album of 1997. Elliott Smith's most celebrated album has been reissued, remastered, and expanded.
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