Gone Again is the sixth studio album by Patti Smith, released June 18, 1996, on Arista Records. The production of the record was preceded by the deaths of many of Smith's close friends and peers, including her husband Fred "Sonic" Smith, her brother Todd, Robert Mapplethorpe, Richard Sohl and Kurt Cobain, with whom Smith had sympathized. In addition to this, Gone Again also features the last studio performance of Jeff Buckley, released before his death less than a year later.
In May 1999 Rolling Stone magazine placed the album on its list of "The Essential Recordings of the '90s".[citation needed]