Horses

Oh, look! I'm giving a punk album a 5 star rating! (my least favourite genre on the list as of now, 231 albums in) Horses is simply amazing. Patti Smith W. "Birdland" was my favourite. I loved "Free Money" and "Break It Up" too.

Indulgent

weeeeeee liiiiiike birrrrrrrrd laaaaaaaand

Stone cold classic. Her and Television sit at such an interesting place predating and inspiring countless punk bands yet they have more jazz influence than any that came after. It has gotten better every listen, her voice as the songs pick up intensity is amazing. She set the template for so much of what came after. I’ve read some questionable stuff about her personality during this time but that doesn’t detract from the tour de force that is this album. Rating: 4.9

This is a personal top 10 album for me. Right out of the gates she says "Jesus died for somebody's sins but not mine"...holy shit. When this album is not good it's still good, and when it's good it's fucking great.

Litt punk, litt rockeopera og litt slampoesi. Ekte klassiker

Yessssss so beautiful, Patti Smith was a punk and had a stunningly powerful voice, the lyrics are stunning the music is loud I love it all. 5.0/5.0 Best Song: Gloria: In Exelsis Dio

perfect, love u patti 💋

lang geleden en was beter dan ik me herinnerde... nu, als je je debuut kunt openen met een straffe zin, dan zit je gebeiteld...

better than Waves? no, but still amazing.

Looking at some of the comments, this record looks like its a fairly divisive one. I'm definitely in the pro camp for this record. It's a record that I own and its pretty familiar to me. Someone else described this is the intersection of rock and roll and beat poetry and that feels like a very apt description for the record. You're getting a mixture of what might be called spoken word performance with traditional song structures. I really love Smith's voice, but her vocal approach isn't always conventional, which is fine by me. Smith often gets placed in the punk camp, because her involvement in the NY scene and the often incendiary quality of her performances, but it doesn't really fall under the aesthetic qualities that I associate with punk. That isn't a criticism for me. It's a great moody rock and roll record and should be a point of discussion in any list of the best records of the decade and century.

I’ve always meant to listen to this but never got round to it. It did not disappoint. I like her voice and the songs were great too, even if I’m not super used to this style of music (old)

Goat.

Almost 15 years ago I had a summer where I only read non fiction books, all sorts of memoirs and things from musicians and actors. I think 5 books in a row mentioned Patti Smith and/or Horses as a cultural touch stone if not major influence (David Byrne and Morrissey both heaped praise, some comedians used her as an example of NYC starving artist lifestyle inspo, etc.). And then I read her book, Just Kids and finally listened to this album and it all just clicked together beautifully.

Rock and roll energy, raw spirit, all the feels. Essential

Often I don't get past Gloria because it is such a good song, but every time I do, I hear something different.

What an album! What a cover! This is an excellent and highly influential album. Rooted in a garage band aesthetic but with intelligent literate lyrics, this album set things up for the second half of the 1970s.

Raw, impassioned, punk, and the tunes. Land is a shamanic tour de force.

5 stars!! I know this album from seeing it on countless *Greatest* lists, but never cared to take the time. Understood her to be among the CBGB American punk forefathers & consequently had next to no interest. This is not (my preconceived notion of) that. This is fantastic. This is much more Tom Waits or Leonard Cohen than Ramones or Misfits. This is broad & experimental & avant-garde & I’m here for it. Love

Great for loving

Just amazing. Everything about it. The songs, the lyrics, the performance, the production, the cover photo. In recent years I've had a major Blue Öyster Cult obsession and I already knew the link via her relationship with Allen Lanier, lyrical contributions and friendship with Sandy Pearlman, but it hadn't really registered with me how much of a sound they shared at times if not an image. But even the scifi lyrics of Birdland, the furthest away musically, sound like a theme BÖC could have warmed to.

I loved this album! Haven't listened to Patti Smith proper but always down for a 70s arty feminist musican a la Stevie Nicks x Lori Anderson.

Big ol' classic you just can't deny tbh. Brought a real intellectualism to the punk scene and proved that you could have raw power without sacrificing conceptual heft. Love it

Land: Horses is an absolute trip. The lyrics in this album scare me a little. Awesome stuff.

Gostei

This album is at times incredible, and at times done with a microphone and band in the box? It could be a rock opera. It's a poetry slam. I can hear generations of women singers coming after using Patti's affectations.

Perfect, seminal. An album I always come back to and am never disappointed by

I just love it

Это же просто ахуенно

Omg actually adored this- have never heard Patti smith before!! will absolutely be adding to the rotation

Such an experience, makes one feel like they're young and gay and cool in 70s NY.

What an icon

Infinity/5 stars! I love Patti Smith!

Album #119 Patti Smith: Horses Undisputable classic, Horses is the greatest album that Lou Reed ever made. This is one of those albums that always shows up on the corporate greatest albums of all-time list, and for a long time, I just assumed that it was a ‘good for its time’ boomer album that would just be some nonsense. However, when I finally decided to listen to Horses, I quickly realized how wrong I was. This album is the opposite of dated, it still sounds so fresh and powerful almost 50 years later. The CBGB club in New York produced some of the best talent of the late 70s and early 80s, whether it be Blondie, Talking Heads, or Television, and yet if you asked someone from the scene at the time who the best act at the club was, more likely than not, you would get the answer, Patti Smith. This album is the essence of punk, high energy, empowering, and defiant, yet it doesn’t sound like anything else that was being released at the time. Patti Smith has such a unique and undeniable style that it was hard for contemporary acts to even replicate. That being said, her influence started to appear years later, once music caught up with her, notably PJ Harvey, having a lot of Patti’s elements in her music. This album never fails to hype you up, and I have never listened to it without it hitting. Every song paints a picture and has its own style, yet remains consistently great. I really can’t find a dull moment on it, so naturally, it must be a masterpiece Best Songs: Gloria, Kimberly, Free Money Worst Song: None Score out of 10: 10.

Patti is a queen

Patti Smith’s reputation precedes her, I’m ashamed to admit I’d not listen to this record before. It deserves its place in any list of albums you must hear before you die. Patti is brilliant and I’m glad to have met her here.

Bare ren kærlighed.

Increíble, creo que este es el primer álbum de los que me tocaron hasta ahora que realmente me sorprendió, en lo musical, lo lírico y lo interpretativo, es una cosa tremenda de principio a fin. Nacido en lo punk pero trata de llegar a algo más, lo único parecido a esto que escuché es Marquee Moon de Television.

It doesn’t happen often, but here’s an album that deserves to be on this list. A better combination of lyrics, voice, musicians, and producer would be hard to find.

How is this 1975, and how have I not listened to this in its entirety before? I'm aware of how iconic this album is, and I've heard some of the tracks before, but I had no idea how good those 43 minutes would be. PJ Harvey Siouxsie Sioux Courtney Love Kim Gordon You all knew... On the 'buy list' Heard before ❌️ Listened this time ✅️ Revisit ✅️ ★★★★★ (9/10) Total reviewed : 278 Already owned : 62 Purchased : 15 To buy : 3 Nope : 198

Some amazing songs on this record. This record definitely influenced music and the direction it was going.

MUITO BOM

I knew I loved this album but I hadn’t listened to it in years. I sat, washing the pots, waving at the birds and as Gloria kicked in, it was a transcendental experience. I love this album. I love Patti Smith. And this is without a doubt a must listen.

QUEEENNNNN

Album No. 0196 on my playlist. I've been looking forward to properly listening to this album for a long time. I had never once listened to "Horses" in its entirety (and only had known "Gloria: In Excelsis Deo"), but I've been fully aware that this is an iconic album, a milestone of 70s music, and Patti Smith's opus magnum. When I first listened to this, I found it quite okay. For no particular reason whatsoever, I just started listening to it a gain after the first run. And what can I say? "Horses" really grows on you. I ended up listening to the whole thing four times in a row. It instantly (well, during the second play-through) became an absolute favorite of mine. This is certainly one of the greatest records I've ever listened to. Lyrically, the whole thing is absolutely brilliant, I love Smith's voice and style of singing, and the music perfectly matches the raw, unpolished energy of this. This is ceratinly an awesome proto-punk album. Just very very great, and one can easily justify putting this on the 1001 album list. Love this record and will listen to it over and over again and will certainly explore Patti Smith's music more (the only other song I had known so far was the obvious "Because The Night", particularly due to the involvement of Bruce Springsteen, my favorite musician). Until then, I'll add "Redondo Beach", "Free Money", and "Land" to my playlist, in addition to the already mentioned "Gloria". Great, iconic, interesting! 5/5 stars!

Obra maestra del rock. Joya de 1975 que nunca envejece. Patti eterna

I can understand some people not liking this but you can't deny that it's an inflection point for music that occurred. Me, I think it's wonderful.

Any good album should stand on its own, and this one does, but I believe it is enhanced by a reading of Patti Smith’s memoir “Just Kids” which goes into her early days in New York City, barely scraping by as an artist and poet; her relationship with the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe (who photographed the cover of this album); her meeting Lenny Kaye (who compiled the Nuggets box set and is a legend in his own right) and them eventually forming the Patti Smith Group and recording this album. Songs like “Free Money” take on an enhanced meaning when you understand how poor Smith was. As for the music, it doesn’t sound much like what we’ve come to think of as punk, though it doesn’t sound much like anything else either. I guess the stream of consciousness ramblings of Bob Dylan are a musical touchpoint here, but Smith is doing her own thing, drawing from the Beat poets and the French symbolists. Lenny Kaye and the rest of the band match her with a sound that comes from the primitivism of garage rock but has an almost jazzy spirit of improvisation. Horses unquestionably belongs on any list of important and influential albums, and ranks pretty highly among them, in my opinion. If I have any criticism of this album, and I say this as someone who has listened to it many times over the years, and owns multiple physical copies of it, it’s that it’s an album that I think I appreciate most intellectually. It doesn’t speak as deeply to me as other music that I’d consider to be my favorites. That’s really on me, though, and this is a five star album.

Fucking exceptional. Patti Smith was likely your favorite artist's favorite artist in the late 70s man. You can see her influence on and contribution to this type of punk and post punk singer songwriter music echo throughout the next decade or more. Ramones, Television, Tom Waits, Nick Cave, the list is probably longer than I know.

I can't say enough about this album. A brilliant, raw, vulnerable and ugly offering that tells stories with unapologetic emotion. 9/10

One of those albums I'd been meaning to listen to for a long time and finally did about a month ago before it popped up here. Tremendous album of proto punk with an avant/art twist. Gloria kicks it off with a bang, reggae vibes off Redondo beach are lovely and side one ends with the fabulous Free Money -rocking out but precise drumming, so that while it feels like it might break down somewhere but never does. Side two continues in a similar vein, the 7 minutes of Land ebb and flow fantasticly. Who knew punk songs could be 7 minutes? The version I listened to with a bonus live track, My Generation, was the icing on the cake. Loved this album and definitely one that everyone should listen to before they shuffle off this mortal coil. 5 stars

I don't know how I was aware of, but ultimately slept on, this album for over 40 years, but it was fucking phenomenal. Patti herself sounds like a proto, mid-70s PJ Harvey, rooted in the Velvet Underground, adjacent to Television, and a direct influence on everyone from Kim Deal to Carrie Brownstein. That alone makes it a pretty great listen. But the rawness of the vocals and fragmented lyrics against that tight rhythm section and angular 70s NY guitar...chefs kiss. Effortlessly cool.

Favorite tracks: Gloria, Birdland, Free Money, Break It Up, Land Her endless charisma, her ever-fascinating and poetic lyricism with vibrant storytelling, her voice like a bolt of lightning that sunders the land, the peak of rock and roll musicianship with especially noteworthy guitar work... What is there not to love about Horses? This makes me love being a woman.

A wonderful and iconic record. #johnsvinyl

Brilliant Album and artist. At the end, I was convinced that Patti just kept speaking and saying interesting things whether there was music or not. But the most amazing part to me was how beautifully interwoven her vocal style flowed with the music itself. The energy and intelligence and poetry is tight and impactful from beginning to end. What a great album.

Niekedy v polovici 80. rokov som ju počul prvý krát, hneď ma ohromila...

What a fun surprise. This album makes me want to buy a record player so I can listen on vinyl. I love that her voice isn’t “good” as much as passionate.

An album called Horses by someone named Patti. I was expecting lots of fiddles, maybe a Home on the Range cover. What a pleasant surprise this album was. Supposedly this influenced the nascent punk genre. I wish it had influenced in more, there isn't a simple power chord driven song in sight. Just a collection of great, mostly sparse, songs sung with feeling and played with intention.

It's not what I was expecting when I saw that the album was punk rock, but it matches, and it's a wonderful listen. Loved the piano, loved the spoken word. Thank you to all horses

I am quite amazed I have never listened to this album before. Apart from Because the Night, I know very little about Patti Smith. I ma not sure why, but I just never really explored her music. It is never too late. It is also so evident where PJ Harvey got her influences from. Gloria is an incredible opening track. Redondo Beach is a fantastic mix of rock, punk and reggae. I love the way Birdland just grows and grows and grows. It is fantastic. Free Money wraps up a near perfect Side A. Side B is maybe not quite as good as the first Side, but it is still damn good. Break it up and Land: Horses are both superb. Land:Horses is possibly my standout track. This is damn close to a 5. I think I want to own this record. 5 stars

Love Gloria and Horses.

love this

Classic Gold

If this isn’t a 5, what is? The teeth of time have done nothing (and by that I mean: absolutely nothing) to this album. It's an undeniable, an unf*#%withable classic! Sublime poetry, electrifying perfomances, standout songwriting (plus, the cover portrait is nothing short of iconic). These songs hold up effortlessly today - and they’ll still hold up 50 years from now. This album is such a towering achievement that it overshadowed many of Patti Smith’s later albums. If you create something this profound, this singular, this lasting… well, that’s just the way it goes… I guess.

Sometimes, the art kids are right.

This is incredible. I swear I nearly transcended during Birdland. So much to appreciate about this one—songwriting with a lot of flair and exciting buildup, extremely tight performances, and the most badass aura in the vocal delivery. Despite all the years I’ve been aware of Patti Smith, I never listened. This album is a reminder that going through this project is worth it.

Hot damn, this is a powerful album from the powerful persona of Patti Smith herself. Smith might not be the best songwriter I've ever heard, but she is unique and stylish. Her greatest talent lies in her ability to render her lyrics masterfully in the songs themselves. She is always raw and passionate, maybe a little unhinged, but always authentic. I also love the production of this record. Apparently, Smith herself sought out John Cale, formerly of The Velvet Underground, to produce. That was a great decision, as the album's recording fits perfectly with Smith's vocal tone. She is always up front in the mix, but the band chugs along right behind her. The arrangements are another strong point. They are sparse and driving, another fitting complement to Smith herself. Cale didn't shy away from using multitrack magic, but it was always used to enhance the immediacy of the music. I would love to see some of this intelligent rawness return to music production. This album proves that a hi-fi record can still retain the energy of a lo-fi album. I'm not familiar enough with this album to know if I'll listen to it in heavy rotation, but it grabbed me from the first line and never let go. Five stars.

I actually used to hate this album but I really love it now. Could be a 5. Just real honest creative expression, feels way bigger than just a lil post-punk band. Ughhh 4 or 5 or 4 or 5… it is REALLY good I’m gonna give it a

#266/1001. This one I picked from my recird shelf, a cheap and crackly copy, but somehow it fits. Perhaps she is the main reason punk broke out in NY. Or perhaps she just continued where the velvets went too pop. Or perhaps let's just look at the back cover: compacted awareness .. gems flattening .. long streams of resin tools .. kool system of destine wax sculpt..drums tongue and waves slapping .. the feel of horses long before horses enter the scene .. molten tar stud dead w/bones and glass and the teeth of women ... veins filled w/existance .. beyond race gender baptism mathmatics politricks ... assassinating rythum .. c-rude transending .. soul-ar energy in the shape of a laughing pack of scarabs dressed in coats of milk armour..grace greased w/merc and henna ... hair wires .. neither the desire nor the ability to stop i plop on the bed pink electric immediate some human light bulb these bands around my neck should reveal what state i'm in .. only history (gentle rocking mona lisa) seals .. only histoire is responsible for the ultimate cannonizing .. as for me i am truly totally ready to go ... sonic klein man its me my shape burnt in the sky its me the memoire of me racing thru the eye of the mer thru the eye of the sea thru the arm of the needle merging and jacking new filaments new risks etched forever in a cold system of wax .. horses groping for a sign for a breath ... charms. sweet angels - you have made me no longer afraid of death.

canon!

I've heard this previously but re-visiting this, I found myself enjoying it so much more (I already enjoyed it). Gloria is such a great opener, and some of the piano-driven tracks make this wonderfully enjoyable. Free Money is also a standout for me.

Deliciously half-sung half-spoken declamatory beatnik-like performance by Patti Smith with great, creative art-rock instrumentation built around it. There's this barely contained anger on the verge of exploding that keeps you holding your breath. Such a great album.

My first time listening to this album even though I know it has influenced countless artists. I can see why that is because it is pretty damn great. I regret not listening to it sooner. The opener is a scorcher. Favorites: Gloria, Free Money Would I listen to it again: Yes

Speaking of epic debut albums (re: The Stone Roses and Pearl Jam, as I've already spoken about), here's another record to add to that list. Patti Smith. Fearless poet, rebellious rocker, all-round genius of a human being. With 'Horses', her deep, often autobiographical musings ('Redondo Beach', 'Kimberly', 'Free Money') join forces with tributes to fallen public figures (notably Wilhelm Reich on 'Birdland', Jim Morrison on 'Break It Up' and Jimi Hendrix on 'Elegie') and two sprawling odes to 1960s rock ('Gloria', 'Land') to form an absolute behemoth of a record that changed the way people approached songwriting. Patti Smith is, without a doubt, one of the finest lyricists in music history, and she's a pretty bloody influential vocalist too. While not conventionally pitch-perfect, her edgy attitude and intense live performances turned her into one of the most important influences on punk rock, alternative rock, gothic rock, grunge; you name it. It's pretty rare to set your legacy with your debut record, but 'Horses' is that impressive a record that Patti Smith could've quite easily ridden its coattails for the rest of her career. But she didn't, she kept creating and only continued to deepen her importance to popular music, not only as a solo artist, but with the Patti Smith Group too. As far as New York punk acts are concerned, she's just as, if not more important than The Ramones and Blondie. 'Horses' blew me away when I first heard it and it still blows me away to this day. A truly, truly remarkable listen. Best songs: The whole album

Required.

This album seems pretty underrated on this site. Sitting around a 3.3 despite being ahead of its time and one of the coolest albums ever

Very solid experimental. 5/5

Excellent album. Punk vocals and attitude meet poetic lyrics and avant-garde songwriting with a rock-ish sound. It’s a lethal stew.

Une incontournable.

Actually really good, would never have tried this otherwise Will I listen to again: 100%

Awesome!!!

What a sweeping album. Her voice is like it’s from another planet and I found myself turning over the lyrics in my head.

New to me and will definitely spin again

дуже poetic, я б сказала цей альбом serves better as an artwork than a thing you would listen on a everyday basis, але енівей love those punk vibes

oh very very good

*began laughing hysterically* *combusted on spot* *the last segment played backward with me returning back to my prior state* oh shit. here we go. so, horses is significant for me. a really solid album. but its story for me actually started last winter when my inner critic told me, "your hair looks so messy and you're serving patti smith on the horses album cover, gurl." i sighed and wrote the following review over the summer after straightening my hair. its really freeform rambling nonsense so please beware. “OK, so please tell me how i should style your hair.” the barber asked me. “just make it less patti smith and more kurt cobain, although i respect them both. I mean: make it less fluffy and more flat.” “What?” She failed to understand. “Maybe I’d like a straight permed bob, please.” A week after leaving from the barbers, I, with my shortened hime cut, went abroad the plane to New York and was scrolling through the entertainment system. “Horses” was there but without many songs, because of copyright. So I just postponed my plan of listening to it. Ha-ha. About two weeks later, Horses strikes again because I need to wash my hair and wait until it dried without a hair dryer in my hand. And here I was sitting in my dorm in an east coast university during my summer program, thinking whether I should go to the bathroom for a nice little wash. And I picked up my pajama and my shampoo and my towel and went to the bathroom. When I finally decide to put on the album, it’s half past 8. I’m outside with my shortened hime cut slowly drying. “Not my fault that the world became terrible and people lost their rights. or should I say… advocates died for somebody’s future but not mine.” I let out a slightly ironic snicker as “Gloria” began to play. Who cares about rebellion when there's good old homoeroticism? look out cause here’s the feral child. Look at how she transformed into the lover of Gloria. Look out for the homoerotic narrative. Look at how she spelled her name. Come on, spell it out! G-L-O-R-I-A, spell it since spelling is indeed fun! I warbled self-referential meme under the setting sun in front of fashionable girls waking around, a beautiful autistic wallflower that doesn’t care about anything else. Sadly halfway through Redondo Beach I need to go back inside due to the sky getting dark. That song is shit anyway. Back in the little room. I blasted my head open with Birdland. But thousand year later it stopped and changed track. and I swayed with the piano riff. As life blood floods from the sky in 7/4 time. Capitalism is serious and I don’t hate it. But I’m just so being trapped in cringe culture I lost every chance to do it all because I..I just can’t make the world go around. life sucks and there’s no reason. it’s just a cringe issue or maybe, if i get rid of all these thoughts everything will resume. If i’m not cringe I can buy everything like its just a vinyl record to me, one i really enjoy and love in my little brain. new cars I mean caviar and a five star daydream and most importantly a jazzmaster and wank it until it weeps, since its all worthless right now. Nothing is worth fighting for until we load up on drugs and build a little empire upon some crazy garbage called the blood of the deranged upper class and reestablish a better capitalism with nobody getting to own more than ten million and less than ten thousand and again and again and again redistributing everything owned until it finally become socialism and then communism, but USSR told us that when we meet the new boss it will be the same as the old boss so was everything worth fighting for? I don’t know. And every night before I go to sleep I saw the world being driven around with these green and red beautiful bills and sparkling coins I dream about consumerism and how it will make me love my life so abundant as it is a dream more happiness than ever before as we hunt for eternal happiness as next moment is probably when we'll die as the sensation of investment is as crispy as a bite of an apple like all those white doves we fled into the sky with dreams and hopes but still outrunning bills and guilt of being the worst like nothing is ever a reality like we were meant to live in dreams and sleep in reality. So when I sleep I put my head on the fluff look at everything I ever wanted and I drifted into unconsciousness don’t know how to feel it is so shallow oh it’s so shallow as the world turns loveless it spins and spins like what it once was and will be the same as it ever was and what once was. i believe that I really need a better weapon to slay all the dragons the music is as warm as a heavy blanket hazy as every other dreams so if i play it i could make all dream become reality i suppose so tell me how to get rid of all these problems is it due to cringe or is it due to financial crisis but the radio dropped dead. hallelujah. Money makes the world go round and I am loving it. A week later the fight resumed as I finally bothered to wash my hair but also disturbed due to extracurricular activities. Side Two. Kimberley was underwhelming until I realized that it’s literally a mirror that I stands in front and saw me and Miss L. Her eyes sparks like Vega the star and we stood together as the storm unleashes and the world collapses, we stayed for tomorrow and what else? Imaginary things often give us a better future to live in. Break it Up is truly underwhelming. So I took a rest. A week later i resumed the game, washed my hair, and as it's drying in the wind, i hit play on the supposed most overwhelming track on the album: Land. I was a listener at first. but it starts like a raindrop and forces me into a sudden flood, taking me swiftly to the land of 1000 dances where its just a simple big party moving all my hot steps. the hot steps dropped cold, as a drop of water in a creaking black pipe flowing under the shared history of all things over it. there's a dancehall, in a city, in a metaphysical country where we shared music and dance all night. she's there and i'm there, life's there. life is a dancehall, come and throw your troubles away-- they used to say. so real. performance is the ultimate goal of the human life, and in the beat in the melody we united in harmony. suddenly the dancehall's door blasted open and out came a flood and even though the floods pushed people died but it still can't keep Johnny down. twisting through the towns until we falling down the pale white at the platonic idealistic land upon toward the bright horses in the distances, and toward there we disintergrate in all the mighty glory of songs, as another children was born into the world whenever the music plays, a pulse that underlines all of mankind through every lock of hair through every end of the blood veins through the cord through the song and life is no party and no disco but we are one when we dances to the song as it never ends, our hair flying in the wind. Elegie ended and my hair dried. at least it dried, i mean, seems like that there's a long long rope ties me to the past, as the beat goes on. it's not a comedic device. its something that i really think about a lot, how patti connects and pays tribute to things that influenced her, like the famous poets and the garage rock/pop standards. this album is very good, better than what i had expected but im not sure if this is a joke or not. what starts with me complaining about my puffy hair leads to me deciding to listen to Horses and my three-liner mutated into such a monster while my original 3.5 also transformed into the 5 that you all see here. i am in awe of the human mind. 5/5 post script: why does this arrive on a day which i need to wash my hair before it got too greasy, since horses is my bathing album due to the review above.

“Jesus died for somebody’s sins, but not mine” No notes

I love the opening song which is the best version of Gloria IMO. Horses is another poetic masterpiece on the punk vein. Patti definitely set the tone for women on the punk rock poetry music form.

Groundbreaking. Immeasurably influential. Perfection. 5

Chefs kiss

baby mash potato do the alligator

This album is lightyears ahead of its time. I understand why it doesn't land for some people but it has everything for me. Playlist track: Gloria: In Excelsis Deo

Decent - high energy

An album I’ve long heard of, but never heard. Breathtakingly original. As a Fiona Apple fan I feel like I just found the origin story. YES

Fire. Loved her voice, the lyrics and psychedelic nature

My favourite Patti Smith's work and one of the best albums of all times. As it's been repeatedly pointed out in other comments, does anyone remember an opening line as powerful as "Jesus died for somebody's sins but not mine"? Every song is a poem and there is not a single filler. And of course the music and Patti's voice are terrific: pure raw energy.

I never gave Patti Smith a chance, but I’ve realized her music doesn’t quite speak to me. However, I can see how her sound influenced a lot of music.

WOW - what an amazing look into what I imagine is a major influence of the 80s/90s punk scene. You can feel the emotion and anger throughout, backed up by a beautiful instrumental mix. The only comment I have is on Smith's shrill vocals, however it should not take away from what is an amazing album

An all time classic. My intro to Patti Smith years back, who has now become one of my all time favorite artists and greatest inspirations. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing her live multiple times, including this year performing the album in full.

It could survive on attitude alone.

A couple months ago I put this on to remedy one of the biggest blind spots of my entire music-listening life. It was absolutely incredible. I don't know what I was expecting. Somewhere along the line, I got the impression that this was in a class with Joni Mitchell, Janis Joplin, and Stevie Nicks (all artists I admire, but maybe don’t love). It appears the only thing that connects all those artists is the lack of a Y chromosome and a truckload of talent. Patti’s sound is so unique and ferocious. Why did I put this off for so long?

Great album with very strong personality

I got to see Patti Smith perform Horses in its entirety a few years ago. She played some extra songs too, including a cover of Purple Rain (this was in Minneapolis shortly after Prince died). She also recorded the entire audience singing Happy Birthday to send to John Cale. This is a great album to listen to and one of my favorites (Gloria is also a contender for my favorite song of all time), but the experience will always pale in comparison to hearing it live

Awesome. Birdland is my song.

An all-time classic: if this list was 21 albums…rather than 1001, Horses should still be on it. The Van Morrison/Them cover to open the album, plus the title track Land:Horses, are highlights but it’s strong all the way through.

Snarling fierceness from the opening to the beginning. One of the all time great debuts.

Love It. Own It.

I already I know I love this album! What a feat. So raw.

Masterpiece

CLASSIC

I like the aesthetic of this album probably more than the album itself...but I digress. Redondo Beach is a fave and Patti is the ultimate cool girl. Why would I give this less than 5?

Yeah, this is very much my thing. Really getting into this 70s pop rock

best one so far, never listened to punk before

Opening with “Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine” goes so hard.

I of course knew who Patti Smith was, and have heard plenty of her songs and know of her importance in music history. But yeah, honestly never sat down and listened to one of her albums. This is a masterpiece. I get it.

This is one of those discoveries. What a revelation. Fucking amazing, I just love this album. And it belongs on a short list of fantastic debuts.

What a debut. What a time. What a woman.

Totally captivating. Words don’t do this experience any justice. Patti Smith is so emphatic and animated in delivering some of the most unique lyricism you’ll ever hear in anything rock/pop adjacent. The vocal inflections are unreal. Usually, with an artists you kinda sacrifice unique lyrics for catchy delivery or appealing instrumentals. Not here, she has it all. I’m just floored. “Gloria: In Excelsis Deo” and “Birdland” are my picks from the record, but really this is just front to back amazing. Easy 5/5, no need for a long write up just go listen to this masterpiece

This has always been in my top 10 albums. I love everything about it and can sing along to almost all of it. Free money is the most phenomenal song. Patti is an amazing writer and talent!

I've long connected with Patti Smith's words, sounds, ethos, and nature. Even before I started reading her books and learned the shared similarities of growing up in a small New Jersey town. Is this her best album? Not in my mind (that might be Gone Again or Banga). But Horses is a perfect introduction to her style of rock-n-roll feminist poetry with a nod to punk and avant garde artists who helped her bloom. I'm extremely grateful to live at the same time as Patti Smith and I urge you to read any of the books she's published. Her words...thoughtful and real.

Patti Smith is one hell of a wordsmith.

Pure class

I enjoyed this one more than I thought I would

Birdland

good evening music

I was lucky enough to see Patti Smith live just last year, and let me tell you at 77 she still can command a stage. An all time classic. 5/5

Trailblazer. Iconic. I loved listening to this intently and all the way through.

If Lou Reed were a woman she'd make this album. Good thing she did because this amazing album is better than what the Velvets have done. 5/5

It was great! Party rock similar to Janis Joplin.

Freaking brilliant rock and roll. The best album I've never heard before, and it will probably soon be my favorite album of the year

My dear old friend. No idea what I can say about it that hasn’t been said. It’s been with me about half my life. Long enough ago that I got it at a used CD shop, college I think. Its meaning has only expanded for me over the year. I have fantasies about doing a karaoke version of “Free Money” but doubt I could ever keep up. But I’ve certainly said every word many times. Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine…

Despedimos la semana con una bestia como Patti Smith y con Horses, su espectacular debut musical. Imposible no escucharla y no verla como una adelantada a toda la movida alternativa/indie de muchos años después con su forma de cantar, su estética y sus letras. Lo anterior me hace pensar inevitablemente en la actualidad porque, ¿a quién tenemos de referente que tenga estas búsquedas, éste compromiso a reconvertir sus vivencias en arte? ¿Alguien tomará la posta o es algo extinto y ya no existirán músicxs así? Dejo estas reflexiones y me retiro hasta el lunes. Gracias miles por un álbum cinco estrellas.

Absolutely essential—and always a pleasure to listen to. Smith’s vocals are strong and gritty/rough (yes, that’s a compliment).

in between the Velvet Underground and Television, with a woman poet carving out space for the future if you don't think that rocks I am sad for the things you have missed in life. music: appreciated. (⌐■_■)

One of the greats, obviously. Gotta be a geek to not see that. A real dweeb

Easily one of the best albums ever. Gloria is a hell of an opener. I don't know what the fuck Patti is singing about for most of the album but she makes it sound cool. The band is great. Slinky and quiet and rockin. A classic. Great Cover Art.

Very pleasantly surprised. Can see her influences to the later generations. Early for her to be doing her style and singing. Loved it.

Entiendo que este álbum haya ido ganando adeptos con los años y que al principio la irrupción de Patty Smith no fuera de la mano de un éxito inmediato. Demasiado vanguardista para la época, y eso que la sombra de Warhol estaba detrás. No obstante, creo que si esto lo hubiera lanzado un hombre en lugar de una mujer de aspecto andrógino le habrían ido las cosas mucho mejor. Dicho esto, a mí el disco me atrapa desde el minuto uno por su carácter urbano, mundano y lírico a partes iguales. Y porque Patty es una intérprete de diez. Fuera de lo obvio, no he podido evitar recordar “Miserable Lie” de The Smiths mientras escuchaba “Free Money” y “The Hand That Rocks The Cradle” del mismo álbum del cuarteto de Mánchester al escuchar “Kimberly”. ¿A alguien le pasa algo parecido?

“Jesus died for somebody’s sins BUT NOT MINE!” What a bold way to start an album, and what an album this is. This album is dark, angry, and sensual all at the same time. If I had to boil it down, Patti takes everything that came before her in the Rock scene (namely Bob Dylan, the Doors, Hendrix, and to a lesser extent the Rolling Stones) and splices it with her unique experiences and poetic skills to create something psychedelic and absolutely RAW. Best Tracks: - Gloria: In Excelsis Deo - Birdland - Land: Horses/Thousand Dances/La Mer (^This track especially is fantastic, first time in a while a song has had me in a trance trying to understand it, it’s INTENSE!) Worst track: - Redondo Beach

“Horses tore my limbs off and put them back on in a whole different order. I was like: "Shit, yeah, oh my god!" then I threw up."” -Michael Stipe I’ve been listening to this album since I was like 14 and read Please Kill Me for the first time. Every time I hear it, I appreciate more and more just how special it really is. This time I listened with the lyrics pulled up, following along with every single line and, again, it hit me like never before. This album is like the big bang. You don't have to like it, but you can't deny it. This is one of the most truly perfect pieces of recorded media ever created. Horses was, I believe, the first album released by one of the resident CBGB artists and, for that reason, has a claim to being the first punk album. By blending "intellectual" influences and contemporaries like Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, Television (Tom Verlaine is here!), and Talking Heads with the raw, simple, instrumentation of the Stooges, Ramones, and garage bands like the Kingsmen and Troggs, Patti Smith made a case for the NYC underground scene as something that demanded attention as it came to liberate us from the tyranny of masturbatory prog rock bullshit. There’s a reason she has been cited as an inspiration by everyone from Springsteen to Madonna (I'd argue there's a very direct line from the juxtaposition of sacred and profane in the version of "Gloria" on this record to that same trope being on display in "Like a Prayer") to Sonic Youth to Dua Lipa. Taylor Swift saying "I'm not Patti Smith" in the title track to TTPD was the closest she’s come to humility in the last 5 years. "Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine" sounds like some edge-lord shit today but in 1975 it was a genuinely stunning mission statement. Such a simple declaration of autonomy and rejection of tradition. The storytelling here is visceral. You've got suicide, alien abductions, sex, drugs, rock and roll, religion. The lyrics to every song are like 10 pages long and sound borderline improvised and driven purely by emotion at points. It's like she's speaking in tongues.

Raw, progressive, energetic and ahead of its time.

Awesome

An album I already know and love. Brilliant excuse to have a full length listen. Patti Smith owns a special section of my heart. Her music really makes me feel free and wild😝

One of the extremely rare 5 stars I give out and an all time great debut album. I've wanted to see her ever since this album was released and I finally get to in November. And to make it even better, it's the 50th anniversary of the album and she is performing the whole album with the original band.

Wow! This blew me away. Truly glad I did hear this before I died.

Oozing with emotion and grit. Infectiously energetic, super clever songwriting style.

heard this before some time ago Gloria - 5/5 Redondo Beach - 4/5 Birdland - 3/5 Free Money - 5/5 Kimberly - 5/5 Break It Up - 5/5 Land - 5/5 Elegie - 5/5 Average score: 4.6/5 (rounding up)

Patti Smith makes me feel strong. Incredible lyrics, this fury inside her, she is so fucking cool. The world she paints in Horses is entirely her own, confident, and integrity. Psychedelic, bluesy, but the highlight is her. Her voice is not traditionally great but that's not the point. The point is her delivery, half spoken-word and half singing.

1001 Albums Challenge (20/1001) 1. Gloria (5/5) 2. Redondo Beach (5/5) 3. Birdland (5/5) 4. Free Money (5/5) 5. Kimberly (5/5) 6. Break It Up (5/5) 7. Land (5/5) 8. Elegie (5/5) Total (5/5)

Heard this album a million times but only today for the first time I noticed she ends this album with a line from one of my very favorite Jimi Hendrix songs, 1983 (A Merman I Should Turn To Be), "It's too bad that our friends can't be with us today." Prior to noticing that, I was thinking about how it's the covers Gloria and Land Of 1000 Dances where she and the band really shine. Creativity takes many forms and in purely sonic terms this album can underwhelm but if you can appreciate it for what it is, its peaks are brilliant. I love this album and I think people will be talking about the scene in New York she helped to define for a long time to come and she was a meaningful part of that. But also bigger than a scene, in terms of rock n roll, she was a musical Magellan, charting the course forward out of Altamont, leading us ultimately in to Never Mind The Bollocks. God bless Patti Smith! More than a national treasure, she deserves a special designation from the UN, like Stonehenge.

This album was on permanent repeat when I was 16 in 1980, though the heavier "Radio Ethiopia" will always be my favorite p. smith album. Finally, a female role model who wasn't conventionally pretty, cute, sexy and who didn't seem at all concerned about it. She had more interesting things to do, such as blend French surrealism with Motown and her poetry and perform with her band. Shame on this list for including only one of her albums while having multiples of (looking at the Bs) Beck, Belle & Sebastian, Bjork, Blur, Tim Buckley, and Kate Bush. List dude's the kind of wanker she didn't give a shit about.

I love her !!!

I'd never really listened to Patti Smith before but I liked this a lot. A little punky, a little Doors-y.

Oh, I get why some people don't like this. But those people and I respond to music very differently. I loved it. It weaves a spell. Fascinating, authentic, and cool as.

This is just brilliant. Reminded me of PJ Harvey so very much up my street. The standout track for me was Free Money which I think reminded me of a PJ Harvey/Kate Bush infusion which is just great

Great to revisit this. I still love the straight-up, dramatic, brilliantly executed instrumentation and wild, dark, playful poetry. Gloria and Land: Horses.. were always my favourites and still still stand out to me with their 60s R&B/soul references, semi-religious/sacrareligious vibes, and particular playfulness in the lyrics. There's something really brilliant for me in how it plays with and twists rock'n'roll story tropes and imagery, and that was certainly a lot of the appeal when I was younger and more obsessed with that stuff. I enjoyed the whole thing though, just as it started to get a bit samey something shifts up, a well structured album in that way. Kimberley and Elegie also stood out. I'd like to spend some time with other Patti Smith records, I haven't done much of that.

Really liked this. Would listen to again and her other stuff. Last track reminded me of Kate Bush a bit.

I'm literally a dyke who listens to post-punk and studied french literature, how have I never properly listened to this before

An absolute tour de force.

never connected that pj harvey exists because of this album

I'm a little ashamed to admit that before today I had not listened to this album from start to finish, although I am certainly aware of its reputation and legend and had heard portions of it. It's worthy of the hype. Struggled between 4 stars and 5 because it's not something I would just put on and listen to regardless of mood, but it's a classic so I'll go ahead and give it 5. (Nothing matters anymore anyway.)

I can't even begin to reckon how many times I've listened to this album over the years...and how many more times I will listen as I head to no-more-land. But I will enjoy as much if not more as the 1st time I listened. Great album. Perhaps my fave....

Maybe I was just in the right mood at the time but this album really hit the spot for me. The opening track is the best version of the much (over?) covered Gloria. Loved the whole album

Icon. Legend. Muse.

Loved this album. Artistic, poetic, and emotional. It carries pure, raw energy that feels both legendary and deeply personal. Patti’s voice and vision come across as unapologetic and powerful. A true icon.

Stays fresh!

Staying at Chelsea Hotel and got Patti Smith which was a cool coincidence. And then I pushed play when I left the lobby and started my run. The album ended exactly when I walked back through the door back into the lobby. Good omen and great album!

I never bothered to find out what the Patti Smith fandom was all about and am glad I did! This is wonderful!

Patti Smith is my spirt animal.

Patti is my favorite woman in rock music. Love her. This is just great

own

Shes so cool. And so many people sound (or want to sound) like her but nobody does quite this. The way she says every single word on here is so funny in and at the same time so cool. It really sounds like the most idgaf art student in the best way

Raw, visceral and poetic. Punk in attitude, literary in scope.

5/5 - I needed to hear this in my life because it’s one of the original seeds that influenced so many bands I love. Smith is a complete badass on this recording and sets the tone right from the first line of Gloria. I don’t care if her voice is all over the place, and it’s often just 3-chord rock. It’s about the attitude and the message — still real 50 years later.

Patti Smith is a personal icon of mine. That being said, I think this is such an impactful album. It's melodramatic and real and about the MEANING of the words in the songs. I love her and I love this album. Patti Smith single handedly changed the game when it came to women in punk and what that looked like. She was a one of a kind. Every sad indie artist's sound today can be seen in the echoes of this album. She is first a poet and then a musician.

that's álbum is for me one of the best can i listening ever

Steve Huey said that this album is the first "artistic punk" album and I couldn't agree more. The album is exactly a blend of poetry and punk. Each song is a story with a specific purpose in mind, but some of the songs have so much going on (Land) that it needs to be analyzed. Elegie is straight up a poem set to music. There's one part in Break It Up when you can hear her obviously pounding on her chest while she sings.....which I have never heard before from a studio album. I can really understand why this album was so important as it is very unique and really needs to be analyzed. I completely get why Patti Smith has been such a huge influence on a lot of female artists even to today. There's definitely punk vibes, but the music perfectly accompanies the story that's being told, ranging from smooth to chaotic.

Sou fã de Patti Smith, acho-a um génio. Quer seja nos livros ou na música! Não há muito a dizer, é um álbum perfeitamente articulado entre músicas, tudo faz sentido e é incrível!

9/10

One of my favourite records ever. Just brilliant from start to finish.

9.7/10

Punk-laurite, 1975 debut, "intelligent and self-conscious" john Cale produced Birdland Kimberly Land

Electric, profound, sublime, Patti Smith is a legend

Honestly, I wanted to not like this but it was so good!

Patti Smith is my hero

Two things to say about this: 1. Patti Smith is such a badass. 2. This is the only way I want to listen to Van Morrison.

Jesus died for somebody's sins but not mine

Patti's so punk.

Like if Leonard Cohen was a woman. And punk.

Patti, my beloved. I just finished Just Kids not two weeks ago and I’m so happy to continue to listen to Horses. Patti is probably the coolest rock n roll musician I know, and that is reflected in her music 🩵 Stand out songs: Gloria Redondo Beach Free Money Kimberly Elegie

Come on now.

This is one of the best debuts. Patti comes out fully formed. A pre-punk/pre-post punk classic.

Ersatz

Perfect. Masterpiece

I bought this album years ago as it was so frequently cited as an influence by artists I loved as a teenager. It was an acknowledged classic when I came to it and more often than not, such records don’t have the impact on me I thought they would. Not this one though! It’s so unlike anything else and I can really appreciate how extraordinary it must have sounded when it first came out. I’ve never really enjoyed much else by Patti Smith, probably because I haven’t tried hard enough - maybe I’ll try harder having just listened to this again. What a great record.

Wow, this album really did spawn many of the artists I adore, from The Smiths to PJ Harvey and beyond. The poetry and phrasing are utterly captivating.

A total Marmite album, I can see why some people would hate it and there's no denying it's pretentious but it feels real and a genuine reflection of Patti Smith as an artist and a person. I first heard it as a teenager and I was ripe for exactly this at a time in life when everything is heightened and loaded with importance. I

Wow! Still sounds fresh. What a revelation. It’s never too late to discover great music you’ve slept on.

Re Discovery a great album, never forget the roots

Great

At this point, I think I'd prefer all my singer-songwriters to have an extensive history in poetry rather than trained singing.

not my cup of tea, but fantastic instrumentation

Instant 5 star.

There’s a lot of discourse about whether Patti Smith is punk or not and I’m here to give my vote to the fact that Patti Smith is certifiably punk. The attitude is there, the lyrical content is there and I don’t care that it lacks the noise. The stripped back production of Horses enhances it and allows her poetry to take front stage. The frantic energy on this is awesome and I am a big fan of this. 5 stars

I really enjoyed this. I thought the chord arrangements were simple enough which could come off boring. I didn’t find this to be the case though as the I really didn’t want something that would overshadow the lyrics.

As a lover of riot grrrl/ female-forward punk, it’s a treat to revisit Patti and be reminded of her influence. I went back and listened to some Bikini Kill and SleaterKinney afterwards and kept thinking “yup, they got that from Patti”. Since we’ve been listening to a lot of 60s-70s classic rock lately, I was able to pick up on a little bit of the Doors and Bob Dylan in Patti’s music as well. It’s all connected, folks!

My most recent vinyl purchase and it's an amazing album. There really isn't anything like Patti Smith and this sound. I paid more attention to side 2 on this listen and it's just mesmerizing.

I’m at a 5. I feel like calling this a punk rock album is a little bit of a misnomer, because past the intensity of the opening track (which might be an all-timer, by the way), from a musical standpoint, this leans far more into the sort of style that Kate Bush would later refine & redefine in her own way. This is an album centered around liberation, in a lot of different ways: sexual liberation, feminine liberation, liberation via death, liberation via financial freedom, et cetera. It’s the underlying line that connects all the tracks, and some form of liberation & freedom is there, whether it’s a type of freedom you agree with or not. In many ways, it mirrors the sort of liberation that Patti Smith likely felt as a woman being herself in a space generally dominated by men at the time. Sure, you had your Joni Mitchells or your Janis Joplins, but in terms of fully letting loose & throwing it all out there without a real care in the world, this just feels different, in a way that’s hard to explain, but easy to feel, if you’re listening to the music. It’s not a perfect album; I think there could be a little more clarity on some of the lyrics, though they’re brilliantly written for the most part. I think this album does have a few flatter instrumentals, mainly on “Redondo Beach” & the ending portion of “Kimberly”, but those aren’t a big deal, given that the overall intensity & lyricism of those tracks are still undeniably cool. Really, I’m nitpicking – when this album is rolling, it feels like it has unstoppable momentum, and that momentum has carried through to influence a ridiculous amount of artists. Everybody from Michael Stipe to Morrissey (boo) to Courtney Love to Siouxsie & beyond have cited this album as a sort of inspiration point, and I can hear it in a lot of different ways. It’s only 44 minutes, but it might be some of the most defining music of its time. No words I can type can really capture the feeling of listening to each track, so if you somehow haven’t heard it, go listen to it, right now. Once again, though, is it punk rock? By the musical standards that would later be set, I don’t think so. The heavier guitars aren’t here, nor are the crazy percussive moments, at least not in the spades they would be by the mid-80s. However, in terms of unabashedly being yourself… that’s the most punk shit you can do. It’s not “punk rock”, it’s rock music made for the people who can identify as the punks of the world, and that’s a wider net than the term “punk rock” could capture by itself. It’s a kickass album that carries its own gravity field, pulling so many people into its sphere of influence that it probably affected music as we know it. It is absolutely an album one must listen to before they die. It’s a very easy 5. Arguably a 10. Good on you, Patti.

Inmaculado

Un debut genial. Este disco me acompañó muchos años.

5 star. Didn't think her voice would grow on me but it did

Couldn’t listen to this as it’s too emotionally linked to my life. Great moment. Great album. Great artist.

This is a super rad record. I can hear that it influenced a lot of music. I don't think Patti Smith influenced Violent Femmes but I think maybe she inspired and was inspired by Velvet Underground and I think Violent Femmes were inspired by Velvet Underground. I love the vibe of this album. It feels raw and experimental-ish and definitely has a folk-punk vibe to it.

This is a super cool record. I love this take on punk music. Its very similar to The VU, but more raw and punk in nature. The avant garde elements are so cool and interesting. This feels like what would eventually become post-punk in the 80s but was right in the rise of punk in the early 70s. Patti just rocks so hard this whole record. I love the storytelling with her voice and lyrics. I love how she just kind of throws her voice and almost yodels. I really love how there are 9 minute songs that don't really fatigue the listener, which barring Green Day's American Idiot, don't really happen in punk. This is fantastic record and one that I listened to back to back 3 times today.

Prophetic punk priestess pens profound poetry. The music and lyrics pair perfectly in this loose feeling passion poem. Lyrics like “Jesus died for somebody’s sins, but not mine” and “horses, horses, horses, horses” are both delivered with the intensity and tone to give them a heavy weight. It’s a rebellious album in a non-traditional non-formalized way. The only thing it is is exactly what it wants to be.

Jesus died for somebody sins but not mine. Tem como começar um álbum de uma maneira mais punk? Eu já tinha escutado esse umas 2 vezes mas não tinha apreciado ele pelo que realmente é: eletricidade em forma de poesia. São poucas as "canções" aqui, são peças de literatura, da mais repetitiva até algo como Birdland. As palavras da Patti Smith são acompanhadas por relâmpagos de piano e guitarra de uma maneira às vezes épica. Tudo que eu já li dela é extremamente forte, ela tem um jeito muito único com as palavras, algo meio Lou Reed só que com um senso maior sobre o que é "bom mesmo", algo meio Dylan só que mais punk não sei explicar. Vai ver não dá pra comparar um escritor homem com a rebeldia e poder dela. Preciso escutar algumas outras vezes lendo as letras, só assim vou apreciar ele por inteiro. Mas já é um álbum 5 estrelas pra mim só pelo que ouvi agora.

Brilliant masterpiece!

Jävlar vad det här var överraskande bra, det var på tiden att en sån skiva kom. Dras med från första sekund och även om det inte kryllar av konventionella hits så har hon en energi och ett unikt uttryck som verkligen resonerar med mig. Inte en dålig eller tråkig sekund på hela skivan. Förstår inte hur det här kan vara en sån vattendelare när man läser betygen, det är ju svinbra!

Well this one opens strong! Probably my favourite cover of Gloria I've ever heard; she really made it her own! I hear a lot of Velvet Underground influence, which makes sense considering John Cale produced the album. Not really what I was expecting from a "punk" album, but I really enjoyed it nonetheless! Favourite track: Gloria, Birdland, Kimberly, Land

somehow haven’t listened to this until now. how haven’t i gotten to this sooner

I want to give a proper listen to it. Today is not the day. I will give it full marks because why not. Though I remember Johnny Rottens review “Horses? More like horse shite!” .

Giddy up and follow punk's poet laureate as she guides you along a stream of manic creative consciousness flowing forevermore.

A perfect example of modern rock music. Her lyrics and the sharp sound blend perfectly.

++: Gloria, Redondo Beach, Birdland, Kimberly, Break It Up, Land, Elegie +: Free Money 9,9/10

10/10. Practically the queen of punk.

The grandmother of punk at the peak of her powers. There are many superb Patti Smith albums, but this one is just unstoppable (just like Easter).

This is probably in that list of 'iconic and revered albums that I've not really knowingly listened to that much'. And yet I knew the vast majority of the songs, and really, really dug it very much. Her voice is an absolutely sledgehammer wrapped in velvet, the musicality is like the very best of someone like Lou Reed, and the whole vibe is extremely cool.

Now this is true punk rock. If don't agree then you are wrong. Sorry I don't make the rules. 9/10

My review of Horses may come with a hint of bias—I love Patti Smith, and this album represents her finest hour. From the moment Gloria kicks off the record, it's clear you're in for something electric. It's an explosive opener, full of raw energy and poetic defiance, setting the tone for the rest of the album. That same intensity carries through every track, making Horses feel like a continuous wave of bold, unapologetic artistry. Standouts like Redondo Beach and Land showcase the album's range—from reggae-tinged rhythms to sprawling, spoken-word rock epics. Honestly, every song here feels essential; there's not a single misstep. Favourite track: Gloria is superb, and Land is an absolute masterpiece. Least favourite: Not applicable—there’s no weak link on this album. Album artwork: An iconic and effortlessly cool cover.

I didn't get into Patti Smith until the last few years tbh. She's someone I could tell I would always dig, but has just taken me forever to come around to exploring her work. And I've still only scratched the surface. She kinda reminds me of Nick Cave in a way. Someone who is effortlessly cool and is a legend with a large body of work that I didn't get into until later in life. I hear her books are great too, but once you get into them they just keep getting better. Anyhow, this is a masterpiece in my mind, even if I didn't realize that until somewhat recently.

This album will make you understand why the entire boy's club of early punk fell completely in love with Patti Smith. I go back an forth about whether this or Radio Ethiopia is my favorite - this is more feral, the latter rocks harder - but she was an electromagnetic rock creature radicalizing knuckleheads everywhere.

Like longtime critical and cult favorites including Big Star, the MC5 and the Mekons, who I failed to appreciate or fully understand when I was younger, I'm just now getting around to Patti Smith. This is a terrific album from an artist who must've sounded like a breath of fresh air in 1975. A highlight is "Birdland," which works like an audio poem, buffeted by evocative guitar feedback and piano refrains. I hear her influence in the later work of Nick Cave, another highly literate and multitalented singer-songwriter who brings a strong storytelling element to his work. I need to own this album.

One of my all time faves. Perfect album. Her take on Gloria is up there with Cash's 'Hurt' where the cover version becomes the definitive version. And Redondo Beach is a song I will never, ever, ever get sick of listening to. She was punk before punk, new wave before new wave. And the album still stands strong some (checks notes...yikes...almost fifty!?) 49 years later.

Really good album with some great tracks. On the 5 side of a 4.5.

Pretty cool interesting record. Redondo beach, title track, free money and Gloria are all epic

# Album Name: Horses # Artist: Patti Smith # Rating: 5/5 # Comments: Starts out with a great track - Gloria! Its a banger. Real fun tune. PS has pretty good vocals. I like her style. A cracker of an album! A low 5 from me. # Top Tunes: Listen to the whole thing. Stand outs are Gloria, Redondo beach, free money and horses. # Would I listen to it again? Yes

Oh STRONG start. Okay I've been thrown off by birdman being 9 minutes of arty farty shit but it's growing on me. Drawing a line to early pulp maybe? Oh I'm really enjoying this. Simple and complex at the same time? Real variety of song structure, spoken word bits, straightforwardish rock song followed by weird punky mashup. This is banging. See i can like long songs they just need to keep me entertained. I'm gonna keep coming back to this its not like anything I've heard. Easy 5.

I found this quite good and it was clearly influential as I can hear a lot of modern rock stars in this style of singing. Might even listen again!

Patti Smith brings the poetic wordsmithing of Dylan and other singer songwriters into the punk world of rock. Very different from all the other punk bands of the era, more like a proto Sleater-Kinney or PJ Harvey in the indie rock scene. Eitherway, it's unbelievably cool. Gloria, Kimberly, and Elegie lead the way as all amazing songs. I also like the spoken poetry tracks like Birdland and Land where the music is kore of a tone setter.

I find as I’m getting older that I really appreciate artistic statements like these. Just a singular artist flexing creativity, innovation and charisma. I love the build on these songs, the wild places they end up. Ultimately, this is poetry or theatre experienced in music. 5 stars.

rock and roll poetry, wild and enchanted and heartfelt, desperate to share, to be seen, to enlighten

Gloria: In Excelsis Deo Redondo Beach

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.

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.