Recommended: Patti Smith – Banga

I try to recommend new releases the week they are released. Some albums slip by me, though, and deserve recognition once I’ve heard them. This is one of those albums.

Patti Smith – Banga | CD Deluxe CD/Book Vinyl MP3

Legendary songstress Patti Smith, who has been dubbed the “godmother of punk,” returned with her 11th album, Banga. Her poetic lyricism and encyclopedic references are, as always, at the forefront of the album. But the wordy musings are embedded in an energetic hybrid of rock, jazz, and punk that marks Smith’s best albums – of which Banga must be included.