Release type:What's this?
studio album
First released:
Aug 11 1998

Overview Edit

XO is the name of the fourth album recorded by American singer-songwriter Elliott Smith. Smith's first work on a major label, it was released by DreamWorks Records on August 25, 1998. Bong Load Custom Records released it on vinyl LP, which has since gone out of print. Vinyl copies of XO remained rare until a re-release by Plain Records in 2008. The album is also available as digital download.

The singles from XO were "Waltz #2 (XO)" and "Baby Britain". An early working title for the album was Grand Mal. Smith recorded numerous songs during the XO sessions that did not make it to the album.

Matthew LeMay has written a book about XO as part of the 33⅓ series, released on April 6, 2009 by the Continuum International Publishing Group. XO received widespread critical praise and remains one of the most influential, classic albums of the decade. Pitchfork.com placed the record at #23 (1999) and #68 (2003) on their list of the "Top 100 Albums of the 90s".

The Overview appearing in this section is attributed to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XO_(album). Portions of this Overview may be available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, version 3.0 or any later version, available at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/. Additional terms may apply. See Wikipedia Terms of Use for details.

This text is from Wikipedia. Write us a better overview perhaps?

Added to your library

This particular version Edit

Record label:
Catalog number:
50048
Release dates:
  • Aug 25 1998 in United States

Genres

Know Indie? Take the quiz
Indie, Acoustic, Alternative Folk, Folk, Singer-Songwriter. Vote on Genres

What do Amazon.com customers think?

5 stars Deserves every star
The first album I ever heard of Elliot Smith was from the movie "Keeping the Faith." It was his song "pitseleh", from his album XO. This was enough to make me go out and buy the album, and I have yet to be disappointed.

There are two things that make this musician stand out in a crowd. First comes his incredible music. His harmonic textures and rhythmic off-beating constantly combine to create a much needed breath of fresh air in this bubblegum pop world. I didn't realize how tired I was of the …
Read the full review
Written by R.M.
3 stars A step back
Not a bad album at all--in fact, there are some really nice tracks like "Waltz #2 (XO)" and "Sweet Adeline." But compared with the albums that come before it (especially Either/Or), this one is a bit of a letdown. The lyrics are kinda flabby, and even his usually impeccable melodies are a bit flat. The 3-star rating is a bit unfair bacause I'm comparing it to his other albums, but if you're looking to buy your first E. Smith, start someplace else.
Written by Thomas Mathew

Track listing Edit

Credits Edit

  1. arranger

    1. Shelly Berg [Strings and horns arranged by]
    2. Tom Halm [Strings and horns arranged by]

  2. design

    1. Eric Matthies [Photography]

  3. engineer

    1. Larry Crane [Engineer, Mixing, Producer]
    2. Richard Barron [Assistant Engineer]
    3. Stephen Marcussen [Mastering]

  4. other

    1. Monique Rozendaal [Production Coordination]

  5. performer

    1. Bruce Eskovitz [Bass saxophone, Baritone saxophone, and flute]
    2. Farhad Behroozi [Strings]
    3. Henry Ferber [Strings]
    4. Jerrod Goodman [Strings]
    5. Joey Waronker [drums on "Bled White" and "Bottle Up and Explode!"]
    6. Jon Brion [chamberlin and vibraphone on "Waltz #1", "Bottle Up and Explode!", and "Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands".]
    7. Pamela Dealmeida [Strings]
    8. Paul Pulvirenti [drums on "Baby Britain"]
    9. R. James Atkinson [French Horn]
    10. Ray Poper [Trumpet]
    11. Rob Schnapf [guitar on "Baby Britain"]
    12. Tom Rothrock [drum loop on "Independence Day"]
    13. Tony Hatch [Strings]

  1. producer

  2. writer

    1. Elliott Smith [All songs written by]

Other versions Edit

XO 14 tracks format: 1 x CD
record label: DreamWorks Records
catalog number: DRD 50048
release dates: Aug 24 1998 in United Kingdom
view details
XO 3 tracks format: 1 x CD
catalog number: 50048
release dates: Aug 25 1998
view details
XO 15 tracks format: 1 x CD
catalog number: 50048
release dates: Aug 25 1998 in United States
view details
XO 14 tracks format: 1 x vinyl
record label: Bong Load Records
release dates: Aug 11 1998
view details
Tell us about another version?

Trivia Edit

  • An early working title for the album was Grand Mal.
  • Recorded 1997–1998 at Sunset Sound Recorders, The Sound Factory, Ocean Way Recording, and Sonora Recorders in Los Angeles, California except for "Amity" recorded at Jackpot! Studios in Portland, Oregon.
  • The title of the first track, "Sweet Adeline", was inspired by Smith's recollections of his grandmother singing in her glee club, Sweet Adelines International.
  • Strings and horns arranged by Elliott Smith with Tom Halm and Shelly Berg.
  • "Amity" was named after a friend who can be seen in photographs from Smith's 1997 tour.

Websites Edit

SoundUnwound is not responsible for the content of external websites.

Top editors for XO

Editor Edits
ATTMFK 35

View page edit history