The Coral Sea is a live recording of two performances by Patti Smith and Kevin Shields from 2005 and 2006. 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.
Recording The 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
Personnel All personnel credits adapted from The Coral Seas liner notes.
Performers Patti Smith – vocals Kevin Shields – guitar, mixing
Technical personnel Ben Thackeray – engineer Emery Dobyns – engineer
Design personnel Xiaofei Zhang – art direction, design
Release history Region Date Format Label Catalog United Kingdom July 7, 2008 2xCD Cargo United States July 8, 2008 PASK 001
References
External links