Listen to Elliott Smith’s Melancholic Solo Version of Heatmiser’s ‘Plainclothes Man’

In 2014, director Nickolas Rossi debuted his Elliott Smith documentary Heaven Adores You at a string of movie festivals before it made its wider premiere the following year. Now, the film’s soundtrack -- which includes a handful of previously unreleased songs from the late singer-songwriter -- is due out in just a couple weeks’ time. Ahead of that day, Rossi has shared Smith’s solo rendition of Heatmiser’s “Plainclothes Man.” Take a listen above (via Stereogum).

“Plainclothes Man” appeared on Heatmiser’s final album Mic City Sons in 1996. After the dissolution of Smith’s Portland-based band, he released two more solo albums -- 1997’s Either/Or and 1998’s XO -- before his death in 2003.

The Heaven Adores You soundtrack is slated for a Feb. 5 release via UMe (see the track list below). Album supervisor Kevin Moyer had this to say about Smith’s transition from Heatmiser to his solo work:

I think Elliott was rebelling against his own sound at the time. I don’t think it was anything personal and it was just his way of moving on probably, as he wasn’t always the best with closure. At the time it was the rise of grunge and heavy and loud sound and Heatmiser was there at the top of the heap and I think he just got tired of it. So he stripped it all down and just began performing by himself alone on stage sitting on a folding chair and strumming an acoustic guitar. At the time, that was not the popular thing to do. I mean, that’s punk right there -- to do the opposite of what everyone else was doing, and to do it all alone by yourself with nothing to hide behind. It’s kind of like the opposite of when Bob Dylan plugged in and went electric.

Heaven Adores You compiles rare photos and footage of Smith alongside interviews with his friends and collaborators, including his sister Ashley, ex-girlfriend Joanna Bolme, Jon Brion, Heatmiser’s Neil Gust and more. You can revisit the trailer below; it discusses Smith’s Portland roots, his live performances and his 1998 Academy Award nomination for "Miss Misery"’s inclusion in Good Will Hunting.

Heaven Adores You Soundtrack Track List
1. “Untitled Guitar Finger Picking” [1983]
2. “Untitled Melancholy Song” [1993]
3. “Don’t Call Me Billy” [early version of “Fear City”] [1993]
4. “Christian Brothers” [performed with Heatmiser] [1995]
5. “Hamburgers” [performed with Neil Gust] [1995]
6. “Plainclothes Man” [Elliott solo version] [1996]
7. “Unknown Song (instrumental)” [1994]
8. “Say Yes” [live at Yo Yo Festival 1997] [1997]
9. “Unknown (instrumental)” [1994]
10. “Coast To Coast” [early version] [1995-96]
11. “Waltz #1″ (demo) [1997]
12. “Untitled Soft Song In F” [1993]
13. “True Love” [2001]
14. “Miss Misery” [live on “Late Night With Conan O’Brien”] [1998]
15. “L.A.” [1999]
16. “Son Of Sam” (acoustic) [1999]
17. “The Last Hour” [early version] [1999]
18. “Everything Means Nothing To Me” [1999]
19. “Happiness” [1999]
20. “I Love My Room” [1984-85]