Some compared him to Nick Drake, others to Paul Simon, though he in turn said he hadn’t heard any of Nick Drake’s music and he thought Paul Simon was cheesy. At the time of its release, there wasn’t really anything like it. Smith was a rare kind of songwriter who could turn a two-minute pop song into a masterpiece. It’s simple and straightforward, stripped down and quiet. It’s the most beautiful album ever to grace this reviewer’s ears. I can understand not wanting anyone to interrupt either/or. “Man,” they said, “we wanted to keep listening to that.” The two girls sitting behind the counter sighed in disappointment. Rather than head to the “indie rock” bin, I went straight to the counter to purchase that exact record. As my shopping companion and I entered the store, I immediately recognized the music playing on the in-store sound system - Elliott Smith’s either/or.

At 16, I had no real destination in mind, but being the teenage music junkie I was, I figured that the local record shop was just as good a place as any to go after earning my state-approved driving rites. I had just gotten my driver’s license and wanted to take the ol’ Honda Civic out for a spin on a Sunday afternoon. The first Elliott Smith record I owned, not counting Heatmiser’s Mic City Sons, was either/or, the record that would ultimately come to be known as the singer-songwriter’s breakthrough.

Elliott smith either or album