New Moon * by Elliott Smith

Nearly four years after his tragic death, NEW MOON is a two-disc compilation of previously unissued recordings by the late singer-songwriter Elliott Smith. The majority of the 24 tracks on NEW MOON are solo home recordings featuring only Smith's voice and guitar, most of them recorded between 1994 and 1998 as Smith was leaving the band Heatmiser for his solo career. Given that Smith's solo albums, prior to his major label debut, FIGURE EIGHT, were themselves mostly lo-fi acoustic solo recordings, there is little difference between these quiet, haunted tunes and his proper albums of the time. NEW MOON even includes a very early version of"Miss Misery,"the song that garnered Smith an Academy Award nomination after it appeared in the film GOOD WILL HUNTING. Compiled and produced by Larry Crane, who was a friend and creative partner of Smith's through much of his career, NEW MOON is not a cynical plundering of the vaults, but a well-chosen collection of solid material that fans will want to hear.