Reality sucks some time. Case in point is the fact we rarely get to write about Elliott Smith. So a major thanks goes out to the folks at Kill Rock Stars, who today announced the reissuing of two of the mastermind’s 1994 debut Roman Candle and 2004 posthumous LP From a Basement on the Hill.

As Rolling Stone reports, the Washington based label will dish out the re-releases on April 6th. No word on any bonus material, but according to Pitchfork, Tape Op Magazine editor and Smith archivist Larry Crane handled the remastering for Roman Candle. It will mark the first time the Smith’s debut will be available on vinyl in the U.S.

Crane explains, “The intention that I had was to make the album more listenable. I felt that a lot of the guitar “squeaks” were jarring and very loud, and that many of the hard consonants and “S” sounds were jarring and scratchy sounding. I felt by reducing these noises that the music would become more inviting and the sound would serve the songs better. When I went to Roger Seibel’s SAE Mastering, he proceeded to equalize the tracks a small amount and to make the volume slightly louder. We never tried to make this CD as loud as current, over-limited trends, but just to match the volume of the rest of Elliott’s KRS catalog in a graceful way. Please note that none of this album is “remixed” from the master tapes – it is still composed of the mixes Elliott created himself.”

Cool, huh?

What’s even cooler is Kill Rock Stars has accompanied their announcement with the offering of a previously unreleased Smith song titled “Cecilia/Amanda”. The track, which was recorded in 1997, is a rewrite of “Time Is Ours Now”. Check it out below.

Check Out:
“Cecilia/Amanda”