The Coral Sea is a live recording of two performances by Patti Smith and Kevin Shields from 2005 and 2006.[11] The set consists of Smith's homage to the photographer, her friend and former lover Robert Mapplethorpe, and consists of the text of her epic 1996 poem of the same title. Shields accompanies in an improvisational manner on guitar.
| The Coral Sea | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | July 7, 2008 | |||
| Recorded | June 22, 2005 (CD1) September 12, 2006 (CD2) | |||
| Venue | Queen Elizabeth Hall, London | |||
| Genre | Spoken word | |||
| Length | 64:39 (CD1), 54:43 (CD2), 119:22 (Total) | |||
| Label | PASK | |||
| Producer | Patti Smith, Kevin Shields | |||
| Patti Smith live albums chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| allmusic |   [1] |
| The Guardian |  [2] |
| The Independent | [3] |
| Mojo | [4] |
| The New York Times | (favorable)[5] |
| Pitchfork Media | (6.8/10)[6] |
| PopMatters |   [7] |
| Q | [8] |
| Spin | (favorable)[9] |
| The Village Voice | (favorable)[10] |
Recording
editThe performances were recorded on June 22, 2005 and September 12, 2006 (with a third, unreleased performance the previous night) at Queen Elizabeth Hall on London's South Bank. In terms of music the two performances are stylistically different, but the words remain the same. The poem tells the story of M (Mapplethorpe) on a final voyage to see the stars of the Southern Cross before he dies.
Track listing
editAll lyrics are written by Patti Smith; all music is composed by Kevin Shields
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Untitled" | 14:32 |
| 2. | "Untitled" | 12:42 |
| 3. | "Untitled" | 7:22 |
| 4. | "Untitled" | 13:02 |
| 5. | "Untitled" | 7:54 |
| 6. | "Untitled" | 9:07 |
| Total length: | 64:39 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 7. | "Untitled" | 11:00 |
| 8. | "Untitled" | 13:38 |
| 9. | "Untitled" | 14:25 |
| 10. | "Untitled" | 15:40 |
| Total length: | 54:43 | |
Personnel
editAll personnel credits adapted from The Coral Sea's liner notes.[12]
- Performers
- Technical personnel
- Ben Thackeray – engineer
- Emery Dobyns – engineer
- Design personnel
- Xiaofei Zhang – art direction, design
Release history
edit| Region | Date | Format | Label | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom[13] | July 7, 2008 | 2xCD | Cargo | — |
| United States[14] | July 8, 2008 | PASK | 001 |
References
edit- ^ allmusic review
- ^ The Guardian review
- ^ The Independent review
- ^ Mojo review
- ^ "Partners, First-Timers, Next-Steppers (Published 2008)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2022-11-26.
- ^ Pitchfork Media review
- ^ PopMatters review
- ^ Q review
- ^ Spin review
- ^ The Village Voice review
- ^ Phillips, Amy (2008-04-24). "Patti Smith and Kevin Shields' Coral Sea Coming to CD". News. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
- ^ The Coral Sea (CD). Patti Smith and Kevin Shields. PASK. 2008. 001.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "The Coral Sea: Music". Amazon. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
- ^ "The Coral Sea: Patti Smith, Kevin Shields: Music". Amazon. Retrieved January 30, 2013.