Patti is another act who has
released a number of albums of a staggeringly high quality throughout her
career. Along with Bob Dylan and not
many others, she is one of the few lyricists who can be described as a proper
poet. (I’m not a poetry scholar at all,
but it’s clear from a lifetime of listening to popular music that her lyrics
adhere more closely to the form than most other songwriters.) With long term accompanist Lenny Kaye she has
put those lyric to music encompassing garage rock, 70’s punk and modern alternative rock
of the highest order, along the way becoming one of the first American acts (if
not the first) to incorporate reggae rhythms into her work. Her influence has been immense with a range
of acts, notably R.E.M.s Michael Stipe, openly acknowledging their debt to her
and the number of women who’ve been inspired by her career is probably
incalculable.
Unfortunately, by listening to my
favourite albums in chronological order today, this posting will probably give
the misleading view that her best work was released in the 1970s. This is not
the case. Her “comeback” album Gone
Again as well as Gung Ho and last year’s Bunga are all albums of the highest
quality and her covers album Twelve is one of the better examples of this
type. But any appreciation of her work
must start with one of the most startling debut albums ever released:
(# 642) Patti Smith Group – Horses (1975)
Some of the best moments in rock
have resulted when acts have thrown away the rule book. Horses is one of those albums. For a new singer/songwriter, it starts with a
cover of the Them/Van Morrison classic Gloria with revised verses and the
potentially suicidal couplet of “Jesus died for somebody’s sins/But not mine”
to open proceedings. Yet even by the
time this raging track has finished one already knew that a major act had been
unleased. The reggae accented Redondo
Beach and the stark poem/ballad Birdland follow highlighting the band’s
versatility whilst keeping the first time listener off balance. Free Money starts off as though it’s a
continuation of Birdland only to return to the white hot rock of the opening
track. The remaining tracks more or less
stay faithful to the approach set by most of these tracks culminating in the
album’s original final track Land, effectively a bookend to Gloria. The
album has since been reissued with Gloria’s B-side tacked on to end. It is a live version of The Who’s My
Generation which provides ample testament to the original band’s raw power.
(# 643) Patti Smith Group – Radio Ethiopia (1976)
This album copped quite a bit of
stick when it was originally released but it is very hard now to find anything
that warrants that today. Certainly the original closing two tracks, the live
10 minute noise fest, Radio Ethiopia and Abyssinia would have sounded alien to
many listeners at the time of release but I’d like to think that many of the
present day noise merchants such as My Bloody Valentine have taken inspiration
from it. (Put another ways, these tracks were way ahead of their time.) Ain’t It Strange features a strong mix of
punk and reggae, the equal of anything coming out of England at the time,
Pissing In A River is a stately number that features some wonderful guitar work
from, I assume, its co-author Ivan Kral and Pumping (My Heart) is as exciting
as anything on the debut album. The
reissued album’s closing track is the rather serene Chiklets which makes an
effective contrast with what precedes it.
(# 644) Patti Smith Group – Easter (1978)
Apart from Twelve, this is easily
the most commercial album Smith has ever released and she was suitably rewarded
in terms of record sales. The straight
ahead rock of Till Victory is a good opener with Space Monkey and effective
means in reducing the tempo. It sets up
her best known song Because The Night, the number co-written “with” Bruce
Springsteen. The mournful Ghost Dance
follows which, in turn, sets up the album’s centrepiece. Babelogue is an exciting piece of poetry that
detonates Rock N’ Roll Nigger, a raging tune that is best experienced
live. (It concluded her set when I saw her
on her first Australian tour in 199 and included Patti doing a complete circuit
of the stalls of the Palais Theatre.)
The original album is concluded by three incredibly strong rock tracks,
25r=th Floor, High On Rebellion and the tile track.
(# 645) Patti Smith Group – Wave (1979)
This is an incredibly underrated album which seems to have
been unfairly compared to Horses and Easter by most critics. The opening two tracks Frederick and the oft
covered Dancing Barefoot, both apparently about future husband Fred “Sonic”
Smith, are impeccable. This is
followed by a compelling reading of So You Want To Be A Rock N Roll Star that
tears strips off most versions I’ve heard of this Byrds chestnut. Revenge is an epic tune that features some
great guitar work. (Although not
credited, I wouldn’t be surprised if the guitarist is question was Television’s
Tom Verlaine.) Citizen Ship is a strong number like the trio that closed Easter
and Seven Ways Of Going sounds like an attempt to outdo some of the wilder
material Fred Smith’s band The MC5 released on High Time. One of the two bonus tracks now appended to
the reissued version is 54321/Wave, a rare exercise in frivolity and is all the
better for it.
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