Either/Or

「心に響くメロディー」とはよく言う言葉だが、このアルバムはまさにその通り。暖かく包み込んだメロディーと、優しい音色は永遠に色あせる事のない珠玉の名曲。そんな彼がもうこの世にいないだなんて・・・僕はいつまでもこのアルバムを聴いていたい。M2、4おすすめ。

Spin (9/99, p.156) - Ranked #73 in Spin Magazine's "90 Greatest Albums of the '90s." Spin (3/97, pp.102-104) - 7 (out of 10) - "...ranges from low-fi sparseness to rock with a melodicism Smith's band Heatmiser has yet to match....Though the harrowing heroin tales of Smith's last album are gone, his frequent alcoholidays suggest a less outwardly tortured Mark Eitzel..." Uncut (p.114) - 4 stars out of 5 - "EITHER/OR took the small arranging step needed to turn Smith's beautifully, harmonically sly but still then mostly self-accompanied tunes into indisputable pop." Magnet - "[T]his is an indisputable 10-star album with no peer and no real room for improvement." Option (5-6/97, p.128) - "...an awkward sort of prettiness that fits him well....a U-turn from the aggressive, basement minimalism of his last solo record....proving himself to be an artist of uncommon dexterity and grace." Village Voice (2/24/98) - Ranked #20 in the Village Voice's 1997 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll. Mojo (Publisher) (p.65) - Ranked #24 in Mojo's "100 Modern Classics" -- "Characteristically double-tracked vocals whispered into the listener's head, revealing the confessions of a man struggling to escape an undisclosed past." Mojo (Publisher) (p.119) - 4 stars out of 5 - "Dark surrealism with a wispy, half-there voice and an always surprising chorus." NME (Magazine) (7/19/97, p.40) - "...Very frequently on EITHER/OR Elliott Smith...leaves you in awe at his quiet power..." Paste (magazine) - "As is true of all great songwriters who write from a personal place, to love Elliott Smith's music is to relate to him....It's even truer now that he's gone." Pitchfork (Website) - "[This is] the sound of Smith conjuring something far bigger than himself and coming into his own as a songwriter, arranger, and performer."