Elliott Smith: You've Got To Hide Your Love Away

WHEN ELLIOTT SMITH played Los Angeles in the fall of 2002, after more than a year of semi-seclusion, he didn't look so good. His hands scrabbled across the guitar strings like they were strangers to his arms. He appeared grubby and unshaven and wore a watch cap pulled low over his skull. He stumbled on a Beatles song -- his beloved Beatles! -- and seemed only partially acquainted with his own work. He looked in pain, and it was painful to hear.