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Banga (album)

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Banga
Studio album by
Patti Smith
ReleasedJune 1, 2012 (2012-06-01)
Recorded2011
Studio
GenreRock
Length58:35
LabelColumbia
ProducerPatti Smith, Tony Shanahan, Jay Dee Daugherty, Lenny Kaye
Patti Smith chronology
Twelve
(2007) 		Banga
(2012)
Singles from Banga
  1. "April Fool"
    Released: April 1, 2012

Banga is the eleventh studio album by American rock musician Patti Smith, released on June 1, 2012 on Columbia Records. Recorded throughout 2011 at New York's Electric Lady Studios and Hoboken's Hobo Recorders, Banga was produced by Smith, Tony Shanahan, Jay Dee Daugherty and collaborator Lenny Kaye. The album includes a number of guest musicians including Tom Verlaine of Television, Italian band Casa del Vento, Jack Petruzzelli and Smith's own children, Jackson and Jesse Paris.

Inspired by Smith's "unique dreams and observations",[1] the material on Banga focuses on "a wide range of human experience" and features songs about history, current affairs, death and nature. The album was announced alongside the release of its lead single, "April Fool", as a digital download on April 1, 2012.

Recording

[edit]

Banga was recorded throughout 2011 at Electric Lady Studios in New York. Speaking of the recording process, Smith said: "there's a certain innocence recording your first things that you can't recapture but we recorded this album in the same studio -- in Jimi Hendrix' studio Electric Lady -- with the same personnel, the same sense of idealism and even, by coincidence, the record is coming out on the anniversary of when we recorded my debut album Horses in 1974. These type of things, I always take them as good signs."[2] The sessions were produced by Smith, Tony Shanahan, Jay Dee Daugherty and Lenny Kaye.

Composition

[edit]

The material on Banga is "inspired by Smith's unique dreams and observations" and the album's lyrics are "a reflection of our complex world – a world that is rife with chaos and beauty."[1] Both the album's musical structure and lyrical themes vary. "Amerigo" is based on "imagining the voyage of Amerigo Vespucci to the New World in 1497" and "Fuji-san" is a rock song in tribute to the people of Japan following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. "This is the Girl" is referred to as "a classic ballad" in memory of English musician Amy Winehouse and "Nine" is reportedly a birthday song for Smith's friend Johnny Depp.[1][3] "Constantine's Dream" is a "ten-minute-plus improvisational meditation" and Smith has said " [in the song] there are many questions. It questions the role of artists in our society. The questions are there, and they're not answerable questions." "Maria" is partially based on actress Maria Schneider and the song Smith calls "the more emotional song on the record." Describing the song, Smith said: "it's the one that looks back on a beautiful time and sort of encapsulates the [1970s] in a certain way for me. It's a nice little R&B song, but an emotional song."[4]

Smith told Q that part of the album had been written on the ill-fated cruise ship Costa Concordia.[5]

Packaging

[edit]

In an interview on CBS News Sunday Morning on April 1, 2012, Smith explained the album's title: "for those who are curious, you can find what Banga is if you read The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov."[6] In The Master and Margarita, Banga is Pontius Pilate's dog to whom Pilate could freely complain about the hemicrania that tortured him.[7] Other songs on the album were also inspired by literature, particularly "April Fool," inspired by Nikolai Gogol.[6]

The photos within the booklet of the CD detail part of the album's composition, in late 2011 aboard the Costa Concordia, months before she capsized off the coast of Italy. Smith and Kaye were invited by Jean-Luc Godard to accompany him while he was shooting his film Socialisme. Smith makes a brief cameo appearance in the film.[8] The Banga CD booklet includes photos taken of Smith and her band during their cruise.[9]

Release

[edit]

Banga was announced for released on April 1, 2012.[1] The album's lead single, "April Fool," was released as a digital download on various online stores the same day. Prior to the album's release, Smith performed a one-off show at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, Ireland with Sam Shepard on April 9[10] and debuted "This is the Girl" at a performance at the City Winery in New York on May 13.[11] Banga was released on June 1 in Ireland, June 4 in the United Kingdom and June 5 in the United States. The album was issued on CD and LP with a special edition CD including a 64-page hardcover book of images, lyrics and liner notes and a bonus track titled "Just Kids."

Smith promoted the album with a 40-date European tour, beginning in Bergen, Norway on June 23 and concluding in London, United Kingdom on September 13.[12] The tour included two legs in the United Kingdom, one in June and another in September.[13] Smith also performed at a number of summer festivals including the ZMF Festival in Freiburg, Germany[14] Bospop in Weert, Netherlands[15] Stockholm Music and Arts Festival in Stockholm, Sweden[16] and Electric Picnic in Stradbally, Ireland.[17]

Reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic81/100[18]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[19]
BBCPositive[20]
Drowned in Sound7/10[21]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[22]
FILTER88%[23]
The Guardian[24]
Los Angeles Times[25]
NME8/10[26]
Pitchfork Media7.1/10[27]
Rolling Stone[28]

Banga was released to widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 81, based on 30 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[18] Allmusic editor Thom Jurek awarded the album four out of five stars, writing that "the album is absent the dynamic, free-form chaos that marks her earlier recordings, but is better for it... it's not only provocative and expansive lyrically, but abundantly enjoyable musically."[19] BBC reviewer Garry Mulholland gave the album a positive review, called Banga "the best Patti Smith album since Horses" and summarised that "no one else makes rock records as rich, poetic and sexy as this."[20] Drowned in Sound awarded the album a seven out of ten rating with reviewer Len Lukowska calling it "a bit of musical beauty, some interesting lyricism and a pinch of hippy bollocks – still distinctly Patti Smith" but criticised the album's "poetic feel," describing it as a "veer into the territory of overblown."[21] Entertainment Weekly gave the album an A− rating and said it was "her most energized in years, if not decades."[22] Kurt Orzeck of FILTER awarded the album an 88% rating, writing "the beatnik punk-poet sings, speaks, testifies and scats her way through her new batch of bangers, carrying her characters into new worlds... sometimes [the songs on the album] are whimsical, sometimes they are terrifying, but they are always true to the human spirit."[23] The Guardian reviewer Dave Simpson awarded the album four out of five stars, describing the album as "a mixture of pop songs and poetic explorations, aided by the instantly resumed chemistry between Kaye's shimmering hooks and Smith's sensual vocals" and noted that "the collision of sound and language is exhilarating."[24] Evelyn McDonnell of the Los Angeles Times gave the album a positive review, describing Banga as "an encyclopedia’s worth of literary, mythic, historical, religious and musical references; doo-wop ballads; epic guitars and guitar epics; quivering poems in headstand pose" and awarded the album three and a half out of four stars.[25] NME gave the album an eight out of ten rating, calling it "a compelling balance between poetry and musicality," further noting that "the instrumentation soundtracks the imagery, rather than simply buffering it with noise" and citing the album as Smith's strongest vocal performance.[26] Pitchfork Media editor Lindsay Zoladz gave the album a 7.1 out of 10, writing, "Banga meditates on ideas about exploration and adventure" but noted that "the shorter, less assuming tracks that best capture that spirit of discovery" and said "though neither a high point nor a low point in her freewheeling, four-decade career, Banga has the same charm of Smith's best albums: It flits with the impressionistic fascinations of a single mind."[27] Rolling Stone reviewer Will Hermes awarded the album three and half stars out of five, saying that Banga "has sweet moments of song" but "the real magic happens when the words start flying off the grooves," citing "Constantine's Dream" as the album's stand-out track.[28] Shah Salimat from Mediacorp xinmsn (MSN Singapore) said that Smith's voice "shines best unadorned for all to feel" and calls "Mosaic" the track "that will have you channeling your inner Stevie Nicks."[29]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Amerigo"Smith, Tony Shanahan4:36
2."April Fool"Smith, Shanahan3:46
3."Fuji-san"Smith, Lenny Kaye4:12
4."This Is the Girl"Smith, Shanahan, Stewart Lerman3:49
5."Banga"Smith2:51
6."Maria"Smith, Shanahan5:05
7."Mosaic"Smith, Jay Dee Daugherty4:12
8."Tarkovsky (The Second Stop is Jupiter)"Smith, Sun Ra4:50
9."Nine"Smith5:02
10."Seneca"Smith, Kaye5:39
11."Constantine's Dream"Smith, Kaye10:19
12."After the Gold Rush"Neil Young4:13
Total length:58:34
Deluxe edition[30] bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Just Kids"Smith4:28
Total length:63:02

Personnel

[edit]

Charts

[edit]
Chart (2012) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[32] 50
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[33] 23
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[34] 10
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[35] 18
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[36] 29
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[37] 7
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[38] 37
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[39] 21
French Albums (SNEP)[40] 10
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[41] 19
Irish Albums (IRMA)[42] 83
Italian Albums (FIMI)[43] 9
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[44] 32
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[45] 3
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[46] 22
Scottish Albums (OCC)[47] 47
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[48] 44
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[49] 10
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[50] 12
UK Albums (OCC)[51] 47
US Billboard 200[52] 57
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[53] 22

Release history

[edit]
Region Date Format(s) Catalog
Ireland[54] June 1, 2012 CD, limited edition CD, digital download 88697222172
United Kingdom[3] June 4, 2012
United States[1][55] June 5, 2012
June 26, 2012 LP

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States — 29,730[56]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e "Patti Smith to Release Banga on June 5 -- NEW YORK, April 1, 2012 /PRNewsWire/ --". PR Newswire. April 1, 2012. Retrieved Mar 16, 2012.
  2. ^ Cochrane, Myles (May 10, 2012). "Poetric-punk pioneer Patti Smith to take rare acoustic show to HSU Thursday - Times-Standard Online". Times-Standard. Archived from the original on September 18, 2012. Retrieved May 19, 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Patti Smith pays tribute to Amy Winehouse on new album 'Banga' | News | NME.COM". NME. April 2, 2012. Retrieved May 19, 2012.
  4. ^ Smith, Patti; Giannini, Melissa (May 24, 2012). "Patti Smith on When to Break Rules and Nap on Logs | SPIN | Profiles | Words of Wisdom". Spin. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
  5. ^ "Patti Smith recording aboard the Costa Concordia". Q. Archived from the original on 13 November 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  6. ^ a b ""Sunday Morning" presents: Patti Smith – CBS News Video". CBS. April 1, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2012. N.B. References are found from 3:42–5:27 in the embed video.
  7. ^ "The Master and Margarita – Other biblical characters". masterandmargarita.eu. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
  8. ^ de Corato, Nico (4 February 2012). "Costa Concordia was the set for a movie directed by Jean-Luc Godard". To Be A Travel Agent. Archived from the original on 25 July 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  9. ^ "Patti Smith recording aboard the Costa Concordia". Archived from the original on 2014-11-13. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
  10. ^ "Sam Shepard and Patti Smith | Abbey Theatre – Amharclann na Mainistreach". abbeytheatre.ie. Archived from the original on April 26, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
  11. ^ "Patti Smith's Mother's Day Show at City Winery – Feast of Music". feastofmusic.com. May 16, 2012. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
  12. ^ "Patti Smith: pattismith.net: wegottofly". pattismith.net. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
  13. ^ "Patti Smith announces UK tour – ticket details | News | NME.COM". NME. April 17, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
  14. ^ "ZMF.de –Das Zelt-Musik-Festival 2012 in Freiburgvon 4 Juli – 22. Juli: Patti Smith and her band". zmf.de (in German). Archived from the original on May 29, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
  15. ^ "PROGRAMMA BOSPOP 2012". bospop.nl (in Dutch). Archived from the original on May 18, 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
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  19. ^ a b Jurek, Thom. Banga – Patti Smith : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards at AllMusic. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  20. ^ a b Mulholland, Garry (June 1, 2012). "BBC – Music – Review of Patti Smith – Banga". BBC. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
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  22. ^ a b Rahman, Ray (May 23, 2012). "Banga review – Patti Smith Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
  23. ^ a b Orzeck, Kurt (June 5, 2012). "FILTER Magazine – Reviews – Patti Smith". FILTER. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  24. ^ a b Simpson, Dave (May 31, 2012). "Patti Smith: Banga". The Guardian. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  25. ^ a b McDonnell, Evelyn (June 4, 2012). "Album review: Patti Smith's 'Banga'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  26. ^ a b Avron, Hayley (June 1, 2012). "NME Album Reviews – Patti Smith – 'Banga'". NME. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  27. ^ a b Zoladz, Lindsay (June 6, 2012). "Patti Smith: Banga". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  28. ^ a b Hermes, Will (June 5, 2012). "Banga". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  29. ^ Salimat, Shah (August 20, 2012). "Patti Smith – Banga - xinmsn Entertainment". Mediacorp xinmsn. Archived from the original on December 15, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  30. ^ "Banga (Special Edition): Patti Smith: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
  31. ^ a b Banga (CD). Patti Smith. Columbia Records. 2012. LC00162.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  32. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Patti Smith – Banga". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  33. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Patti Smith – Banga" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
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  35. ^ "Ultratop.be – Patti Smith – Banga" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  36. ^ "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 31.Týden 2012 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  37. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Patti Smith – Banga". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  38. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Patti Smith – Banga" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
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  46. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Patti Smith – Banga". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
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  48. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Patti Smith – Banga". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  49. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Patti Smith – Banga". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
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  53. ^ "Patti Smith Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  54. ^ "| The Official Sony Music Ireland Site". Sony Music Ireland. Archived from the original on February 17, 2013. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
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  56. ^ "Dec 09th - Dec 16th, 2014 | PDF | the Beatles | Entertainment (General)".
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