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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

meh

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

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

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.

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.

This is one of those albums that you're SUPPOSED to love, but I don't. It's just not enjoyable to listen to. I appreciate Patti Smith and her lyrics and voice and that she was groundbreaking in the punk scene, so I feel like I must give it a 3, but all I really want to hear from her is Because the Night and Dancing Barefoot.

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

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]

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

I appreciate Patti Smith was groundbreaking and this is probably one of those albums that you're supposed to love, but I didn't. I just thought it was alright. I'm not sure I'll ever "get" it. The tracks do tend to go on a bit, at times it sounds a bit like spoken poetry that happens to have background music and I'm entirely convinced Patti Smith is singing irritatingly on purpose just to piss me off. Listen to 'Birdland' and tell me that you don't want to just punch her and her annoying, whiny yodelling voice. Despite this though, I gave it a second listen and enjoyed it slightly more. Regardless of how annoyed I was with Patti's vocals, musically this album had its moments. It's probably not something I would listen to again but I wouldn't say I outright enjoyed it.

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

I've heard a lot ABOUT this album, but have never actually listened to it myself. Patti Smith's poetic background really shines in the songwriting throughout "Horses". Featuring more spoken word song construction and simply being much more artsier compared to the mainstream punk rock scene from around this time. Definitely an original concept for 1975 and still today honestly. This album might need to "warm up" a bit for some people (which was also the case for myself), but many will recognize its impact and influence by the end of it all. If not, then that's OK too!

Love the punky vibe. What a groundbreaker.

She is a very good lyricist, and songwriter; a lot of these songs have really cool climaxes and energy. Not much else to say about this one, just a very solid album. Mid 4.

I only knew Patti from the song Because The Night (which isn't on this album) going into this one. I like the raw, stripped down sound as it suits her voice and lyrics. It's easy to see the influence this had on what would become punk. Generally a really good album with a few flat spots.

For me, Patti Smith is one of those artists that really grows on you the more you listen, and that has defninitely been the case for me over the last couple of years. Have always been a fan of Gloria and some of the more popular songs that came in later albums, but lost interest with some of her lesser known tracks. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this album - she has a very unique voice and all her songs have a pretty distinctive (raw?) feel in this album. Gloria takes the cake but also a big fan of Redondo beach and Free money. Fav song: Gloria

I think this is pretty great. Hard to pin down the style, but it's creative and cool. It's kind of art rock without being too noisy. It sounds good. It's just a cool expression and it lands. Great debut.

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.

I really liked and really hated some of this

2.5 This twist on Blues-rock was still too blues-rocky for me. The non-stop lyrics kept me from turning my brain off,which is the way I get into a groove listening to avant garde music. It's cool that it was a shock to the system at the time. I didn't enjoy listening to it all that much

She's a preformer, more spoken word than singing. It's like poetry.

I'm not quite sure what to call this style of singing, but I hate it

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.

Raw poetry to punk. It's an important album.

5 out of 5. Great early punk album with spirit.

Bárbaro. Siempre lo digo y siempre lo oigo como la primera vez. Si es Rock o Punk o lo que diablos sea, Patty ha puesto su nombre en la eternidad.

Apart from that exceptionally long song - Birdland - this was an amazing album. I love her voice, the discordant notes, the frenetic passion/rage that spills across the songs. It’s not an easy listen, really, and I don’t know how often I’ll go back to it, but it was an impactful album. Also, Patti Smith used to live on my street! I mean, this was years before I was even born, but still a fun little fact.

A masterpiece, Horses is a forever choice in the list of formative albums that shaped my taste in music. I cannot describe how subversive the opening line sounded to me the first time I heard it (and still does, to this day). I attended one of the 40th anniversary concerts where the album was played in its entirety, and time is so ridiculous that somehow it’s already 10 years later and I have tickets for the 50th anniversary concert later this year.

Some heavy hitters on here like Break It Up, Gloria and Land of 1000 dances. I really like this album and admire it for what it's done as an innovator. Don't really have much to say about this one, just a pleasant varied listens that feels a little bit unpolished at times. Whether that's for better or worse.

This one is important, whether you like it or not.

Raw emotion and catchy lyrics

The lyrics on Gloria. The reggae-like rhythms of Redondo Beach. The build into the climax on Birdland. The bass line on Free Money. The organ and plinky guitar sound on Kimberly. The use of background vocals and the rawness on Break It Up. The driving rhythms and piano usage in Land. The guitar tone on Elegie. It’s punk but done in a very unique way that feels distinct. Reminded me a lot of the Velvet Underground.

One of my favourites and one of my heroes. I've seen her perfom this live in full and I'll be seeing it again soon! It’s a mini rock opera.

I earnestly think gloria (in excelsis deo) is one of the best songs of all time, am also a big fan of free money, kimberly, land: horses/1000 dances/mer, and her version of my generation were excellent!! massive massive fan of this album; i think shes so brilliant and so raw and was apart of that pantheon of women that really made me feel seen for what i was into and who i wanted to be like (alongside other musicians like pj harvey, fiona apple, justine frischmann, courtney love, tina turner etc etc) all around soo boundary pushing and incredible.

This is a masterpiece. The two long animal themed songs are just incredible. I'm at a loss for words. Also this album has the best opening line ever, and has other fantastic songs sprinkled about, like "Break It Up"

What a record. What an opener. This record is just a masterpiece. Aside from Gloria, and the two epics, you've also got that absolutely majestic piece of guitar work from Tom Verlaine on Break It Up, which I realise I've loved way before I realised how incredible Marquee Moon was. And Free Money. I just love this so much.

Otra imprescindible por calidad, actitud e influencia. Todas querían ser como ella (incluso Debbie Harry, que tenía un injusto complejo de inferioridad). Este es su disco más aclamado, furia, fuerza y muchos quilates. Sus 5 primeros álbumes son igualmente recomendables. La apertura es un clásico. El Gloria de los Them, que tiene historia para aburrir: La usó como base Ray Sharpe con la King Curtis Orchestra en "Help Me", donde toca un tal Jimmy James (AKA Jimi Hendrix). Luego la grabó Aretha Franklin con junto con su hermana Carolyn, y le agregó su propia letra y melodía transformando por completo la canción. Se incluyó en su clásico álbum de 1967 "I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You", y la canción se ha convertido en un clásico por derecho propio. Desafortunadamente, si bien esa versión utilizó la pista de acompañamiento en la que tocó Hendrix, su solo fue eliminado de la versión final. Patty hace una versión mucho más calmada pero igualmente llene de fuerza. Redondo beach podría encajar en Blondie. Kimberly le sale mejor. Birdland baja revoluciones pero no intensidad, bajo la obvia influencia de Heroin de The Velvet Underground (sin su calidad). Free Money tiene esa base velvetiana que le sienta tan bien al disco. Colaboran la guitarra de Allen Lanier (Blue Öyster Cult) en Elegie y otro aún no ilustre: Tom Verlaine de Television (grupo que por entonces grabaría su primer single pero que hasta 1977 no publicaría su primer e imprescindible disco Marquee Moon) en Break it up. 5/5 por muchas razones.

the idea of something being Influential is often less interesting to me as the creation of specific ideas that are iterated on than it is as something that just kinda kicks open ur conception of what's even Possible...a blueprint to be filled in with ur own materials or endlessly futzed with until it becomes something even more new. obviously patti smith did this here for equal parts punks and bohemians, a pretty impressive crossection! rly rly great maybe even better than i remembered...what really leaps out at me this time is that the record feels intensely singular and personal despite the fact that patti almost never writes explicitly from her own perspective. she assumes the guise of multiple characters from books she likes, a lesbian in california, her own mother, and uh van morrison ig HFJFHS. every role she chooses to inhabit Does feel like it speaks to something about her...maybe only she can know for sure in some cases, but its still a rich feeling. and john cale/her band 100% killed it on the production/playing...the arrangements are effortlessly intuitive and emotive and create memorable Shapes to the songs that have made them stick in my brain for years and years without many traditional "hooks" at all. birdland was my fave back then and probably remains so...probably the best example of patti and the instruments around her naturally morphing to suit her words, creating this just ridiculously moving monolith of delirious unprocessed grief...appropriately makes me feel like im slowly ascending but never quite reaching what im going for, more about the fantasy of going up than being able to actually do it. p much every song is a coherent and memorable little Artsy Theatre Production in ur ears but thats always been the one thats stuck with me the most...tho man free money is rly fugking good too huh. and land. and kimberly. all of them HFJKHFSJK

I love Patti and her badass rock poetry will never get old

"Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine" will forever go down as the hardest opening lyric to an album in music history.

Glorious

Wow, what a brilliant record!

Good album

Maybe her greatest album, many great songs here, Money-'I'll by you things you never had.' The build up-it is one of the great rock and roll songs.

Horses is Patti Smith's debut album, and is often thought of as the first punk album. The album was very well received critically, but only found limited commercial success. Over time, Horses has come to be regarded as one of the best album ever recorded; it helped define the early part of punk and new wave, and influenced generations of musicians. Smith made raw, edgy rock songs, with a minimalist feeling that became the norm in early punk. She added thoughtful, inciteful lyrics, adding a depth rarely seen in punk and most rock - an "art punk." Smith made raw, minimal, edgy rock songs

Loved it . Gloria

Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine.

I have to give this a 5 admittedly it's not just for this particular album, it's for the artist. In one word... authentic. You really feel like it's the artist communicating to you. Musically, it's good (nice song writing, some punk-like emotions), lyrics are great, but the combination surpasses both. Also definitely a "must hear" album because of its legacy.

Suena como un inicio del female punk qué eventualmente se vuelve blondie. Gran album

Wow! You can see why this is always on the list of greatest albums.

The lyrics are awesome. Female-fronted punk music is epic. This is an influential album.

Wow. I have been missing out! I had of course heard of Patti Smith and I guess knew she was someone I should get around to listening to but just never had. This one will be added to the rotation, that's for sure!

✔️

Love how this sounds

patti🩵 so good, cant not give 5stars

This album's amazing. That's the start of the review. I'm running out of ways to start these things. This is Patti Smith's 1975 debut album Horses. I love it. This is definitely a landmark album in some ways. The fact that an album like this was released in 1975 is astonishing in the best way possible. The sound is excellent. The general feel is consistent, but each song's theming is distinct in a way to make each song stand out. Speaking of which, the writing of these songs is really good. The enjoyable sound is balanced by personal writing about things like growing up poor in the song "Free Money" or her younger sister in the song "Kimberly." The album's opener "Gloria" is just great. The singing is quite good. The progression of the album is perfect. As far as 70s debut albums from art punk acts that got their start at CBGB, I do prefer Television's Marquee Moon just a smidge, but there's no denying that Horses is an amazing first showing and an excellent proto-punk album that really stands out in a list like this. Horses is great. 5/5.

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.