Patti Smith & Kevin Shields – The Coral Sea [Pask]

The Coral Sea brings death into rare beauty through Patti Smith's intimate prose and Kevin Shields' scenic guitar swells. Recorded as two personal London concerts in 2005 and again in 2006, The Coral Sea is Smith’s homage to her close friend Robert Mapplethorpe, who due to complications with Aids passed away in 1989. Mapplethorpe was a prominent black and white photographer who worked with the likes of Andy Warhol, Debby Harry, Patti Smith, and other New York artists. His most renowned piece is the portrait of Patti Smith that is used on the cover of Horses (1975), Smith’s classic debut. The Coral Sea is a book of poetry Smith published in 1996 describing Mapplethorpe’s experience with Aids and the course of dying, which is conveyed through a picturesque metaphor of a boy traveling to the sea. Until these two performances with Kevin Shields, Smith was unable to read The Coral Sea publicly without becoming too upset to finish. With Shields at hand, the long awaited public readings of The Coral Sea illuminate the gorgeous textures of Smith's writing and add an emotional intensity to an already touching work of art. Though never structured into cohesive songlike forms, Kevin Shields guitar work is reminiscent of classic My Bloody Valentine. Smith and Shields' interplay is breathtaking and her emblematic tails of the sea are taken beyond life thanks to Shields' truly enchantingly marine instrumentation.

Bardos Freedoom