Elliott Smith – The Complete Live Covers
This will be the third and hopefully final time I’ve posted my 51-track compilation of Elliott Smith’s complete live cover recordings. It is, in large part, the reason I moved from the old blogspot page to this shiny new space — its unexpected Google deletion. But we’re here for Elliott. The below tracks have been culled from years of research and dozens of live shows. Not every song has the greatest recording fidelity, but as much as possible, I chose the tapes with the best combination of performance and sound for this collection. If you can point me toward better versions or copies of any of these tracks, please feel free to post them in the comments and we’ll update accordingly. It should be noted that Elliott was really a fan of the bands he covered — most of these were not one-offs, but songs he performed regularly. His Texas heritage is on display when he sings Willie Nelson; his pop influences hang on his sleeve as he strums tracks by the Kinks, Big Star and his beloved Beatles. He took his covers very seriously, too: at many a live show, he wouldn’t play a request because he didn’t feel he could do it justice that night. Hear the ones he did play, lovingly, all after the jump. The Beatles:
Elliott Smith – “I’m So Tired”: mp3
Elliott Smith – “Something”: mp3
Elliott Smith – “I’m Only Sleeping”: mp3
Elliott Smith – “I Me Mine”: mp3
Elliott Smith – “Yer Blues”: mp3
Elliott Smith – “Long Long Long”: mp3
Elliott Smith – “Blackbird”: mp3
Elliott Smith – “For No One”: mp3
Beatles Solo Material:
Elliott Smith – “Jealous Guy” (John Lennon): mp3
Elliott Smith – “Isn’t It A Pity” (George Harrison): mp3
Elliott Smith – “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)” (George Harrison): mp3
Elliott Smith – “My Sweet Lord” (George Harrison): mp3
The Kinks:
Elliott Smith – “Waterloo Sunset”: mp3
Elliott Smith – “Set Me Free”: mp3
The following tracks are from Smith’s Kinks tribute set on August 3, 2003 — one of his last shows ever.
Elliott Smith – “Do It Again”: mp3
Elliott Smith – “Dead End Street”: mp3
Elliott Smith – “Here Comes Flash”: mp3
Elliott Smith – “Big Sky”: mp3
Bob Dylan and traditional songs:
Elliott Smith – “When I Paint My Masterpiece”: mp3
Elliott Smith – “Ballad of a Thin Man”: mp3
Elliott Smith – “Blackjack Davey”: mp3
Elliott Smith – “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right”: mp3
Elliott Smith – “Little Maggie” (1995 version): mp3
Elliott Smith – “Little Maggie” (2000 version): mp3
Elliott Smith – “Oh Sister”: mp3
Elliott Smith – “Moonshiner”: mp3
Neil Young:
Elliott Smith – “Harvest Moon”: mp3
Elliott Smith – “Out on the Weekend”: mp3
Big Star:
Elliott Smith – “Thirteen”: mp3
Elliott Smith – “Nighttime”: mp3
Elliott Smith – “Stroke It Noel”: mp3
Nico:
Elliott Smith – “Chelsea Girls”: mp3
Elliott Smith – “These Days”: mp3 (A Jackson Browne song, for the record, but it’s Nico’s version that Elliott played)
Assorted Country:
Elliott Smith – “Lost Highway” (Hank Williams, Sr.): mp3
Elliott Smith – “They’ll Never Take Her Love Away From Me” (Hank Williams, Sr.): mp3
Elliott Smith – “All My Rowdy Friends Have Settled Down” (Hank Williams, Jr.): mp3
Elliott Smith – “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain” (Willie Nelson): mp3 (an official release of a different performance of this track is available on Elliott’s Live at Largo album, which you can find packaged with Autumn de Wilde’s wonderful book.)
Assorted classic rockers:
Elliott Smith – “Friends (Led Zeppelin): mp3
Elliott Smith – “Don’t Fear The Reaper” (Blue Oyster Cult): mp3
Elliott Smith – “Whispering Pines” (The Band): mp3
Elliott Smith – “Walk Away Renee” (The Left Banke): mp3
Elliott Smith – “Walk Away Renee” (The Left Banke, with keyboard): mp3
Elliott Smith – “Care of Cell 44″ (The Zombies – solo acoustic): mp3
Elliott Smith – “Care of Cell 44″ (The Zombies – full band, with the Minders): mp3
Elliott Smith – “Last Boat Leaving” (Elvis Costello, partial song – 1996 soundcheck): mp3
Modern bands:
Elliott Smith – “Supersonic” (Oasis): mp3
Elliott Smith – “Trouble” (Jon Brion): mp3
Elliott Smith – “Car” (Built To Spill): mp3
Elliott Smith – “Clouds” (Quasi): mp3
Elliott Smith – “Hooray for Tuesday” (The Minders, acoustic): mp3
Elliott Smith – “Hooray for Tuesday” (The Minders, electric): mp3
Elliott Smith – “Golden Street” (The Minders): mp3
Elliott recorded a number of covers in the studio that were officially released, as well as a few that weren’t (which I’ve posted below). For reference, a list of Elliott’s studio covers (which you’ll have to pay for):
“Trouble” (Cat Stevens) - from the Thumbsucker soundtrack
“Because” (The Beatles) – from the American Beauty soundtrack
“Figure 8″ (Blossom Dearie/Schoolhouse Rock) – A Figure 8 b-side
“Thirteen” (Big Star) - from the Thumbsucker soundtrack
And from his unreleased studio recordings:
Elliott Smith – “I’ll Be Back” (The Beatles): mp3
Elliott Smith – “Revolution” (The Beatles): mp3
Previously: Elliott Smith – Complete Unreleased Material: Live
Previously: Elliott Smith Live: The Definitive Guide
Related: All Elliott Smith
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Click below for more Bootlegs and rarities.
I’ve said it before, and I will say it again: You, sir, are a prince among ordinary men. Thanks for this, as always.
thank you.
thank you.
thank you.
oh thank you!
You forgot Elvis Costello’s “Last Boat Leaving” that recently surfaced. It’s only about a 1 minute portion though
thanks buuuudddy
Joe, I’ll track that down. Thanks!
[...] Dave over at Rawkblog has posted his excellent collection of live Elliott Smith cover tunes once again. He recently moved from Blogger to his own domain because of a conflagration with Google/Blogger over posting these same songs, so pay him a visit and let him know how much you appreciate his efforts! [Rawkblog] [...]
I found this via google. :\
Thank you though. This is awesome.
This is amazing thought I had a pretty definitive collection but loads here that I was missing.
Thank you!
51 Live Covers by Elliott Smith…
Rawkblog posts his 51-track compilation of Elliott Smiths complete live cover recordings: The below tracks have been culled from years of research and dozens of live shows. Not every song has the greatest recording fidelity, but as much as possible,….
[...] [Rawkblog] « Interviews (Panda Bear, Beirut, Lucinda Williams) [...]
[...] Previously: John and Paul’s Last Session, 1974 Related: Elliott Smith Covers The Beatles [...]
this is a great list, but you left out the other version of Cat Stevens’ Trouble, and Concrete Jungle, too.
Thank you so very much. You’re a true treasure for the Elliott fan. I bow for you.
Thanks for the hapiness you brought to me by these covers!
Oh my goodness this must be heaven
wow, you’re the man.
you guys might like this as well :
http://rapidshare.com/files/181812149/Basement_II_Demos.zip
elliott smith unreleased basement demos
just sharing the wealth guys.
[...] O primeiro é um post criado pelo blog The Rawking Refuses To Stop!, com todas as covers feitas pelo Elliott Smith ao vivo. Muito manero, dá uma olha lá. [...]
Thanks! Thanks!!! thanks a lot!
This is MAGIC!
OMFG this is priceless, I’ve been looking for the audio versions of those songs for AGES! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!