roman candle

tracklist

roman candle, condor ave, no name #1, no name #2, no name #3, drive all over town, no name #4, last call, kiwi maddog 20/20

album info

roman candle was released by cavity search and was elliott’s first solo release. elliott recorded these songs on a 4 track recorder.

rumor at the time is that elliott’s girlfriend and heatmiser’s manager, jj gonson suggest that elliott ask his friends if they were willing release one or some of his songs. when elliott gave his tape to cavity search, they told elliott they wanted to release the whole thing.

elliott was still in heatmiser when roman candle came out. if you look in the liner notes, elliott is appears courtesy of frontier records for his own record.

2 x-heatmiser members sort of make an appearance on roman candle. neil gust appears on the roman candle cover along with a friend of elliott’s and tony lash help mix the record.

posters used to promote the record were actually just 8 1/2 x 11 copies of the back cover with a picture of elliott

available in cd format. import lp also available.

production notes

roman candle was recorded and produced by elliott in the basement.

the record was recorded in 1993 but it was released in 1994.

all songs by elliott smith, except “no name #1? music by jj gonson/elliott smith

snare and cymbal on “no name #1? and “kiwi maddog” by kid tulsa

mixed with help from tony lash

sleeve by neil gust, technical help by pete hawkinson, cover photo by jj gonson, other photos by neil

a cavity search release

remastered 2010

roman candle is elliott smith’s first solo album and was originally released on portland’s cavity search records in 1994.

roman candle had quite an impact on slim moon, kill rock stars' founder: "in 1994, i had been asked to be on this five-person solo-act tour called pop chord with tammy watson, carrie akre, sean croghan and elliott smith. the first night at the crocodile in seattle, i didn't pay too much attention and people talked all thru elliott's set. sean croghan got up next and said "all of you people who just talked through elliott's set are bummed because you just misssed something very very special." the next night of the tour, at the bottom of the hill in san francisco, i listened very closely to elliott's set, and it was basically one of those life-changing moments. instead of watching the rest of the performers, i went out to the tour van and popped roman candle into the player, and listened to it on endless repeat for the rest of the evening and beyond. it completely blew my mind. i have never heard music as heartwrenchingly, gut-checkingly honest, intimate, and wise - before or since."

roman candle has been remastered for the re-release by larry crane, editor of tape op magazine and archivist for elliott's family and roger seibel of sae mastering.

larry explains, “the intention that i had was to make the album more listenable. i felt that a lot of the guitar “squeaks” were jarring and very loud, and that many of the hard consonants and “s” sounds were jarring and scratchy sounding. i felt by reducing these noises that the music would become more inviting and the sound would serve the songs better. when i went to roger seibel's sae mastering, he proceeded to equalize the tracks a small amount and to make the volume slightly louder. we never tried to make this cd as loud as current, over-limited trends, but just to match the volume of the rest of elliott’s krs catalog in a graceful way. please note that none of this album is “remixed” from the master tapes - it is still composed of the mixes elliott created himself.”

we will also be releasing roman candle on vinyl for the first time in the U.S.

***the first 300 pre-orders come with a free folded poster of elliott smith. please note the poster is the same for both roman candle and from a basement on the hill reissues.*** - taken from killrockstar.com

available in 180 gram vinyl, regular vinyl, digital download and cd

released on april 6, 2010

a kill rock stars release