# From a Basement on the Hill
*From a Basement on the Hill* is the sixth and final studio album by the American singer-songwriter [Elliott Smith](https://www.edgepedia.org/elliott-smith) (1969-2003), released posthumously on October 19, 2004, nearly a year after his death.[1](https://www.flyingnun.co.nz/products/elliott-smith-from-a-basement-on-the-hill) • [2](https://www.elliottsmithdiscography.com/from-a-basement-on-the-hill.html) Smith had almost finished work on the album when he died, and the record was completed for release by his former producer Rob Schnapf and his ex-girlfriend Joanna Bolme, whom his family and estate brought in to sort through and finish the batch of more than thirty songs recorded for it.[3](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/New-Musical-Express/2014/NME-2014-05-17.pdf) • [1](https://www.flyingnun.co.nz/products/elliott-smith-from-a-basement-on-the-hill) It became his highest-charting release and was met with widespread acclaim from fans and critics, who noted its expanded musical textures alongside the intimacy of his songwriting.[4](https://morrowrecords.com/products/elliott-smith-from-a-basement-on-a-hill-2lp-30th-anniversary)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist | Elliott Smith, American singer-songwriter born Stephen Paul Smith in Omaha, Nebraska, active in the Portland, Oregon scene in the mid-1990s[5](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/elliott-smith-mn0000172167) |
| Release | October 19, 2004; US double LP on Anti- (86741-1), CD in a digipak with a twelve-page booklet; European CD on Domino (WIGCD147)[2](https://www.elliottsmithdiscography.com/from-a-basement-on-the-hill.html) |
| Length of tracklist | 15 tracks, from "Coast to Coast" (5:33) to "A Distorted Reality Is Now a Necessity to Be Free" (4:42)[1](https://www.flyingnun.co.nz/products/elliott-smith-from-a-basement-on-the-hill) |
| Recording | Various locations in Portland, Oregon and Los Angeles, California; produced by Elliott Smith, with "final production by Elliott's family and friends"[6](https://sfpl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S93C6712494) |
| Posthumous completion | Rob Schnapf and Joanna Bolme sorted through and finished the more than thirty recorded songs; the estate retained final decision on which tracks to include[1](https://www.flyingnun.co.nz/products/elliott-smith-from-a-basement-on-the-hill) |
| Commercial standing | Smith's highest-charting studio album, received with widespread acclaim[4](https://morrowrecords.com/products/elliott-smith-from-a-basement-on-a-hill-2lp-30th-anniversary) |
| 2024 remaster | 20th-anniversary reissue on Kill Rock Stars (KRS708), remastered by Larry Crane and Adam Gonsalves from the original 1/4-inch tape mixes, with no new songs added[2](https://www.elliottsmithdiscography.com/from-a-basement-on-the-hill.html) |
## Recording history
Material for the album accumulated after the completion of Smith's 2000 DreamWorks release *Figure 8*, and production was under way in late 2003.[7](https://udspace.udel.edu/bitstream/handle/19716/14288/udr_131_16.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1) In 2001 he had begun recording a new album with producer [Jon Brion](https://www.edgepedia.org/jon-brion), but those sessions were superseded when Brion confronted Smith about his substance abuse.[8](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/New-Musical-Express/2010/NME-2010-10-30.pdf) Smith continued recording largely on his own; on October 21, 2003, days after recording three new songs for the album, he was found dead with a steak knife in his chest, stabbed twice, and his death was initially ruled a suicide.[7](https://udspace.udel.edu/bitstream/handle/19716/14288/udr_131_16.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1)
While the album was still in search of a label, Smith's manager Scott Booker circulated a four-track advance promo CD dated 2002, listing "Shooting Star," "A Passing Feeling," "See You in Heaven," and "Let's Get Lost," with titles marked as tentative; "See You in Heaven" never appeared on the released album.[2](https://www.elliottsmithdiscography.com/from-a-basement-on-the-hill.html)
## Completion and release
After Smith's death, his family hired Schnapf, his former producer, and Bolme, his ex-girlfriend, to sort through and finish the more than thirty songs recorded for the album, with the estate retaining final decision on track selection.[1](https://www.flyingnun.co.nz/products/elliott-smith-from-a-basement-on-the-hill) The album credits state that final production was by "Elliott's family and friends," with most of the musical cutting done by the longtime collaborators Schnapf and Bolme.[6](https://sfpl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S93C6712494) • [7](https://udspace.udel.edu/bitstream/handle/19716/14288/udr_131_16.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1)
The released record runs 15 tracks. It opens with "Coast to Coast," moves through songs including "King's Crossing" and "A Fond Farewell," and closes with "A Distorted Reality Is Now a Necessity to Be Free."[1](https://www.flyingnun.co.nz/products/elliott-smith-from-a-basement-on-the-hill) The shortest track, "Ostrich & Chirping," lasts 34 seconds.[1](https://www.flyingnun.co.nz/products/elliott-smith-from-a-basement-on-the-hill) A contemporary review singled out "A Fond Farewell" as the album's centerpiece, "probably the most traditionally 'Elliott' song" on the record and the closest thing listeners get to a goodbye from the singer.[7](https://udspace.udel.edu/bitstream/handle/19716/14288/udr_131_16.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1)
The original US pressing on Anti- came as a double LP in a gatefold sleeve with handwritten lyrics, credits, and photos on the inner panels, a cover photo by Renaud Monfourny, and cut-out type by Autumn deWilde.[2](https://www.elliottsmithdiscography.com/from-a-basement-on-the-hill.html) In Europe the album appeared on Domino.[2](https://www.elliottsmithdiscography.com/from-a-basement-on-the-hill.html)
## Sound and reception
Critics heard an expanded musical palette on the album, with fuller arrangements alongside Smith's signature intimate stylings: the opening "Coast to Coast" opens into fully instrumented passages, while songs such as "Pretty (Ugly Before)" and "A Fond Farewell" balance fragile melody against rock density.[9](https://www.hhv.de/records/artikel/elliott-smith-from-a-basement-on-the-hill-remastered-edition-1450466) • [4](https://morrowrecords.com/products/elliott-smith-from-a-basement-on-a-hill-2lp-30th-anniversary) The record unifies the 1960s psychedelic sound Smith often cited as a primary inspiration with his own songwriting voice, with reviewers noting swampy guitar lines and hazy vocals.[4](https://morrowrecords.com/products/elliott-smith-from-a-basement-on-a-hill-2lp-30th-anniversary)
## Reissues
Kill Rock Stars, the label of Smith's early solo albums, reissued the album on vinyl repeatedly from 2010 onward, first on 180-gram vinyl and later in a series of limited color variants: a Newbury Comics exclusive on black-in-blue vinyl limited to 500 copies (2019), a Zia Records clear and purple/blue "galaxy" pressing of 300 copies (2020), a Turntable Lab clear-and-blue edition of 1,000 copies (2021), a pink pressing of 91 numbered copies (2021), an Experience Vinyl "blue and white cornetto" edition of 500 copies (2022), and a Newbury Comics blue seafoam wave edition of 750 copies (2023).[2](https://www.elliottsmithdiscography.com/from-a-basement-on-the-hill.html)
**2024 remaster.** For the album's 20th anniversary, Kill Rock Stars released a newly remastered edition under the new catalog number KRS708, with no new songs added. It features new digital transfers from the original 1/4-inch tape mixes by Schnapf and Bolme, remastered by the archival team of Larry Crane, who runs Jackpot! Studio and publishes the magazine *Tape Op*, and Adam Gonsalves of Telegraph Mastering, packaged in a deluxe mirror-board gatefold jacket.[2](https://www.elliottsmithdiscography.com/from-a-basement-on-the-hill.html) • [4](https://morrowrecords.com/products/elliott-smith-from-a-basement-on-a-hill-2lp-30th-anniversary) A remastered cassette edition followed.[9](https://www.hhv.de/records/artikel/elliott-smith-from-a-basement-on-the-hill-remastered-edition-1450466)
## References
1. [From a Basement on the Hill, Elliott Smith, Flying Nun product page](https://www.flyingnun.co.nz/products/elliott-smith-from-a-basement-on-the-hill)
2. [From a Basement on the Hill, Elliott Smith Discography](https://www.elliottsmithdiscography.com/from-a-basement-on-the-hill.html)
3. [Elliott Smith obituary coverage, NME, 17 May 2014](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/New-Musical-Express/2014/NME-2014-05-17.pdf)
4. [Elliott Smith - From a Basement on the Hill (2LP Remastered, Mirror Board Jacket), Morrow Records](https://morrowrecords.com/products/elliott-smith-from-a-basement-on-a-hill-2lp-30th-anniversary)
5. [Elliott Smith - Biography, Discography, Albums & Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/elliott-smith-mn0000172167)
6. [From a Basement on the Hill catalog record, San Francisco Public Library / BiblioCommons](https://sfpl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S93C6712494)
7. [Review of From a Basement on the Hill, The Review, University of Delaware, October 26, 2004](https://udspace.udel.edu/bitstream/handle/19716/14288/udr_131_16.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1)
8. [Elliott Smith feature, NME, October 30, 2010](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/New-Musical-Express/2010/NME-2010-10-30.pdf)
9. [Elliott Smith - From A Basement On The Hill Remastered Edition, HHV](https://www.hhv.de/records/artikel/elliott-smith-from-a-basement-on-the-hill-remastered-edition-1450466)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › Indie and alternative albums › Studio albums of the 2000s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license