| Radio Ethiopia | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 1976 | |||
| Recorded | 1976 | |||
| Studio | Record Plant (New York, New York) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 41:15 | |||
| Label | Arista | |||
| Producer | Jack Douglas | |||
| Patti Smith Group chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Radio Ethiopia | ||||
| ||||
Radio Ethiopia, the second studio album by Patti Smith, and her first album to credited as Patti Smith Group. The album was released in October 1976 through Arista Records.
Radio Ethiopia was the follow-up 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 commercially successful. Smith co-wrote much of the album with bassist Ivan Král, the band member keenest for commercial success. [4]
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. Smith 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.
"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, while the back of the album features a photo by Lynn Goldsmith. The album was dedicated to Arthur Rimbaud and Constantin Brâncuși. 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.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [3] |
| Chicago Tribune | [5] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | A− [2] |
| Mojo | [6] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [7] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 7/10 [8] |
Radio Ethiopia 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. Critics in negative reviews cited that Douglas' production placed more emphasis on creating a heavy sound through numerous guitar parts that smothered Smith's vocals, [1] and, at times, lamented that all of the album's songs were originals of the group.
In a contemporary review of Radio Ethiopia, Rolling Stone critic Dave Marsh opined that Smith "seems to lack the direction necessary to live up to her own best ideas". [1] In Creem , Richard Meltzer was more enthusiastic and wrote that "there really ain't no way I'm gonna be anything but thrilled to my shorthairs by a Patti LP and this one's no exception." [9] Village Voice critic Robert Christgau stated that the album's sound "delivers the charge of heavy metal without the depressing predictability; its riff power ... has the human elan of a band that is still learning to play." [2]
AllMusic critic William Ruhlmann retrospectively described Radio Ethiopia as "a schizophrenic album in which the many elements that had worked so well together on Horses now seemed jarringly incompatible", noting that the Patti Smith Group had "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." [3] In 2001, the album was listed in Mojo's "Ultimate CD Buyers Guide". [10]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ask the Angels" | 3:07 | |
| 2. | "Ain't It Strange" |
| 6:35 |
| 3. | "Poppies" |
| 7:05 |
| 4. | "Pissing in a River" |
| 4:41 |
| 5. | "Pumping (My Heart)" |
| 3:20 |
| 6. | "Distant Fingers" |
| 4:17 |
| 7. | "Radio Ethiopia" |
| 10:00 |
| 8. | "Abyssinia" |
| 2:10 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9. | "Chiklets" |
| 6:23 |
Notes
Patti Smith Group
Additional personnel
| Chart (1976–77) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [11] | 93 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [12] | 38 |
| US Billboard 200 [13] | 122 |
| Date | Label | Format | Catalog no. |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 1976 | Arista Records | LP, 8-Track, Cassette | 4097 |
| 1996 | CD | 18825 | |
| 2007 | Sony BMG | 37928 | |
| 2008 | "Original Album Classics" CD box set | 88697313832 |
Leslie Conway "Lester" Bangs was an American music journalist, critic, author, and musician. He wrote for Creem and Rolling Stone magazines, and was known for his leading influence in rock music criticism. The music critic Jim DeRogatis called him "America's greatest rock critic".
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter, and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses.
Horses is the debut studio album by American musician Patti Smith. It was released on November 10, 1975 by Arista Records. A fixture of the mid-1970s underground rock music scene in New York City, Smith signed to Arista in 1975 and recorded Horses with her band at Electric Lady Studios in August and September of that year. She enlisted former Velvet Underground member John Cale to produce the album.
More Songs About Buildings and Food is the second studio album by American rock band Talking Heads, released on July 14, 1978, by Sire Records. It was the first of three albums produced by collaborator Brian Eno, and saw the band move toward an increasingly danceable style, crossing singer David Byrne's unusual delivery with new emphasis on the rhythm section composed of bassist Tina Weymouth and drummer Chris Frantz.
Blank Generation is the debut studio album by American punk rock band Richard Hell and the Voidoids. It was produced by Richard Gottehrer and released in September 1977 on Sire Records.
Secret Treaties is the third studio album by American rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on April 5, 1974 by Columbia. It features the same band members and production team as their previous album.
Soldier is the fourth studio album by American rock singer Iggy Pop. It was released in February 1980 by record label Arista.
Party is the fifth solo studio album by American rock singer Iggy Pop. It was released in June 1981 by record label Arista. For this record, Pop collaborated with Ivan Kral, who is best known as the guitar and bass player for Patti Smith in the 1970s.
Easter is the third studio album by American musician Patti Smith, and the second release where her backing band Patti Smith Group is billed. It was released in March 1978 by Arista Records. Produced by Jimmy Iovine, the album is regarded as the group's commercial breakthrough, owing to the success of the rock single "Because the Night", which reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number five on the UK Singles Chart.
Wave is the fourth studio album by Patti Smith, and the third and final album where the Patti Smith Group is billed. It was released on May 17, 1979, by Arista Records. Produced by Todd Rundgren, the album continued the band's move towards more radio-friendly mainstream pop rock sound. Wave garnered a mixed reception from music critics and was less successful than its predecessor, Easter (1978). However, the songs "Frederick" and "Dancing Barefoot" both received commercial airplay. Following the album's release, the band disbanded, and frontwoman Patti Smith pursued a solo career nine years later with Dream of Life (1988).
Dream of Life is the fifth studio album by Patti Smith, released in June 1988 on Arista Records.
Land (1975–2002) is a two disc compilation album by Patti Smith, released on March 19, 2002, on Arista Records. Land (1975–2002) contains a collection of recordings from her eight previous albums on the first disc, along with B-sides and unreleased songs on the second disc. The album ranked number eight in Mojo's "Best Box Sets & Compilations of 2002". It is dedicated to the memory of Richard Sohl.
Romantic Warrior is the sixth studio album by the American jazz fusion band Return to Forever, released in 1976 by Columbia Records. After releasing their previous album, No Mystery (1975), their fourth for Polydor Records, the group moved to Columbia and retreated to Caribou Ranch near Nederland, Colorado to record their next album. It was also their first to be credited solely to Return to Forever, removing the "featuring Chick Corea" tag. The album is more avant-garde and less funky than No Mystery, and remains the band's highest selling album with over 500,000 copies sold in the US.
No Secrets is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Elektra Records, on November 28, 1972.
Spectrum is the debut solo album by jazz fusion drummer Billy Cobham.
The Immortal Otis Redding is a posthumous studio album by American soul recording artist Otis Redding, released in June 1968 by Atco Records. It compiles 11 songs recorded by Redding in a three-week stretch of sessions that concluded days prior to his death in December 1967. "The Happy Song (Dum-Dum)" was the only song previously released, having been a single in April 1968. The Immortal Otis Redding featured four charting singles including "The Happy Song", "I've Got Dreams to Remember", "Amen", and "Hard to Handle".
Ivan Kral was a Czech-born American composer, filmmaker, guitarist, record producer, bassist, and singer-songwriter. He worked across genres including pop music, punk rock, garage rock, rock, jazz, soul, country and film scores. His music has been recorded by such artists as U2, Téléphone, Patti Smith, Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Simple Minds, and John Waite, among others. The Czech three-time Andel Awards winner died of cancer in 2020, aged 71.
Hey Joe / Radio Ethiopia is the first EP by Patti Smith Group, released in 1977 on Arista Records.
Moonshot is a studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie, released in 1972 by Vanguard Records.
Chapter One: Latin America is a 1973 album by Gato Barbieri. It was recorded and issued in 1973 on Impulse! Records as AS-9248. The album was re-released in 1997 as part of Latino America, a double CD that also included the album Chapter Two: Hasta Siempre along with unreleased tracks.
