Radio Ethiopia (Remastered) Patti Smith

• 1 Ask the Angels 03:09
• 2 Ain't It Strange 06:36
• 3 Poppies 07:06
• 4 Pissing In a River 04:52
• 5 Pumping 03:21
• 6 Distant Fingers 04:19
• 7 Radio Ethiopia 10:03
• 8 Abyssinia 02:01
• Total Runtime 41:27

Info for Radio Ethiopia (Remastered)

1976's "Radio Ethiopia", the follow-up to "Horses", turned out to be both more conventional in some ways and more challenging in others. A deciding factor was Jack 'Aerosmith' Douglas replacement of John Cale as producer--the songs were more succinct (for the most part) this time around. The group continued to strive for the perfect balance between thought-provoking poetry and rough rock n' roll, and while "Radio Ethiopia" contains it's share of highlights, many Smith fans consider it a transitional album not quite up to par with either "Horses" or "Easter".

The opening "Ask the Angels" was perhaps The Patti Smith Group's most straight-ahead rocker up to that point, while the exploratory reggae-tinged "Ain't It Strange" would be extended concert staple. The tempo is brought down a notch or two on the cool "Poppies," "Abyssinia," and "Chiklets", but soon returns to furious rock with "Pumping (My Heart)." Also included is the album's best track, the haunting and heartbroken "Distant Fingers," while the 10-minute title cut features a repetitive heavy metal riff amongst a backdrop of sonic experimentation and a frantic recitation by Smith.

"After the success of Horses, Patti Smith had something to prove to reviewers and to the industry, and Radio Ethiopia aimed at both. Producer Jack Douglas gave "the Patti Smith Group," as it was now billed, a hard rock sound, notably on the side-opening "Ask the Angels" and "Pumping (My Heart)," songs that seemed aimed at album-oriented rock radio. But the title track was a ten-minute guitar extravaganza that pushed the group's deliberate primitivism closer to amateurish thrashing. Elsewhere, Smith repeated the reggae excursions and vocal overlaying that had paced Horses on "Ain't It Strange" and "Poppies," but these efforts were less effective than they had been the first time around, perhaps because they were less inspired, perhaps because they were more familiar. A schizophrenic album in which the many elements that had worked so well together on Horses now seemed jarringly incompatible, with Radio Ethiopia Smith and her band encountered the same development problem the punks would -- as they learned their craft and competence set in, they lost some of the unself-consciousness that had made their music so appealing." (William Ruhlmann, AMG)

Patti Smith, vocals, guitar
Lenny Kaye, guitar, bass, vocals, mixing
Jay Dee Daugherty, drums, percussion
Ivan Kral, bass, guitar
Richard Sohl, keyboards, synthesizer, piano

Recorded 1976 at Record Plant Studios, New York City
Produced by Jack Douglas

Digitally remastered

No biography found.

This album contains no booklet.