Radio Ethiopia

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Radio Ethiopia
Radio Ethiopia cover
Studio album by Patti Smith Group
Released October 1976 (1976-10)
Recorded Record Plant Studios, 1976
Genre Punk rock
Length 41:15
Label Arista
Producer Jack Douglas
Professional reviews
Patti Smith chronology
Horses
(1975)		 Radio Ethiopia
(1976)		 Easter
(1978)
Singles from Radio Ethiopia
  1. "Pissing in a River"
    Released: 1976
  2. "Pumping (My Heart)"
    Released: 1976
  3. "Ask the Angels"
    Released: 1977

Radio Ethiopia is the rock album by Patti Smith Group, released October, 1976 on Arista Records. The album was panned by music critics, and failure commercially, although in later articles about Smith, the album has been called one of her "classic 70's albums".

Contents

[edit] History

Radio Ethiopia was the followup record to Smith's widely acclaimed debut Horses. In interviews surrounding the album's release, Smith explained that she chose producer Jack Douglas in hopes of making the album a commercial success. The album was negatively received when it was released and Smith was attacked by critics for what they perceived to be laziness, self-indulgence and selling out.

The title track of the album is one of Smith's most notorious songs, almost legendary for appearing to be "10 minutes of noise". Critics often described live renditions of the song as negative moments of Smith's concerts. Patti herself spoke highly of the track and of how the lyrics refer to Arthur Rimbaud's dying wishes. Arguments both for and against the song have been advanced by critics, fans and music listeners over whether the song truly is an example of the Patti Smith Group's boundary-pushing or merely self-indulgence. Critics in negative reviews cited that Douglas' production placed more emphasis on creating a heavy sound through numerous guitar parts which smothered Smith's vocals[1] and, at times, lamented that all of the album's songs were originals of the group (Smith co-wrote much of the album with bassist Ivan Kral, the band member keenest for commercial success [2]). "Ain't It Strange" and "Distant Fingers", the latter co-written with Smith's long-time boyfriend Allen Lanier, had both been staples of the Group's concerts long before the recording of "Horses".

The album's cover photograph is by Judy Linn, the back of the album features a photo by Lynn Goldsmith. The album was dedicated to Arthur Rimbaud and Constantin Brâncuşi. The back cover of the album bears the legend: "Free Wayne Kramer", who at the time was incarcerated in Kentucky following his conviction for dealing cocaine. "Pissing in a River" was released as a single same year. It was also featured in the 1980 movie Times Square. In 2001, the album listed in Mojo's "Ultimate CD Buyers Guide".[3]

[edit] Track listing

All songs were written by Patti Smith and Ivan Kral, except where noted.

[edit] Side one

  1. "Ask the Angels" – 3:07
  2. "Ain't It Strange" – 6:35
  3. "Poppies" (Smith, Richard Sohl) – 7:05
  4. "Pissing in a River" – 4:41

[edit] Side two

  1. "Pumping (My Heart)" (Smith, Kral, Jay Dee Daugherty) – 3:20
  2. "Distant Fingers" (Smith, Allen Lanier) – 4:17
  3. "Radio Ethiopia" (Smith, Lenny Kaye) – 10:00
  4. "Abyssinia" (Smith, Kaye, Sohl) – 2:10

"Radio Ethiopia" and "Abyssinia" were recorded live on 9 August 1976.

[edit] Bonus track (CD reissue)

  • "Chiklets" – 6:23

[edit] Personnel

Band

Additional personnel

[edit] Charts

Chart (1977)[4][5] Position
Billboard 200 122
Sweden 38

[edit] Release history

Date Label Format Catalog
October 1976 Arista Records LP 4097
1996 Arista Records CD 18825
2007 Sony BMG CD 37928

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ rollingstone.com.
  2. ^ Paytress, Mark [2006]. Break It Up: Patti Smith's Horses and the remaking of Rock 'n' Roll, Record Collector. Portrait, p. 260. ISBN 0-749-95107-9. 
  3. ^ Best of All-time Lists. Acclaimed Music. Retrieved on 2008-02-29.
  4. ^ Billboard chart. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  5. ^ Swedish chart. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Patti Smith
Studio albums
Horses (1975) · Radio Ethiopia (1976) · Easter (1978) · Wave (1979) · Dream of Life (1988) · Gone Again (1996) · Peace and Noise (1997) · Gung Ho (2000) · Trampin' (2004) · Twelve (2007)
Other albums and EPs
Hey Joe / Radio Ethiopia (1977) · Set Free (1978) · The Patti Smith Masters (1996) · Land (2002) · Horses/Horses (2005) · iTunes Originals (2008)
Singles
"Hey Joe" (1974) · "Gloria" (1976) · "Pissing in a River" (1976) · "Pumping (My Heart)" (1976) · "Ask the Angels" (1977) · "Because the Night" (1978) · "Privilege (Set Me Free)" (1978) · "Frederick" (1979) · "Dancing Barefoot" (1979) · "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star" (1979) · "People Have the Power" (1988) · "Looking for You (I Was)" (1988) · "Up There Down There" (1988) · "Summer Cannibals" (1996) · "E-Bow the Letter" (1996) · "1959" (1997) · "Glitter in Their Eyes" (2000) · "Jubilee" (2004) · "Gimme Shelter" (2007)
Books
Seventh Heaven (1972) · Witt (1973) · Babel (1978) · Woolgathering (1992) · Early Work (1994) · The Coral Sea (1996) · Patti Smith Complete (1998) · Strange Messenger (2003) · Auguries of Innocence (2005)
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