{PRETITLE} Torment Saint: The Life of Elliott Smith {POSTTITLE}

Rating: (17 reviews)
Author: William Todd Schultz
ISBN : 1608199738
New from $12.98
Format: PDF

Download PRETITLE Torment Saint: The Life of Elliott Smith POSTTITLE from 4shared, mediafire, hotfile, and mirror link

Elliott Smith was one of the most gifted songwriters of the '90s, adored by fans for his subtly melancholic words and melodies. The sadness had its sources in the life. There was trauma from an early age, years of drug abuse, and a chronic sense of disconnection that sometimes seemed self-engineered. Smith died violently in LA in 2003, under what some believe to be questionable circumstances, of stab wounds to the chest. By this time fame had found him, and record-buyers who shared the listening experience felt he spoke directly to them from beyond: astute, damaged, lovelorn, fighting, until he could fight no more. And yet, although his intimate lyrics carried the weight of truth, Smith remained unknowable. In Torment Saint, William Todd Schultz gives us the first proper biography of the rock star, a decade after his death, imbued with affection, authority, sensitivity, and long-awaited clarity.

Torment Saint draws on Schultz's careful, deeply knowledgeable readings and insights, as well as on more than 150 hours of interviews with close friends from Texas to Los Angeles, lovers, bandmates, music peers, managers, label owners, and recording engineers and producers. This book unravels the remaining mysteries of Smith's life and his shocking, too early end. It will be, for Smith’s legions of fans and readers still discovering his songbook, an indispensable examination of his life and legacy.

Direct download links available for PRETITLE Torment Saint: The Life of Elliott Smith POSTTITLE

• Product Details
• Table of Contents
• Reviews

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA; 1 edition (October 1, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1608199738
• ISBN-13: 978-1608199730
• Product Dimensions: 0.9 x 6 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

{PRETITLE} Torment Saint: The Life of Elliott Smith {POSTTITLE}

William Todd Schultz biography of Elliott Smith is not particularly definitive, though it at least attempts to fill an obvious void in well-researched accounts of his life; many readers having been unsated by Benjamin Nugent's previous attempt that seemed rushed to publication shortly after Smith's death. One of the key strengths of this book is its supremely fine focus on Smith's early years growing up in Dallas, followed by the move to Portland and his time with Heatmiser. The detail and insight in this first half of the book is captivating, with regard to both the development of the man and his music.

The only drawback in this first half, one which occurs throughout the book, is Schultz's use of lyric snippets from Smith's songs to garnish some particular moment, explicitly referencing which song that lyrics derives from every time this device is employed. This tactic, used far too frequently to retain any charm, quickly begins to grate and distract from the text.

The second half of the book, starting around the release of the self titled album, meditates on that album's preoccupation with heroin by someone who at that point was not a user. This is an intriguing observation, but it also marks the starting point of a narrative shift. The complexity of the subject slowly begins to dilute into that of a tortured genius gradually plummeting towards death. Who constructs this narrative? Schultz is the author, but he is not entirely responsible for this. For one, what Schultz has at his disposal is ultimately sparse. All he can rely is the music, published interviews, and oral histories from friends and collaborators, and then only those willing to share.

To start, i must say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Schultz takes on a lofty task in writing a book about a complex artist and well-known tragic end. The beginning of the book starts with outlining the similarities between Elliott Smith's life and death with other well known musicians that have ended their own lives prematurely, namely Kurt Cobain. Many of the similarities are uncanny, and the reader is captivated from the outset.

The best qualities of this book are the descriptions of Elliott through the eyes of his friends, family, and bandmates over the years, especially the early years in Texas. This is an element of Elliott's life that most fans did not know about before this book. The other high notes about this text are that much of it is about the music. It is unavoidable to think of much of Elliott's music as being autobiographical, and Schultz does a superb job of interlacing his text with direct references to many of Elliott's lyrics. Schultz also takes it upon himself, through the help of interviews with close friends, to interpret many of Elliott's lyrics. I think he does a good job here and doesn't really overstep his bounds in most of these interpretations.

What really made this book such a great read for me was that it allowed me to appreciate Elliott Smith's music even more than I already do, something I didn't think was possible (he is my favorite musician and I've been listening intently for about 15 years). The book is expectedly chronological. I often found myself setting the book down multiple times simply because I needed to take a break and listen carefully to each Elliott Smith and Heatmiser album that was being written about. I even took to watching some youtube music videos, which I'm not usually inclined to do.