Patti Smith's latest album 'Banga' is up there with her masterpiece 'Horses'... big call, I know. But I'm sticking with that call. 'Banga' has all the attributes we would expect from a younger Patti Smith... particularly her poetic and literary style. So it is impressive that she is still doing this at 65. There are tributes throughout the album - Amy Winehouse, Maria Schneider and Johnny Depp are three such recipients. The title track is named after the dog in Mikhail Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita... and there are many more literary references throughout the album. The closing track "After The Gold Rush" is something that shouldn't really fit alongside the other tracks but somehow embellishes the album or adds a lighter shade of grey to the darkness. She is not reinventing the wheel or giving "After The Gold Rush" a "Gloria"-like makeover, as in 'Horses.' The tempo is much like the Neil Young original but the acoustic guitar is replaced with piano... and by the time the children join in the chorus near the end, there may even be a tear in your eye.
An explanation of "After The Gold Rush" from Patti Smith.
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