Patti Smith Group - Radio Ethiopia

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, All Music Guide

Name Credits Andi Ostrowe ?, Amharic Bob Irwin Mastering Brian Sperber Engineer George Marino Mastering Ivan Král Guitar, ?, Bass Ivan Kral-Gibson Bass Jack Douglas Producer Jay Dee Daugherty Percussion, Mixing, Consultant, Drums Jay Messina Engineer, Mixing Lenny Kaye Mixing, Vocals, Bass, Guitar Les Paul Bass Lynn Goldsmith Photography Nancy Greenberg Design Patti Smith Design, Guitar, Vocals, Performer Patti Smith Group Performer Richard Sohl Synthesizer, Piano, Keyboards Rod O'Brien Assistant Engineer Sam Ginsberg Assistant Engineer Sherri Whitmarsh Reissue Design Vic Anesini Mastering