Reimagining the Tracklist of Elliott Smith's Final (Posthumous) Album - Freak Club

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Thoughts on album track arrangement and "From a Basement on the Hill"

The tracklist of an album is an extremely important part in piecing together songs that lead to a cohesive album with a natural flow and progression. While it may not always make or break your enjoyment of an album, it certainly affects and shapes the overall experience of listening through from beginning to end.

Elliott Smith's final album, From a Basement on the Hill, has always stood out to me as an incredible album with a flawed tracklist. Of course, this opinion is personal, and most people would make different creative decisions from one another. I love the album despite its flaws, though I've always had an idea for what would be an improved tracklist, partly what I imagine Elliott would have wanted based on what we know and partly my own opinions and philosophies on track arrangement, with specific attention to Smith's typical album "format" or structure.

As a posthumous album that was unfinished before Smith's death, having the right people to have the final say in its production, the included tracks of the many recordings made for it, and the order of songs on the album to create the general narrative and flow is crucial. No matter who that would end up being or how the album would be put together, there would never be any avoiding criticism due to the nature of an album that cannot truly reflect the creator's exact vision. What we do have are comments Elliott made in interviews and to collaborators, as well as insights he occasionally gave when performing tracks on the to-be final album.

There are accounts by those close to Elliott near the end of his life that he wished the album would come out no matter what happened to him, though I cannot confirm the validity of those claims. We do know that he had a grand vision for what the album ideally would have been. Ultimately, Elliott Smith's family, former producer Rob Schnapf, and his ex-girlfriend Joanna Bolme were trusted to put the tracklist together for its official release almost a year later. Despite being mentally unwell during the album's creation, Smith was very dedicated to it and even described it as his version of The Beatles' White Album, one of his favorites. It was intended to be a double album, and there was even a point where over 50 songs were attributed to it. However, decisions were made to leave out many songs for various reasons, like only having incomplete recordings or rougher vocals that they felt unsure if Elliott would have wanted them released. We also know that for some time, "Shooting Star" was going to be the opening track, and "True Love" was included. Nevertheless, the former would become track twelve, and the latter was cut only to be released over eleven years later in the documentary Heaven Adores You.

While putting my tracklist together, I considered the typical rough format of an Elliott Smith album from my perspective and what flowed and transitioned well. I wanted my version to keep "Shooting Star" as the first track and "True Love" to be included as a bonus track so as to honor his vision while not disrupting the album's cohesion. I also made sure to alternate higher and lower-energy songs, with an explosive outro followed by a calm, subdued, reflective track. I'm also avoiding a fade-in following a fade-out as well so that too many lower/higher tempo tracks aren't played in succession.

Here is the tracklist for my version of Elliott Smith's From a Basement on the Hill:

Shooting Star
Let's Get Lost
A Passing Feeling
Memory Lane
Coast to Coast
A Fond Farewell
Pretty (Ugly Before)
Strung Out Again
Don't Go Down
The Last Hour
Twilight
A Distorted Reality Is Now a Necessity To Be Free
Ostrich And Chirping
Kings Crossing
Little One
True Love (Bonus track)

From a Basement on the Hill - My Tracklist - playlist by Jackson Keeley | Spotify