Hear an Unreleased Elliott Smith Track From the "Either/Or" 20th Anniversary Reissue

Jackpot Studios' Larry Crane and Kill Rock Stars reveal details of the upcoming expanded version of Smith's breakthrough album.

By Matthew Singer

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Elliott Smith's Either/Or, the late songwriter's final Portland album and arguably his best overall. To mark the milestone, Kill Rock Stars is issuing a deluxe version of the record, featuring a remastering of the 12 original tracks and a smattering of rare and unreleased material.

Today, Larry Crane—Smith's archivist and owner of Jackpot Studios, where parts of Either/Or were mixed—shared details of the reissue with The New York Times. He says there were plans to release an expanded Either/Or a decade ago, but he unearthed so many quality demos "[t]he bonus tracks would've swamped the album." Instead, many of those unreleased songs were compiled for 2007's New Moon. Yet more rarities were included on the soundtrack for the documentary Heaven Adores You.

Related: "A Guide to the Unreleased Elliott Smith Songs on the Heaven Adores You Soundtrack."

But a few unheard odds and ends remained, the most notable being a demo of "I Figured You Out," a song Smith wrote for folk artist Mary Lou Lord and released on her Martian Saints EP in 1997. While Smith occasionally played the song live, his recorded version is only being heard now. Kill Rock Stars has already made the song available on its Bandcamp page. Stream it below:

The two-disc Either/Or: Expanded Edition—which also features live recordings taken from the 1997 Yo Yo A Go Go festival in Olympia, Wash.—is out March 10; preorder here. Here's the full tracklist:

1. "Speed Trials" (remastered)
2. "Alameda" (remastered)
3. "Ballad of Big Nothing" (remastered)
4. "Between the Bars" (remastered)
5. "Pictures of Me" (remastered)
6. "No Name No. 5" (remastered)
7. "Rose Parade" (remastered)
8. "Punch and Judy" (remastered)
9. "Angeles" (remastered)
10. "Cupid's Trick" (remastered)
11. "2:45 AM" (remastered)
12. "Say Yes" (remastered)
13. "My New Freedom" (Live) (unreleased)
14. Pictures Of Me" (Live) (unreleased)
15. "Angeles" (Live) (unreleased)
16. "Some Song" (Live) (unreleased)
17. "Rose Parade" (Live) (unreleased)
18. "New Monkey" (keys) (unreleased)
19. "I Don't Think I'm Ever Gonna Figure It Out" (remixed/remastered)
20. "I Figured You Out" (unreleased)
21. "Bottle Up And Explode" (Alternate Version) (unreleased)

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