Elliott Smith

Elliott Smith's intensely intimate music and open-hearted, Beatle-esque pop songs have left a deep mark on a generation of fans and musicians. His devoted following was expanded greatly by the use of his music in the film Good Will Hunting, as well as his performance at the Academy Awards-alone on stage with a guitar, amid the glitz (his song Miss Misery was nominated for best song), and he has been a key influence on the indie music community. After his tragic death in 2003, his fan following has only grown and his absence is keenly felt (he's been the subject of four tribute albums).

In intimate photographs and conversations with close friends, family, and musicians he inspired, this is the first and only portrait of the beloved and troubled singer/ songwriter by those that knew him well. Autumn De Wilde worked closely with Smith as friend and collaborator in photographs for many years, as well as on his video for the song Son of Sam the packaging for his album Figure 8 (the cover imageimage on the from cover of Smith standing in front of a wall in Los Angeles has transformed the actual wall in Los Angeles into a memorial for the singer after his death). Accompanying 200 photographs are handwritten song lyrics and ephemera, and 100 pages of revealing personal interviews with Smith's inner circle.

With a foreword by musicians Beck Hansen and Chris Walla (Death Cab For Cutie), the book also includes a 5-song live CD of unreleased solo acoustic performances by Smith, including Elliott's playful, never-released cover of the Hank Williams Jr. song All My Rowdy Friends Have Settled Down. Full CD contents: Between the Bars, Angeles, Clementine, the Quasi cover Clouds and All My Rowdy Friends Have Settled Down.