As we mentioned in our list of Elliott Smith’s 10 best songs, Kill Rock Stars has deemed August to be Elliott Smith month, in honor of his 8/6 birthday, and they’ve been kindly flooding the market with alternate versions of some old tracks, mostly from Elliott’s third and final KRS LP, Either/Or. “Ballad Of Big Nothing” was one of Either/Or‘s most ambitious songs, featuring Elliott backed by a full band, not to mention a swooning pop chorus. I can’t hear many diversions from the final cut in this take except on the bridge leading out of the first chorus, which features a different set of lyrics and a slightly altered melody. Listen for yourself and tell me what I missed.
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The lyrics differ throughout, sometimes drastically. The cymbals are EQ’d much brighter than on the album version, too — a bit distracting.
I agree with Randy ^^^^^^^^^
The snare drum also seems turned up slightly. Right after “filled with smoldering anger” there is a different snare fill. The harmonized vocals (oooo’s) at the end are also mixed differently I think.
Still sounds good, but I think I prefer the album version.