"Pretty (Ugly Before)" is a song by American singer-songwriter Elliott Smith. It was released as a limited-edition 7" vinyl single in 2003 by record label Suicide Squeeze, Smith's final single released during his lifetime. It was later re-released by Domino in 2004, and appeared on Smith's posthumous final album, From a Basement on the Hill.
"Pretty (Ugly Before)" was released as a limited-edition 7" vinyl single in 2003 by record label Suicide Squeeze. The single did not chart in the United States.[1] It was re-released in 2004 by record label Domino, reaching number 85 in the UK Singles Chart,[2] and appeared on Smith's posthumous final album, From a Basement on the Hill. An alternate version of the single's B-side, "A Distorted Reality Is Now a Necessity to Be Free", also appears on the album.
"Pretty (Ugly Before)" was recorded at Fort Apache Studios in Cambridge, Massachusetts, by engineer Matthew Ellard and assisted by Andrew Beckman, while Elliott was on tour with his band. Beckman recalls "Elliott was very shy at first and kept his distance. Once we started talking about gear, he opened up quickly. He was excited about the Line 6 delay pedal he was using for the backwards delay at the end of the song. During the first take, I gave him a huge thumbs up and he couldn't help but smile."
The Mellotron-like keyboard part during the intro was created using a Casio SK-1 sampler, which the keyboard player Aaron Embry sang one note into then spread the sample out across the keyboard. Because the SK-1 has no internal storage, he had to do this every time he wanted to use the sound. "I remember scrambling around trying to find a combination of adapters that would allow us to get a mini sized output from the Casio into our Neve 8078 console. Thankfully we got it working, as the sound is haunting and a perfect intro to this amazing tune," remembered Beckman.
Smith recorded his vocals alone in the control room on a Neumann U67 mic while the band and crew enjoyed a dinner in the adjacent kitchen.
Track listingedit
All tracks are written by Elliott Smith
Side A
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Pretty (Ugly Before)"
4:40
Side B
No.
Title
Length
1.
"A Distorted Reality Is Now a Necessity to Be Free"
3:06
Referencesedit
^"Elliott Smith – Chart History | Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
^"Elliott Smith | Official Charts Company". Official Charts. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
April 12, 2024
pretty, ugly, before, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, pretty, ugly, before, news, newspapers, books,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Pretty Ugly Before news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Pretty Ugly Before is a song by American singer songwriter Elliott Smith It was released as a limited edition 7 vinyl single in 2003 by record label Suicide Squeeze Smith s final single released during his lifetime It was later re released by Domino in 2004 and appeared on Smith s posthumous final album From a Basement on the Hill Pretty Ugly Before Single by Elliott Smithfrom the album From a Basement on the HillB side A Distorted Reality Is Now a Necessity to Be Free Released2003GenreIndie rockLabelSuicide SqueezeSongwriter s Elliott SmithElliott Smith singles chronology Son of Sam 2000 Pretty Ugly Before 2003 The song features post bridge backing vocals from Smith s former Heatmiser bandmate Sam Coomes Contents 1 Release 2 Recording 3 Track listing 4 ReferencesRelease edit Pretty Ugly Before was released as a limited edition 7 vinyl single in 2003 by record label Suicide Squeeze The single did not chart in the United States 1 It was re released in 2004 by record label Domino reaching number 85 in the UK Singles Chart 2 and appeared on Smith s posthumous final album From a Basement on the Hill An alternate version of the single s B side A Distorted Reality Is Now a Necessity to Be Free also appears on the album Recording editThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed April 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message Pretty Ugly Before was recorded at Fort Apache Studios in Cambridge Massachusetts by engineer Matthew Ellard and assisted by Andrew Beckman while Elliott was on tour with his band Beckman recalls Elliott was very shy at first and kept his distance Once we started talking about gear he opened up quickly He was excited about the Line 6 delay pedal he was using for the backwards delay at the end of the song During the first take I gave him a huge thumbs up and he couldn t help but smile The Mellotron like keyboard part during the intro was created using a Casio SK 1 sampler which the keyboard player Aaron Embry sang one note into then spread the sample out across the keyboard Because the SK 1 has no internal storage he had to do this every time he wanted to use the sound I remember scrambling around trying to find a combination of adapters that would allow us to get a mini sized output from the Casio into our Neve 8078 console Thankfully we got it working as the sound is haunting and a perfect intro to this amazing tune remembered Beckman Smith recorded his vocals alone in the control room on a Neumann U67 mic while the band and crew enjoyed a dinner in the adjacent kitchen Track listing editAll tracks are written by Elliott SmithSide ANo TitleLength1 Pretty Ugly Before 4 40 Side BNo TitleLength1 A Distorted Reality Is Now a Necessity to Be Free 3 06References edit Elliott Smith Chart History Billboard Billboard Retrieved March 14 2015 Elliott Smith Official Charts Company Official Charts Retrieved March 14 2015 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Pretty Ugly Before amp oldid 1186422372, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
