40 Year Celebration Of Patti Smith's Second Album "Radio Ethiopia"
Released to mixed reviews in 1976, Patti Smith Group unleash "Radio Ethiopia". Riding high on their new found success from the year priors album "Horses", some critics thought the album to be self indulged. Be that as it may Patti's self indulged righteousness has always been one of her finest qualities. Three of the albums tracks were released as singles, "Pissing In A River", "Pumping (My Heart)" and "Ask The Angels". The albums title track also stirred up some controversy over it's credibility. Critical success or not, half of the albums eight tracks were well known in the music scene at it's time, a successful achievement to most.
The first single released from "Radio Ethiopia" was "Pissing In A River". Sounding far more Punk in title than the song is, it starts off a rolling ballad and slowly builds to a rocking ballad. The slowly builds is where all the brilliance is, and being as though the entire song slowly builds, it can be said the song is brilliant. Packed so full of pounding piano and gliding guitars, the guttural Patti Smith relieves with "my bowels are empty...what more can i give you".
The albums other two singles show another side to the band, the side they were most known for at the time, Punk Rock. "Ask The Angles" leans more to the rock side, whereas "Pumping (My Heart)" leans off to the Punk side. Sides aside, both songs are three minute bursts of intense energy. At ten minutes in length, the albums title track feels more like twelve minutes when followed by "Abyssinia", a short song that follows suit in structure. "Radio Ethiopia" had become a song of great debate among fans and critics following its release, and remains one to this day. The band thrashes around, often clashing with each other, while Patti's ranting chants sound like shes of in the distance speaking in tongues. The song plays almost like an "everybody solo", as if all band members were lost in their own righteousness and found their own path. Some cite it to be Patti's definitive moment in Punk, and others claim it to be too indulgent or even lazy. If you don't already have your own opinion on which it is, check it out to get yours!
The albums three other tracks do not disappoint. "Ain't It Strange" coyly carries along nicely with it's Reggae Rock influence, until it's midway breakdown, where a schizophrenic sounding Patti Smith aggressively rants her way through the songs remainder. "Poppies" is a sonic seven minute long drug induced day dream. The Patti Smith Group fully embodies this, creating a spacey musical atmosphere where catchy hooks and poetry readings melt together. Most surprising is Patti's cute and playful vocal approach to "Distant Fingers", a fairy tale love story with a intergalactic twist. Yes, i did just just put all those words in the same sentence, she surprises us all with one of the bands most Pop sounding tracks to date about alien love!
One of the most bad ass Rebelles to spring forth from the 70's, Patti Smith paved the way for many. Not many can combine Punk, poetry and politics with such profound results.
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