Back in July, Spotify and Electric Lady Studios announced their new series of live EPs titled Live at Electric Lady, with confirmed performers including Japanese Breakfast, Dominic Fike, Faye Webster, Bleachers, and many more.
An expansion of their pre-existing partnership for Spotify Singles, this new series from the oldest operating recording facility in the Northeast and the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service features high-quality live audio recordings, distributed exclusively on Spotify. Participating artists are encouraged to play their own compositions as well as cover songs of artists connected to the studio’s history.
The first Live at Electric Lady EP release via Jon Batiste came out at the end of July, and now, Patti Smith’s dropped today as a surprise release, her first piece of recorded music since 2012’s Banga. The EP is now live on Spotify via THIS URL.
The 7-song EP was recorded live at Electric Lady in April includes Patti classics including “Birdland,” “Ghost Dance,” and “Broken Flag,”as well as covers of Bob Dylan’s “One Too Many Mornings” and Stevie Wonder’s “Blame it on the Sun.” The frenetic energy in the studio is best captured in the “Birdland” recording -- a wild, chaotic rendition of her 9-minute epic that needed no second take. The full tracklist can be found below.
Says Patti Smith, “We are very proud to be part of Spotify's Live at Electric Lady series, our favorite recording studio. It was a unique challenge and offered us an exciting and innovative platform. We are grateful to Spotify for their generous support and willingness to present a live performance with all its possibilities of risk and revelation."
Electric Lady’s GM/Partner, Lee Foster, recalls, “Prior to recording, I had been discussing cover song options to present to Patti with Tony Shanahan, Patti's MD and longtime bassist/pianist. We'd yet to mention to Patti that we’d hoped to record a cover during the session, so she was unaware at the time. Days went by and Tony and I couldn't find the right song together. Then, as we'd just begun to agonize over it, he called me excitedly and asked “is 'Blame It On the Sun' from Talking Book [Stevie Wonder’s 1972 album recorded at Electric Lady]?" I looked quickly to confirm and told him yes. For no reason at all that morning Patti had texted him to say that the song was stuck in her head and that she wanted the band to learn it. Kismet.”
