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Deluxe Version of Elliott Smith’s Acclaimed ‘Figure 8’ Album Releasing on Colored Vinyl in Honor of 25th Anniversary

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A deluxe-edition version of Elliott Smith’s 2000 studio album, Figure 8, will be released on vinyl for the first time in early June in honor of the original record’s 25th anniversary.

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The limited-edition three-LP set will be pressed on opaque white, black, and red vinyl. The color scheme is a nod to the Los Angeles mural Smith is pictured standing in front of on the Figure 8 album cover.

[RELATED: 25 Years Ago This Month: Elliott Smith Goes Full Beatlesque on Figure 8]

The expanded collection previously was released via digital formats in 2019 in honor of what would’ve been Smith’s 50th birthday. It features Figure 8’s original 16 songs, plus seven bonus tracks.

The extra cuts include B-sides, solo acoustic versions, and alternate takes that initially appeared on various singles, promos, and international editions. Six of the seven recordings have never been released on vinyl.

The discs, which play at 45 rpm, will come packaged in a tri-fold sleeve. Only 3,000 copies of Figure 8 (Deluxe Edition) will be released globally. The triple-LP set can be purchased exclusively at Interscope.com, and is expected to ship on or about June 6.

More About Figure 8

Released on April 18, 2000, Figure 8 was Smith’s fifth studio album. It also was the final album he released before his untimely death in October 2003 at age 34.

Figure 8 peaked at No. 99 on the Billboard 200, making it Smith’s highest-charting album during his lifetime. Two singles were released from the album, “Happiness” and “Son of Sam,” although neither charted on the Billboard Hot 100.

Smith recorded Figure 8 in several studios, including Sunset Sound Recorders and Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, and Abbey Road in London. While working at Abbey Road, Elliott played the same piano Paul McCartney used to record the classic Beatles tune “The Fool on the Hill.”

While Elliott’s early releases were characterized by a stripped-down, low-fi sound, Figure 8 featured a more lush and layered production, similar to its acclaimed 1998 predecessor, XO.

Like XO, Smith co-produced Figure 8 with Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf.

About the Bonus Tracks

Among the deluxe edition’s bonus tracks are acoustic versions of “Happiness” and “Son of Sam.”

Also included is Smith’s cover of The Beatles’ “Because,” which was heard in the 1999 Oscar-winning film American Beauty.

In addition, the expanded Figure 8 features Elliott’s rendition of the Bob Dorough-penned tune “Figure Eight,” from the 1973 animated educational series Schoolhouse Rock. Smith’s cover, which gave the album its name, only appeared as a B-side of the U.K. “Son of Sam” single.

Figure 8 (Deluxe Edition) Vinyl Track List:

LP 1

Side A

  1. “Son of Sam”
  2. “Somebody That I Used to Know”
  3. “Junk Bond Trader”
  4. “Everything Reminds Me of Her”

Side B

  1. “Everything Means Nothing to Me”
  2. “L.A.”
  3. “In the Lost and Found (Honky Bach/The Roost)”
  4. “Stupidity Tries”

LP 2

Side C

  1. “Easy Way Out”
  2. “Wouldn’t Mama Be Proud”
  3. “Color Bars”
  4. “Happiness”

Side D

  1. “The Gondola Man”
  2. “Pretty Mary K”
  3. “Better Be Quiet Now”
  4. “Can’t Make a Sound”
  5. “Bye”

LP 3

Side E

  1. “Figure 8”
  2. “A Living Will”
  3. “Son of Sam” (Acoustic Version)
  4. “I Can’t Answer You Anymore”

Side F

  1. “Pretty Mary K” (Alternate Version)
  2. “Happiness” (Acoustic Version)
  3. “Because”
(Courtesy of Interscope/UMe)

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