| Radio Ethiopia | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| 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 | ||||
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| Singles from Radio Ethiopia | ||||
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Radio Ethiopia, the second studio album by Patti Smith, and her first album credited to 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 and critic. He wrote for Creem and Rolling Stone magazines and was also a performing musician. The music critic Jim DeRogatis called him "America's greatest rock critic".
Patricia Lee Smith is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter, author and photographer whose 1975 debut album Horses made her an influential member of the New York City-based punk rock movement. Smith has fused rock and poetry in her work. In 1978, her most widely known song, "Because the Night", co-written with Bruce Springsteen, reached 13th on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and fifth on the UK Singles Chart.
Horses is the debut studio album by American musician Patti Smith. It was released by Arista Records on November 10, 1975. 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.
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Marquee Moon is the debut album by American rock band Television. It was released on February 8, 1977, by Elektra Records. In the years leading up to the album, Television had become a prominent act on the New York music scene and generated interest from a number of record labels, eventually signing a record deal with Elektra. The group rehearsed extensively in preparation for Marquee Moon before recording it at A & R Recording in September 1976. It was produced by the band's frontman Tom Verlaine and sound engineer Andy Johns.
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Soldier is the fourth studio album by American rock singer Iggy Pop. It was released in February 1980 by record label Arista.
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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 a studio album by the American jazz fusion band Return to Forever, their first recorded for Columbia Records, after releasing their previous four albums on Polydor. In February 1976, the group retreated to Caribou Ranch near Nederland, Colorado to record. It was the first album to remove the "featuring Chick Corea" credit from beside the band name on the album cover. Despite the music being more dense and avant-garde than the funkier No Mystery, it remains the band's highest selling album with over 500,000 copies sold in the US alone.
No Secrets is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Elektra Records on November 28, 1972.
Hotcakes is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Elektra Records, on January 11, 1974. Featuring the major hits "Haven't Got Time for the Pain" and "Mockingbird", the latter a duet with her then-husband James Taylor, Hotcakes became one of Simon's biggest selling albums. Her first concept album, the autobiographical songs portray Simon happily married and beginning a family.
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Ivan Král 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, and he won three times at the Anděl Awards. He 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.
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