Christopher O'Riley - Home to Oblivion: An Elliott Smith Tribute

Genre classical Publisher World Village External Links Official Christopher O'Riley Website Official World Village Website

Christopher O'Riley's Home to Oblivion takes Elliott Smith's songcraft, strips it of its lyrics and reduces the music to background stuff one might hear at wine-and-cheese parties or elevator rides.

That's because the music is just O'Riley playing piano - no singing. Smith also has a reputation for intriguing arrangements on his solo records. On the other hand, O'Riley limits himself. He's done the same type of tribute album for Radiohead, another original band with creative arrangements.

What's weird is that O'Riley clearly comes across as a big fan of Smith's in the liner notes. He puts Smith on a par with Cole Porter and George Gershwin as great American songwriters. He adds that he's only trying to "emulate" Smith's "lyric gift" with his piano playing. It's not exactly clear, though, how he's doing this, and whether it's too esoteric or too pretentious, it can't be recommended.

As opposed to the tribute album phenomenon of the mid '90s, this tribute album is by somebody who considers himself more than just some sort of fanboy. Rather, O'Riley considers himself a student of Smith's work. He finds Smith's voice to be haunting, so he wants to give his tribute album a haunting vibe. But it's just too boring, too lackluster and too sentimental. Stick with the original.