This will be the third and hopefully final time I’ve posted my 51-track compilation of Elliott Smith’s complete live cover recordings. It is, in large part, the reason I moved from the old blogspot page to this shiny new space — its unexpected Google deletion. But we’re here for Elliott. The below tracks have been culled from years of research and dozens of live shows. Not every song has the greatest recording fidelity, but as much as possible, I chose the tapes with the best combination of performance and sound for this collection. If you can point me toward better versions or copies of any of these tracks, please feel free to post them in the comments and we’ll update accordingly. It should be noted that Elliott was really a fan of the bands he covered — most of these were not one-offs, but songs he performed regularly. His Texas heritage is on display when he sings Willie Nelson; his pop influences hang on his sleeve as he strums tracks by the Kinks, Big Star and his beloved Beatles. He took his covers very seriously, too: at many a live show, he wouldn’t play a request because he didn’t feel he could do it justice that night. Hear the ones he did play, lovingly, below:

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE LIVE COVERS ZIP.

For everything else: Visit the new Elliott Smith archive page.

Here’s what this compilation includes.

The Beatles:

Elliott Smith – “I’m So Tired”

Elliott Smith – “Something”

Elliott Smith – “I’m Only Sleeping”

Elliott Smith – “I Me Mine”

Elliott Smith – “Yer Blues”

Elliott Smith – “Long Long Long”

Elliott Smith – “Blackbird”

Elliott Smith – “For No One”

Beatles Solo Material:

Elliott Smith – “Jealous Guy” (John Lennon)

Elliott Smith – “Isn’t It A Pity” (George Harrison)

Elliott Smith – “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)” (George Harrison)

Elliott Smith – “My Sweet Lord” (George Harrison)

The Kinks:

Elliott Smith – “Waterloo Sunset”

Elliott Smith – “Set Me Free”

The following tracks are from Smith’s Kinks tribute set on August 3, 2003 — one of his last shows ever.

Elliott Smith – “Do It Again”

Elliott Smith – “Dead End Street”

Elliott Smith – “Here Comes Flash”

Elliott Smith – “Big Sky”

Bob Dylan and traditional songs:

Elliott Smith – “When I Paint My Masterpiece”

Elliott Smith – “Ballad of a Thin Man”

Elliott Smith – “Blackjack Davey”

Elliott Smith – “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right”

Elliott Smith – “Little Maggie” (1995 version)

Elliott Smith – “Little Maggie” (2000 version)

Elliott Smith – “Oh Sister”

Elliott Smith – “Moonshiner”

Neil Young:

Elliott Smith – “Harvest Moon”

Elliott Smith – “Out on the Weekend”

Big Star:

Elliott Smith – “Thirteen”

Elliott Smith – “Nighttime”

Elliott Smith – “Stroke It Noel”

Nico:

Elliott Smith – “Chelsea Girls”

Elliott Smith – “These Days” (A Jackson Browne song, for the record, but it’s Nico’s version that Elliott played)

Assorted Country:

Elliott Smith – “Lost Highway” (Hank Williams, Sr.)

Elliott Smith – “They’ll Never Take Her Love Away From Me” (Hank Williams, Sr.)

Elliott Smith – “All My Rowdy Friends Have Settled Down” (Hank Williams, Jr.)

Elliott Smith – “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain” (Willie Nelson) (an official release of a different performance of this track is available on Elliott’s Live at Largo album, which you can find packaged with Autumn de Wilde’s wonderful book.)

Assorted classic rockers:

Elliott Smith – “Friends (Led Zeppelin)

Elliott Smith – “Don’t Fear The Reaper” (Blue Oyster Cult)

Elliott Smith – “Whispering Pines” (The Band)

Elliott Smith – “Walk Away Renee” (The Left Banke)

Elliott Smith – “Walk Away Renee” (The Left Banke, with keyboard)

Elliott Smith – “Care of Cell 44″ (The Zombies – solo acoustic)

Elliott Smith – “Care of Cell 44” (The Zombies – full band, with the Minders)

Elliott Smith – “Last Boat Leaving” (Elvis Costello, partial song – 1996 soundcheck)

Modern bands:

Elliott Smith – “Supersonic” (Oasis)

Elliott Smith – “Trouble” (Jon Brion)

Elliott Smith – “Car” (Built To Spill)

Elliott Smith – “Clouds” (Quasi)

Elliott Smith – “Hooray for Tuesday” (The Minders, acoustic)

Elliott Smith – “Hooray for Tuesday” (The Minders, electric)

Elliott Smith – “Golden Street” (The Minders)

Elliott recorded a number of covers in the studio that were officially released, as well as a few that weren’t (which I’ve posted below). For reference, a list of Elliott’s studio covers (which you’ll have to pay for):

“Trouble” (Cat Stevens) – from the Thumbsucker soundtrack

“Because” (The Beatles) — from the American Beauty soundtrack

“Figure 8” (Blossom Dearie/Schoolhouse Rock) — A Figure 8 b-side

“Thirteen” (Big Star) – from the Thumbsucker soundtrack

And from his unreleased studio recordings:

Elliott Smith – “I’ll Be Back” (The Beatles)

Elliott Smith – “Revolution” (The Beatles)

More Elliott Smith:

Elliott Smith – Complete Unreleased Material: Live

Elliott Smith Live: The Definitive Guide

The Rawkblog Elliott Smith Archives