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Patti Smith: New York
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In late 1974, Smith and her band played a few gigs on the West Coast. When they returned, they added guitarist/bassist Ivan Kral to flesh out their sound, and joined Television as part of the emerging new-rock scene at CBGB\'s, a dive bar in the Bowery. Their two-month stand in early 1975 sometimes featured drummer Jay Dee Daugherty, who became a regular member, and attracted the notice of Arista Records president Clive Davis, who offered Smith a record deal. She entered the studio with ex-Velvet Underground member John Cale serving as producer, and in late 1975 released her debut album, Horses, which was essentially the first art-punk album. Rapturously received by most critics, Horses offered unorthodox covers of party-rock tunes like "Gloria" and "Land of 1000 Dances" (Smith opened the former with the declaration "Jesus died for someone\'s sins, but not mine"), as well as a mix of original songs and lengthy, improv-driven spoken word pieces. Despite nonexistent airplay, it sold well enough to climb into the Top 50.
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Much of Patti Smith's early songwriting was difficult for a mainstream audience to swallow. By contrast, her new songs have reviewers gushing with praise. (97K AIFF or WAV sound) In fact, hardly anything she has done over the past 15 years has been received like this album. She says she doesn't know why.
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After humble beginnings in Chicago and chasing her muse to Paris, Patti Smith eventually found her way to the artistic circles of New York in the early ‘70s. Her readings at St. Mark’s Poetry Project lead to performances including musicians like rock historian and guitarist Lenny Kaye and pianist Richard Sohl, who would later comprise her fully fledged rock band and contribute to a series of records that were as aggressive and daring as they were beautiful.
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Smith then took an extended career breather; she bailed out, moved to Detroit, married ex-MC5/Sonic's Rendezvous Band guitarist Fred Smith and raised a family. The Smiths stayed far from the spotlight for nearly a decade, not releasing a new album until the summer of 1988. Like a lot of cherished fantasies, Dream of Life is, in reality, a big disappointment. Although Smith reassembled the troops — Daugherty and Sohl (who died of heart failure in June 1990) joined Fred Smith and a few others — and wrote all the songs with her husband (who co-produced with Jimmy Iovine), you can take the record off after the uplifting opener, "People Have the Power." That fine single, which bears a passing resemblance to Starship, is the only sign of life on this bland effort. While an older and wiser Smith does her legend no serious damage here, the optimistic Dream of Life adds precious little to it.
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Patti Smith's catalog has already been remastered. Horses here comes in its originally remastered incarnation with the same bonus track: a cover of the Who's "My Generation." This new, 30th Anniversary ...Read full review
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Patti Smith keeps busy next year with the screening of new documentary, performing classic writings and a batch of digital releases.. On January 8, she releases iTunes Originals exclusively on… Read full post »
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