The deluxe edition of Elliott Smith’s 1998 masterpiece XO is receiving its first-ever vinyl pressing. The expanded edition includes nine bonus tracks, many of which have never appeared on vinyl. Those include the fan-favorite b-sides “How to Take a Fall” and “The Enemy Is You,” a full-band version of “Some Song (Alternate Version),” an early version of “Bottle Up and Explode!,” a remix of “Baby Britain,” and a radio edit of “Waltz #2.” The collection concludes with the Oscar-nominated “Miss Misery,” which was featured in Good Will Hunting.
XO (Deluxe Edition) was initially released digitally in 2019 to celebrate what would have been Smith’s 50th birthday. It is released on vinyl via The Interscope Vinyl Collective, a monthly subscription introducing timeless Interscope artists to a new generation of fans. The 2LP album arrives on 180-gram opaque brown vinyl with deluxe edition cover art and a limited edition lithograph of Smith. Each record is individually numbered and limited to 4,000 units globally.
Order Elliott Smith’s XO (Deluxe Edition) on vinyl now.
XO arrived on August 25, 1998, a few months after Smith’s life-changing performance of “Miss Misery” at the Academy Awards. The album marked a shift for Smith as he moved away from the lo-fi sound of his previous three albums towards a fuller sound. XO was his first record for DreamWorks Records and was produced alongside Rob Schnapf and Tom Rothrock. The critically acclaimed album is considered one of the greatest of the 1990s.
Several special occasions are planned around what would have been Smith’s 55th birthday on August 6. Heaven Adores You, a 2014 documentary about Smith’s life and legacy, is returning to theaters the week of August 5 for a limited time via Mercury Studios.
New Monkey Studio, a recording studio founded by Smith in the late ’90s, is producing a tribute concert at the Regent Theater in downtown Los Angeles. Borrowing its name from Smith’s cover of a Hank Williams Jr. song, the August 6 “All My Rowdy Friends” concert will feature Scott McPherson, Aaron Embry and Shon Sullivan of Smith’s Figure 8 touring band, as well as guests performs including Jason Lytle and Jim Fairchild of Grandaddy, Ben Bridwell of Band of Horses, Earlimart, Illuminati Hotties, Kevin Devine, Leslie Stevens, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Cheekface, comedian Margaret Cho, and more.
Order Elliott Smith’s XO (Deluxe Edition) on vinyl now.