Horses

Full disclosure: I love Patti Smith. This review is less about the album itself and more about its influence so many years later. Gloria is one the best openers ever in my opinion and “Jesus died for somebody’s birthday sins but not mine” is an amazing opening line. You can tell Patti is a poet first with her lyrics. She also definitely loves to pay homage to her influences, covering My Generation and the references to other artists in songs. Particularly enjoyed Free Money and Land. We all know that I’m a lyrics first person, and so what better person to listen to than a poet. She is the godmother of punk and a paver of the path for riot grrls everywhere. I love her.

The polish, I hate the polish. Gimme the real stuff. Patti Smith is a total badass and her passion and intense desire to create something regardless of natural talent and poise is infectious. There's a gravitational pull toward her I don't quite understand, it's certainly not her voice which I can understand puts some people off. I think it stems more from just doing whatever the fuck she wants to do and be completely unapologetic about it. I've seen this emulated for years in music, but it appears I've found the source of truth in this album. I love the builds in her songs, the way she slowly dips into song and by the end of it has erupted and is totally killing it with chaos like in Free Money and especially Birdland. I enjoyed her cover of Gloria and the Horses song is hella fun. To boil it down to the bare minimum, it's Patti Smith, and the quality of this music that I really love. It's refreshing not to sense an overt drive toward fame, generating sales and digging in to create a brand or perfect album. This just seems real, like it was MADE, not focus-tested, manufactured and built.

Don't believe the hype. Nothing punk about this album. It's a boring slog. Find anybody else from the same CBGB era that Patti Smith was and they will be infinitely more punk and infinitely less boring.

I might have made a huge mistake partaking in this endeavor.

Had to do some reading to understand the context behind this album. An interesting story, and pretty bold music for its time, I think. My first was a little bit of shock about how odd / raw this album is, which it turns out was a major aim of hers.

Oh yeah, this was fantastic - a great discovery for me. I feel like PJ Harvey inherited some sort of spiritual crown from Patti Smith. Fave track - "Land" is a wonderful post-punk (proto-punk? para-punk?) odyssey!

En me renseignant sur Patti Smith, j'ai très vite appris qu'elle était considérée par beaucoup comme la marraine du mouvement punk. La suite de mes recherches donna raison à cette affirmation puisque j'ai obtenu l'accès à de nombreuses photographies de Patti la montrant assise devant différents Carrefours City, canette de 8.6 à la main droite et demi-douzaine de laisses de clebs dans la gauche. Un portrait bien loin de l'image lisse à laquelle veulent nous faire croire les merdias.

Aujourd'hui, à l'ouverture de mon génèrateur favori, Patti Smith au menu. A la vision de la pochette, je me dis "tiens, un nouvel album d'un artiste effeminé à l'orientation sexuelle douteuse". Premier erreur de ma part, puisque après vérification de sa page Wikipedia, Patti n'est pas le diminutif de Patrick mais bien de Patricia. Mais la lecture de sa page Wikipedia m'en apprendra bien plus, et ce avant même d'avoir lancé l'album. Patrick est considéré comme le parrain de la punk, c'est donc sans surprise que je me lance dans un album composé exclusivemetn de musique folk rock. Pas la moindre note de punk, pas même une apparition de travestis a perruque blonde. Rien ne se sera passé comme prévu lors de cette écoute, mais n'est-ce pas la l'apanage de notre Robert, ne cesser de nous surprendre avec des albums tous moins interessants les uns que les autres?

Never got this. Never sure I will. Seems to lack in hooks and memorable moments. 2/5

Wow! This album really surprised me. Labeled punk rock, this is not what I thought of when punk rock comes up. I’m getting a musical education for sure, which makes this experience so valuable. Props to u/SidledsGunnar! From the get go, Gloria is a blazing, fresh take on a classic. I’m down with the spoken word mixed with singing verses. The androgynous cover picture is a powerful statement contrary to how women in music are evaluated (today included let alone 1975), even though Patti downplayed it stating that’s just the way she dressed. From the subtle reggae beat on Redondo Beach, to the somber scenes of Birdland, to the dreaming hopes of Free Money, and the expansive Land, there is a lot to explore here. This album is fantastic. This album is in the 4 or 5 range, and I’m relying on the historical significance, and my desire to continue listening, to push it over the line.

Ahhh another "critics' favourite" - likely a longer debate but why are these so often terrible? So this exhibits a "punk attitude" which means what exactly? It's a little bit funny (or annoying if any of it mattered at all) that it's likely the same critics at the time who loved this labeled prog-rock as "pretentious" - but what could be more pretentious than this sonic shit sandwich? Bad meandering poetry loudly (so dreadfully loudly) mixed over mind-numblingly boring boring boring basic 3 chord blues-ish music and songs that go on so fffffffffffking long.... As a whole the album was 43 minutes too long. 1/10 1 very dim star

I don't like this. Sounds like the same arty shit from The Velvet Underground. Complety overrated. And what's up with the wining vocals.

I am crazy about this album it is so good oml. Patti Smith is so cool wth. Also she has my favorite type of voice it's just so good. Most Memorable Song : All the songs were so good, but I have to say it was definitely her cover of "My generation" she absolutely destroyed that song. It was already an iconic song of the 60s and she brought it back. Other moments : Every other song, literally every single one of them. My favorites are Gloria, Land : Horses, and Break it up. I would reccomend listening to the live versions because they hit different.

I thoroughly enjoyed this album. Eccentric white girl like Alanis but with less rock and more grunge undertones

meh

Oh you mean female Bob Dylan? Besides her song bird land making me want to kill myself she was alright.

The nice thing about this website is that I’m getting an opportunity to listen to albums that have been sitting on my radar for too long. Horses is one of them. I’ve been aware of it for years and it should’ve been right up my alley: I love the 70’s NYC art/punk scene (Television, Richard Hell, Ork Records), The Frogs aped the cover of Horses for “It’s Only Right and Natural”…more than enough reasons for me to have checked this out. Now here I am, 41, wondering why no one sat me down and forced me to listen to this record A Clockwork Orange style. It’s that good. I’ll put it this way, if you were to listen to Horses and Television’s Marquee Moon back to back, you’d automatically be the coolest person in whatever room you walked into afterwards. If you like the NYC art rock scene (Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth, Television) and haven’t heard this record…don’t be like me, go listen now. Horses is one of the rare records on this list that I hadn’t heard and actually needed to hear before I die.

A doom-scroll through Patti’s Twitter feed circa 1975, which tends gloomily apocalyptic—“Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine,” “Little sister, the sky is falling,” and “Down by the ocean it was so dismal” setting the tone. As a real-life poet, her storytelling and language prowess is audacious. Not that you should expect to follow what she’s saying in a strictly logical sense. Forget narrative lacuna, these songs abound with non-sequiturs and sense-defying leaps that you’ll either find tantalising or infuriating. She doubles down on her prophet come-on with a crystal ball-gazing delivery, slurring and ululating and intoning in a way that’s frankly obnoxious. And there’s the rub. For all the meaning-mongering, this is rock music. Punk music, to be exact. Therefore, feeling—not logic—is king. Thumb your nose, cock a snook, be a brat. Be a kid, for god's sake. And lest we forget, kids come in all shapes and sizes, including moody and tenebrous. But what really sticks it to the squares is that all the posturing is shored up by a sinewy, febrile groove, resplendent with sizzling hooks, electric boogie, and Lenny Kaye’s whip-smart guitar.

Patti Smith is a goddamned national treasure and I'll fight anyone who disagrees. From the very first line of this album ("Jesus died for somebody's sins but not mine") to the haunting, closing notes of Elegie, this is an incredible debut album. 5 stars.

Amazing, amazing, amazing album. Patti smith is a legend. Considered by many to be the first punk album. Wish I could have seen her a CBGB back in the day.

Beautifully unbeautiful. Raw. Punk. Lyrically magnificent, sonically tense that resolves and pushes.

It isn't hard to make the case for Patti Smith as a punk rock progenitor based on her debut album, which anticipated the new wave by a year or so: the simple, crudely played rock & roll, featuring Lenny Kaye's rudimentary guitar work, the anarchic spirit of Smith's vocals, and the emotional and imaginative nature of her lyrics -- all prefigure the coming movement as it evolved on both sides of the Atlantic. Smith is a rock critic's dream, a poet as steeped in '60s garage rock as she is in French Symbolism; "Land" carries on from the Doors' "The End," marking her as a successor to Jim Morrison, while the borrowed choruses of "Gloria" and "Land of a Thousand Dances" are more in tune with the era of sampling than they were in the '70s. Producer John Cale respected Smith's primitivism in a way that later producers did not, and the loose, improvisatory song structures worked with her free verse to create something like a new spoken word/musical art form: Horses was a hybrid, the sound of a post-Beat poet, as she put it, "dancing around to the simple rock & roll song." [Source: https://www.allmusic.com/album/horses-mw0000198924]

This album is absolutely incredible. Not only that Patti is one of the greatest landscape creators in rock and roll history, and not only one of the best writers, she is also a captivating performer. The band is absolutely killing it as well. But above all the great things I've just said, the most important part is the emotional level. This album touches the heart like no other.

This album is so ridiculously influential, it seems inconsequential to rate it. Patti Smith's debut is so many things at once. It is primal, messy, poetic, delicate, irreverent, rebellious, and beautiful all at once. This album is much indebted to earlier rock forms, but she manages to incorporate those forms into the mix in a new and exciting way. Often called the godmother of punk, Patti Smith to me seems like a natural successor to the Beat movement with her stream of consciousness lyrics and spoken word passages. Simply put, this album is essential and incredible.

One of my favorite albums of all time. Absolute classic and and it's so import for the influence that followed after its release. Will always recommend this one to anyone who will listen.

Savages + Janelle Monae. Quite enjoyed.

holy crap, can i give this 7 stars? so, so good, and what a great storyteller she is on top of the music

great stuff

oh yeah baby

It's hard to believe that Patti Smith was the first CBGB artist to get a major label deal. 'Horses' is the first proper full-length document of the New York punk scene. In the early 90s I picked up a copy of 'Shots from the Hip', a collection of Charles Shaar Murray's journalism from the 70s, which was pretty influential on some of my musical opinions, even when he was comically wrong. He published a few pieces on the New York punk scene in 1975, including "1975: A scuzz odyssey" (https://archive.org/details/shotsfromhip0000murr/page/124/mode/2up), in which he surveys a bunch of CBGB's bands (Blondie: cute but no star power; Johnny Thunders: might actually be a terrible guitar player, but he's so stoned that nobody can really tell; Talking Heads: Tina Weymouth is awesome; The Ramones: best band on the scene but nobody will ever give them a recording contract). And he totally digs Patti Smith (https://archive.org/details/shotsfromhip0000murr/page/92/mode/2up): "Patti Smith has an aura that'd probably show up under ultraviolet light. She can generate more intensity with a single movement of one hand than most rock performers can produce in an entire set. On the face of it, it's an unlikely act... A lady poet, backed by a band who don't even have a drummer, sounds like an improbable expression for any kind of definitive rock consciousness. But Patti Smith is in the rock and roll marketplace and she knows the ground rules. More important, she knows how it works." This record has a lot of aspects that I really like in rock and roll: it's a dangerous and unpolished performance that could go horribly wrong at any moment, but doesn't (cheers to producer, John Cale, who keeps it just on the right side of disaster). I think it exemplifies the school of 'low technique, high IQ' rock and roll that I really dig. It's smart and visceral, alive and poetic, a bit dangerous, and not fussy or over rehearsed, which was pretty revolutionary at the time. Have other people done it better since? Well, yeah, including Patti herself. Truth be told, I prefer her Easter album (because it's louder). So, really, this is probably a three star album for pure listening experience but I love the doors this album opened for punks, for women, for poets, for musicians with something to say but not a lot of chops. I'm giving it an extra star for that. Post script: Patti Smith's memoir 'Kids' is the best written book by a rock musician ever. It is a beautiful memory of her youth in New York City and relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe. Highly recommended, go read it.

Not too bad after all these years

Good stuff, Patti. Good stuff

Very strong, this is the female version of Bob Dylan / Velvet Underground 4.3

I thought she was a knock off of the Talking Heads, but turns out they’re a knock off of her

I forgot how wild this album is. It’s hard for me to make out Patti’s lyrics on most songs, but I’m assuming she’s casting spells and hexes. And it’s great.

Absolutely one of the coolest albums out there. Not perfect, but pretty damn great.

Thank you, 1001 Albums Generator! Patti Smith is an artist I've constantly heard of, but never explored beyond "G-L-O-R-I-A." After finally listening to "Horses," I totally get the hype. Sometimes raw and punk, sometimes like an open mic or poetry slam (a good one, not the cringey emo ones). Another thing I've been thinking about with this experiment is the evolution of musical styles. With Patti I thought about the evolution of female rock singers - the 70s took us from Janis Joplin to Patti Smith to Heart to the Slits, and so much of the 80s and 90s was built from those foundations. Without Janis, would any of these women have found their style? I feel like she really opened the door for dynamic rock frontwomen. Patti Smith absolutely takes that opening and runs with it. Between "Birdland," "Land," and "American Pie," it certainly is the week of long songs. Kind of didn't mind the length though - they keep it interesting.

Cool concept and it’s definitely raw. Not sure I love her voice for some reason.

The music press loved her in the 70s, which was always a bad sign and I never saw the attraction. I remember seeing her doing Horses live on the OGWT and hated it (she also murdered Because the Night). Nothing on this album changes my opinion.

I've nothing to add. This is a permanent one.

Excelente

I'm a "music-first, lyrics-later" person, and accordingly, I've always had trouble enjoying the most theatrical and conceptual cuts on this album (like "Land" or "Birdland"), whether as background music or even as in more focused listening sessions -- probably because harmonically speaking, the music is very linear, or not very sophisticated when it comes to the chord sequences. After all, the first section of "Land" is basically a rehash of the album's opener, and it's not particularly striking music on paper. Likewise, Patti's voice can be grating if you're not entirely focusing on her lyrics. I've just played it while we were eating as a family tonight. And it was more static in our ears than a provider of an enticing mood for everyone involved. But maybe that's all for the best that this music still sounds inadequate in a bourgeois or "normative" setting decades after it's release. Because when you *do* listen to Patti's words and performance, oh boy, it becomes a one-of-a-kind epic, poetic adventure. Rare are the albums when the difference between the two listening approaches is so telling. And then, as far as the music is only concerned, the one on opener "In Excelsior Deo" (which I mentioned earlier), followed by the iconic cover of Van Morrison's "Gloria", definitely manages to equal the original source of inspiration, which is no small feat. Because as "unoriginal" as this music is, it also displays an energy that sounds like no other one on Earth. And so does the one of "Free Money" or "Break It Up". There, what might sound annoying or even grating on casual listens becomes a mystical experience. Especially Patti Smith's fascinating vocal performance. I mean, the line opening the album says it all, doesn't it? And so do the last moments of eerie closer "Elegie", filled with a sense of dread about the dead that borders on mysticism as well. Here was a new sort of prophetess, and you just can't deny that what Smith attempted to do on this debut was bound to be high art first or never exist at all. So yeah, maybe this record has been a tad bit overrated by the "critics" when it came out. But it's still so distinctive, and such a harbinger of so many great things to come -- mostly for female-fronted rock and punk bands -- that absolutely, it's got to be in this list. And also mine, I guess. 4.5/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums, rounded up to 5. 9.5/10 for more general purposes (5 + 4.5) Number of albums left to review: around a hundred, as I've gone over the 1000 line and this generator is including albums from all editions of the book Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 441 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 260 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 319

Unique, interesting sound, love the poetic lyrics too

I've listened to this before and I'm not quite sure why I haven't listened to it more. The album starts off really strong and doesn't get much weaker after that. Gloria and Land are the stand out tracks, but it's all good.

Tell me that someone else can replicate even half of the frantic creative energy that Patti Smith put into this album and I’ll know you’re lying. She wears her influences on her sleeve and outdoes them in the process

A masterpiece of underground rock! Every song builds up to a utopic climax of singing, and guitar. Favorite Song: "Gloria"

As addictive to listen to as (what I imagine) sticking a needle of heroin into your arm or doing a shot of cocaine is like. Album is banger after banger, Gloria, free money, land and break it up are my favourites. Birdland I’d call the most notable track but it’s not a favourite as of yet. Not a bad song tho 5/5

Horses. Horses. Horses. Horses. The emergence of an important voice. Patti Smith is a human treasure.

Schöne Stimme, gefällt mir

One of the all time greats. Beautiful. Uses voice very creatively, like an instrument. Punk and avant-garde apparently. Some songs are quite theatrical. Very varied album, high re-listenability factor. Every song is different and interesting, twist and turns. Theatrical, surprising.

Jesus died for somebody's sins but not mine. I love Patti Smith, especially Redondo Beach

One of my all time favorites. It’s big and theatrical and crisp as much as it is chaotic and messy. I love it.

Day285 - real raw rock and roll

Totally had Patti Smith and Patti Labelle mixed up. This was not what I was expecting in the best possible way! This might be the best find of this project so far (around 400 albums in). 4.9

Before I started I felt like I didn't have time for it but I decided to give it a chance. I was so wrong - loved every bit of it - I'm almost annoyed at how good it was.

This reminds me of Jack Black making ridiculous sounds in School of Rock, but it’s actually good. 10/10 instant favorite.

Horny

A very engaging album which feels both polished and raw in a great way. I really like Smith's energy, voice, and odd delivery.

Pretty powerful and a seminal album in the progression of the genre. This is New York underground rock and paved the way for many women performers to come.

Ok I totally slept on this album. Just awesome.

best album ever

“Jesus died for someone’s sins, but not mine”—I mean, god. Out of all the punk to come from the fertile garden of CBGB, no one had quite the poetic bent of Patti Smith.

One of the few albums that I already knew and loved. I listened to Horses after reading Patti Smith’s book Just Kids. Its no surprise that she’s an amazing writer. Her spoken work rock and roll music is unique, badass and truly worthy of her legendary status. Patti deserves all the praise. The fact that she is a genuine and good person is just a cherry on top of an already incredible career. 🤘🏽

Velvet Underground gave birth to a punk child.

An all time classic. So many owe so much to Patti Smith.

Gloria Free Money Kimberly Break It Up Land: Horses/Land of a Thousand Dances/La Mer (de)

The variety on Horses is remarkable. From the New York punk of "Gloria : In Excelsis Deo" to the reggae of "Redondo Beach" to the almost spoken-word building fever of a performance in "Birdland," we see many sides of Patti Smith, and that's just in the first three songs. Like The Doors, the band is able to follow the ebb and flow of the lead singer's performance and match her point for point. A passionate work by all. "Break It Up" is a melodic highlight, and one can imagine the "Land of a Thousand Dances" section of "Land" sowing the seed to grow a future Karen O. This is performance art captured and preserved forever on tape.

Yup. 5 stars just for Gloria but the album keeps going and actually stays great.

I honestly don't even need to listen to this to review, but I'll gladly listen to it again. Probably the 20th time that I've revisted this album this year. Patti Smith's "Horses" is a raw, poetic masterpiece that transcends genres. Her cover of "Gloria" isn't just the best version, it's a reclamation, a bold statement of female power in a male-dominated rock scene. The album's fusion of spoken word and rock paved the way for proto-punk and cemented Smith's place as a vital influence on generations of musicians, especially women in rock.

Patti Smith proves that Punk isn’t about the music, and all about the attitude. The snarling, acerbic intellectualism of the lyrics and music create an atmosphere that’s just as rebellious and anti-authoritarian as bands like the Pistols or the Dead Boys. Plus, and this really shouldn’t be a side note, Horses is just a fantastic collection of songs taking in everything from blistering lead guitar lines, to mournful piano, to funky reggae-inspired bass lines, all paired with Smith’s poetry. It’s a pretty unforgettable experience, and I really don’t listen to it enough

Classic! 5 stars Favorite track: Birdland (jazzy number in a punk album) other picks: Gloria, kimberly, land

how i wish how i wish you wouldnt miss me

Poetry.

Pazzesca

When I resumed my vinyl collection, one of the first ones I got was “Horses”. Impeccable. Raw. Timeless.

Is this the same sort of 5-star album like "Thriller"? Absolutely not. This is more a cultural change put to tape. I don't put this on so I can dance around the room ("Thriller") or rock out ("Marquee Moon"), but instead to peer into a moment in time when music somehow changed--I listen to it to seek that one thing where it all pivots. I haven't found it yet in this album, but I know it's here. Punk was born in this album, but maybe it just sounds like so much 1970s singer-songwriter stuff that came out around 1975 to some people (maybe even worse). But Patti Smith's authenticity and earnestness as a poet combines with New York musical grit on this debut. This is an OG punk and her band shoving off from shore and trying anything, as long as it's real.

I hadn't heard any of these songs before, but I quite like them! It's a bit strange and the lyrics paint some interesting pictures. The overall package is fairly enchanting. Favorite track: "Birdland."

This album wouldn't work with anyone else. Patti is just full of energy and charisma and passion on here and it works perfectly. Could write a million words about every song on here, the blueprint for punk before the Ramones or Sex Pistols came along.

I don't have too much to say. But this is a one of a kind record. It had a significant impact on me as a young kid discovery punk. Really opened my eyes to what being punk could really mean. One of the best album covers.

Agree fully with Charlie on this. SUPER fucking unique. I’ve never heard anyone go this direction before, other than maybe someone like Rickie Lee Jones, and even then, not this far and this much insane energy. Kind of iconic. A lot to digest here! I saw her play last summer, got this INSTANT regret that I was unfamiliar with her music as I IMMEDIATELY knew that I would be kicking myself, years later, that I enjoyed the show with far less context than I should be having. So it is! Wish to death that I had heard this beforehand. Musically really all over the map. Sometimes kind of intimate and beautiful, other times raucous and intense and very indulgent but in a way that doesn’t alienate you, just mystifying. She has a power over me when she delivers some of these lines. A missing puzzle piece artist for me if there ever was one! 1975 was a good year. There’s nothing really exactly like this, as intense and wordy and unapologetically Lou Reed-esque beat poetry but also aggressive and bluesy and fun. I’m gonna have to listen to this way more to get under the skin of the lyrics, but it was a WOW for me. Hedging my bets here that it’ll be a 5/5

"Horses" is the debut studio album by American musician Patti Smith. The musical genres listed are punk rock, art punk and garage rock. That's about right; I don't know if it neatly fits into a single genre though. The music on this album is known for its simple chord progressions and propensity for improvisation. The lyrics are personal often intermixed with imagery and dreams. Patti is the vocalist with Jay Dee Daugherty on drums, Lenny Kaye on guitar, Ivan Kral on bass and Richard Sohl on piano. The album was produced by John Cale. Commercially, the album hit #47 in the US. It was widely acclaimed and, in 2009, it was put into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress for its artistc significance. The album's opens with the two part "Gloria." Piano and Patti's famous statement that "Jesus died for someone's sins but not mine." The first part "In Excelsis Deo" starts slowly and builds intensity. They eventually are rocking out and a go into version of Them's "Gloria." Maybe, her biggest song. The band moves in a jazzy way in "Birdland." Piano and a jazzy guitar which gets rockin with a wah-wah style at the end. The song tells the story of Peter who's at his Dad's funeral and imagines getting carry away at the end by a UFO with his Dad as the pilot. "Free Money" is worth mentiong since it is the album's most rockin' song and another interesting story as Patti tells of growing up in a poor family and her Mother dreaming of winning the lottery. "Kimberly" opens the second side. Bass, drums and a droning keyboard sounding very much like Suicide. The lyrics describe Patti's younger sister visiting Jim Morrison's grave and dreaming of a winged Morrison trying to break free. The album ends with the stark "Elegie." It's a tribute to Jimi Hendrix. An appropriate echoing guitar. Patti has a distinct style singing, talking, and rapping and being edgy and emotional. Most of the songs tell stories with most being in a dreamy state. Patti's poetic voice and lyrics are the focus of the songs with the music following. In most cases Patti's voice and music build to the end. This is a great album, worthy of all its accolades.

Pure punk brilliance. Favorite track: Break It Up

I'm the person I am today because of this record.

Ms. Patti is an acquired taste, to be sure. It is easy to get turned off by her singing style. It’s certainly not intended to be easy. Ultimately, she sings with raw emotion; whining, raging, growling, snarling, and howling. Her voice can be as abrasive as the squealing guitar that often accompanies her. Her voice feels like tasting something bitter. First few times, it’s terrible. But after a while, you kinda love it. For as off-putting as she can get, her style and sound were liberating for young girls everywhere. Somewhere on YouTube there’s a video of Patti performing and talking to an audience of high school girls, from back when this album was released. It’s interesting to see how they responded to her and how tender she was with them. Anyway, this one is important, whether you like it or not.

Patti Smith is one of those artists I've always known about and always respected but never really jammed. This album is fantastic. She's so stylized and emotive and the music is friendly enough to actually listen to (I'm looking at you Punk Rock).

What a gorgeous record. I've never listened to it before and I'm so happy to listen to it now. Yesterday I complained about listening to a 2-hour DNB record but I listened to Horses three times.

Top 10 all time albums for me. An absolute rock n' roll clinic and a complete masterpiece. "Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine."

I liked this one a lot! Cool 1970s vibes.

9/10 crazy good avant-rock there’s not much like this out there

Eru Patti Smith og Tom Verlaine sama manneskjan, nei ég spyr því þau syngja alveg eins. Meina það sem hrós, sko. Og svo er þetta virkilega flott plata. Mér hefur einhvern veginn tekist að hlusta aldrei á hana áður og átti ekki endilega von á ég yrði hrifinn. En hún fær fullt hús hjá mér.

Florence and the machine fans line up, shes Florences muse.

Wowsers. Never really bothered to check out Patti. Will need to rectify that.

Horses. Horses. Horses. An important and timeless proto punk tome with kickass playing thru our.

This is the first one, I think, that I had not listened to all the way through previously. I liked her "hits", and knew of her presence and influence, but actually listening beginning to end seemed like something I was supposed to do rather than wanted to. I think it was one of those things where you are pretty sure you already know what it's going to be so you don't have to, it's great, though. I was definitely wrong about half of that. The opening, "Gloria: In Excelsis Deo" which is part medley, part cover, part reprise, and all punk let's you know right off this start: this is not going to be what you expected. "Redondo Beach" then is an early (earlier than the London or her fellow NYC punk) exploration of ska (I know, but it's still an important milestone). She weaves again with "Birdland" a partly spoken word lyrical poem about funerals and UFOs. "Free Money", about growing up in poverty in Woodbury, NJ; "Kimberly" about her her younger sister; and "Break It Up" about visiting Jim Morrison's grave adhere to something like a more traditional punk musicality, though with this debut release predating the Ramones debut, there wasn't a traditional punk musicality to adhere to until now. The final song is split by "Land: Horses/Land of a Thousand Dances/La Medr(de)" another cover/medley/part spoken word epic before it closes out with "Elegie" about the death of Jimmi Hendrix, appropriately somber, the final track is the first time this album comes anywhere near to meeting preconception. This is an amazing album, and though I'm aware its relative unfamiliarity to me boosts in compared to some of the others I've reviewed, it is a masterpiece by any standard.

could i write poetry to this? y

This is incredible. I’ve never felt so positive about an album I’ve never heard. Usually, I’d need to listen to an artist for a little bit to distinguish songs from each other. For the most part, if you’re unfamiliar with an artist, it can be hard to tell songs apart at first. This project has so much range, it’s insane. I’ve also never heard so much inspiration coming from one album before. I can hear her influence in every song. So many great modern musicians are taking elements from Patti’s style. The writing is amazing. The vocals are just what is needed for every track. The instrumentation is impeccable. The production is perfect. It’s exciting from start to finish. Even during the near ten minute penultimate track maintains its energy throughout and kept me interested. I’m ashamed I never stopped to listen to this earlier. It is truly a masterpiece and I find nothing wrong with it. 5/5

not a big fan to start off, but by song 4 i was hooked. album saved and will be listened to again FREE MONEY

Possibilities

This is my favourite Patti Smith

A riotous avant-garde punk record anchored by a magnificent vocal performance, this is a classic for a reason