Horses - Patti Smith

Arista. AL 4066

Who is Patti Smith and why are they saying all those nice things about her? Patti Smith is a 29 year old American who looks like a cross between Keith Richard and Mia Farrow. She can be termed a rock singer, poetess, or leader of a rock band, but she eschews labels... 'I don't want to be anything. As soon as I find out, its over.'

From humble beginnings performing her verse/songs in sleazy New York coffee bars and clubs she attracted a strong cult following and then a recording contract. The release of her first album, 'Horses', evoked almost hysterical critical accalim; NME's ever-discerning Charles Shaar Murray voting it the best album of 1975. So I feverishly awaited its release here. The wait was sure as hell worth it.

Be warned, Patti Smith is not a silkyvoiced chanteuse or writer of introspective love songs. You can play Joni Mitchell as background music, but 'Horses' defies such a role.

Patti Smith is a bundle of aggressive up-front energy who shouts, sings and incants her compositions over a hard-rock backing. Her songs/poems have been [unclear: terned] 'amphetamine semantics'.

They range from the earthy and erotic to the magical and mystical. Together they constitute a 'definitive essay on the American night as a state of mind', to quote CSM.

Patti is quick to acknowledge her many and varied musical and poetic influences - some of the songs on Horses' are dedicated to them. Rimbaud is her poetic father-figure' and we can see her debts to Jim Morrison, the Stones, Dylan, Lou Reed, and Smokey Robinson.

But she is no mere imitator. She has a powerful, unique talent that leaps off 'Horses' sleek, vinyl coat and assaults the listeners consciousness.

The adrenalin rush comes right away with her version of Van Morrison's classic 'Gloria', here fused, with her own piece, 'In Excelsis Deo'. A majestic spoken intro.....' Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine'... is replaced by strong guitar chords

The tempo gradually quickens, locking you in while Patti adopts her Cockney-style whine. Faster, faster, and onto that immortal chorus. Patti spits out the letters, her band yell the name, and sweet release is ours. Then we fade for the repeated intro, more tension, then back into the chorus and a triumphant finish. Its not Van Morrison, but I love it.

Track 2 is 'Redondo Beach'. Its jaunty reggae rhythms betray its bleak story of a lover's suicide. We then come across 'Birdland', an amazing 9-minute flight of fancy into the mystic. Apparently inspired by a passage from Peter Reich's 'Book of Dreams', it tells a strange story of a boy craving reunion with his dead father, with flocks of ravens and UFO's day elements.

From quiet piano and softly spoken intro, the song increases in intensity until both Patti and band approach disintegration before somehow finding a reserve chute and coming down. Not a song for the nervous in disposition.

Side One ends with 'Free Money', written for Patti's current beau, Alan Lanier of the Blue Oyster Cult, those manic merchants of heavy metal. It features slick changes in tempo and some vigorous guitar from Lenny Kaye and Ivan Kral.

Side Two begins with 'Kimberly', a song about Patti's sister.... 'little sister, the sky is falling' .......A decidedly Velvet Underground feel about the bass/organ sound here. Then comes 'Break It Up' co-written with Tom Verlaine of Television, another New York cult band. His shimmering guitar work and a compelling chorus are highlights.

Track 3 is considered by most critics to be 'Horses'tour de force, and I'd have to agree. Simply entitled 'Land', it combines fragments of the soul classic 'Land Of 1,000 Dances' with Patti's own 'Horses' and 'La Mer De'

Its sinister aura is induced by the juxtaposition of a spoken opening over the singing, leading onto a chilling tale of a youth being beaten up. Somehow this breaks into dance rhythms then soars off into the 'sea of possibilities' in a bizarre highly erotic poetic frenzy.

The required respite arrives with the wistful, melancholic strains of 'Elegie', the short closing song dedicated to the memory of Jimi Hendrix. It features dreamy guitar from the afroementioned Allan Lanier, and demonstrates Patti's vocal capabilities. At times she sounds Hike Laura Nyro, and that can't be bad.

Throughout 'Horses' Patti's backing band (of standard guitars, drums, keyboards format) fulfills its role perfectly. Their playing is always vital and energetic, but never intrusive. Ditto for the production work of noted Welsh loony John Cale. Apparently he and Patti fought like hell during the two weeks of recording, but as the lady said, 'fighting often produces a champ'.

But all these superlatives to 'Horses' scant justice. Suffice to say it moves me as very few albums have done, and I hope it does the same for you.

Patti Smith. Wild horses running free.

— Kerry Doole