There seems to never be a shortage of Elliott Smith news floating around. Last month, the soundtrack to Nikolas Dylan Rossi’s 2014 documentary, Heaven Adores You, featuring unreleased material, finally got a release date, and earlier this month, on the night of the Oscars, video of Smith performing “Miss Misery” back at the 1998 Academy Awards as part of the Goodwill Hunting groundswell once again made the online rounds.
This month, Connecticut label has announced the details of their own Elliott Smith tribute, titled Say Yes: A Tribute to Elliott Smith. The compilation features 15 covers, including efforts by Northeast mainstays Amanda Palmer, J. Mascis, Tanya Donnely, Lou Barlow, and Juliana Hatfield, as well as bands like Yuck, Wild Sun, and Waxahatchee.
Say Yes is set for an October 14 release, and it comes in three formats: blue vinyl, compact disc, and mp3. There are several “bundle” packages, including a t-shirt, and you can peruse them all here.
It is no secret that the Los Angeles based Smith, who died in 2003 from suicide, is a God to pretty much anyone in or around indie music. His incredibly introspective lyrics and beautiful melodies have earned him a cult following. That following has translated into a ton of covers, which means that by default there is a lot of not so desirable attempts that must be sifted through and set apart from the quality efforts.
American Laundromat has already posted Hatfield’s cover, which is beautiful and offers a lot of promise for the rest of the album, and you can listen to below. Check it out, along with the album art and the full tracklist.
Say Yes: A Tribute to Elliott Smith
Waxahatchee – Angeles
Julien Baker – Ballad Of Big Nothing
Tanya Donelly – Between The Bars
Yuck – Bled White
Jesu/sun Kil Moon – Condor Ave
Lou Barlow – Division Day
Wild Sun – Easy Way Out
Tomo Nakayama – Miss Misery
Juliana Hatfield – Needle In The Hay
Caroline Says – No Name #3
Adam Franklin – Oh Well, Okay
Amanda Palmer – Pictures Of Me
William Fitzsimmons – Say Yes
Escondido – Waltz #1
J. Mascis – Waltz #2