Horses

Not sure what I just heard! Kind of a wild ride.

paar bangers, ook wel paar vervelende nummers.

Mid

Nope, not a fan.

Indulgent

weeeeeee liiiiiike birrrrrrrrd laaaaaaaand

Never a fan of the NYC art rock scene but I figure I listen to this anew and I tried to get through it long ago and could not. Still can't.

okay that fucked hard

Patti is a legend but I found it difficult to listen to this. It just seemed boring compared to her more punk stuff. I really wanted to like it, but could not.

Listened

Really fun! Captured a similar energy to the violent femmes

05/31 Boring

Eh, not really great.

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.

A quite singular and charming sort of album. I know Patti Smith as a poet and guest on a few other people's songs, but have not listened to her work before. This was really enjoyable and on the right side of experimental without being too weird for my taste.

Pas une si grande fzn

Bem mais ou menos

Pretty great album, even if Birdland is a bit too long, the rest of the tracks make up for it! Great lyrics and nice variety 4 Heard before? Yes Owned: Yes 77/307 (24%) Will I get: Already have

Har faktisk aldri hørt denne før. Ingen spesiell grunn. Bøter med full uttelling, for denne er så god som de sier.

Litt punk, litt rockeopera og litt slampoesi. Ekte klassiker

Horrible. Reminds me of Kate Bush. Dissonant and talk/yell singing, weird poetry-like readings, hated most of it. A few songs were survivable. She even managed to butcher covers like My Generation - so bad.

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

Don't mind it but it doesn't blow me away. It is a nice enough listen, and i do like her voice a lot it's very unique

yeah lowk this looks boring as shi im not listening to it

Excited to finally take some time off to listen to Ms. Smith. This is pretty much as I expected - pretty freaking good, but not too interesting, so at least 3 strong stars for sure, 3.5 on RYM. But honestly this could be 4 as well. P.S. After a couple of revisits definitely one to REVISIT.

I imagine that your enjoyment of this album comes down to how much you enjoy Patti Smith's whole deal. I wasn't a fan. If I had listened to this without knowing what it was and you told me that this was PJ Harvey before she got good, I would have totally believed you.

I like this album and understand why it's so highly rated. I like the way she uses her voice. Would be great as a Pitchblack Playback because of the imagery, although I hated the 8:44 track about the kid and his dad and going UP UP UP. Think it must have been really fun for her to perform but listening to it feels like getting dragged behind a car. Love Free Money and reminds me of night visions I used to have as a kid, that the shapes in front of my eyes would turn into presents during the night and I just had to capture as many as possible under my duvet. Groovy and danceable and cohesive.

perfect, love u patti 💋

Raw, rough and distinguished. So many elements of style on this record, for something that's labeled as a Punk record. This is one I know I'm going to need to listen to again to fully grasp and appreciate it. The songwriting and musicianship is soft and easy most times, but the lyrics are gritty and unorthodox through and through. Off first listen, I like this one.

An album that I appreciate more than I actually enjoy. It isn't that it's bad, there's just nothing on here that compels me to regularly listen to it.

couldn't make it past song 3. had to turn it off.

No matter how many times I listen to this album, I still feel like it needs another chance. Just seems to be not my thing. That said, Free Money seems to still out for me. Rating: 5/10 Favorite Song: Free Money

I know this is an important album but I didn’t like it much.

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

Fine

This was solid. Plus I just moved to NYC.

Michael Stipe loves this album, his favorite. I’ve tried…but I just don’t. I don’t like her voice.

I don't understand how anyone can listen to her and enjoy that awful sound coming out of her mouth. Unlistenable.

I will admit that I probably didn’t like this as much as I could’ve cause I’m kinda in the middle of a fight with my girlfriend right now, but this was really solid. I didn’t really know her vibe going in, so this was a lot more energetic than I was expecting, which was cool. I do think it’s pretty homogeneous, but again that could be cause I’m mid argument. I’m not sure. Good album though.

if christian rock was lesbian???

Poetic (prog-)punk that reminds me of the Velvet Underground's atmospheric and spoken word tracks. It's fascinating listening to this as a result of how simple chords can be experimented with. I've always wanted to listen to this based on the cover, and now I get to do so. Opener "Gloria" was spectacular. I don't really hear that many songs that turn punk a few minutes later. As for the rest, the long songs didn't seem too lengthy; in fact the punk beats were trance-like. I think this still reinforces the fact that I'm more of a music than lyrics-person, as the words and their meanings went through their head. Next time, I'll pay closer attention the lyrics and understand more of the poetic side of this record (3.5-4).

Toen ik erachter kwam dat dit weer een rock album was van deze site, had ik er spontaan echt geen zin in MAAR!!! Ik ben nu bij het derde lied al (Birdland) en ik vind dit best leuk en uniek in het genre! Dit is niet per se iets wat ik vaak ga draaien op spotify, maar dit kan ik wel echt waarderen Tot nu toe vind ik het echt een steady 8/10

better than Waves? no, but still amazing.

A bit meh, bit of shrieking. Not mu jam

Overall: 3.56 (rounded to 4) Consistency: 3.75 Originality/Innovation: 4 Enjoyment: 3.5 Virtuosity: 3 1. Gloria: In Excelsis Deo - 4 2. Redondo Beach - 3 3. Birdland - 2 4. Free Money - 4 5. Kimberly - 4 6. Break It Up - 4 7. Land - 5 4. Elegie - 4

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.

Finally listened to this after so many years. Sounded different to me the second listen than the first.

She is hit and miss for me. This wasn’t my fav album.

Każda piosenka ma dobre i słabe momenty, ale jakoś te słabe za bardzo wpływają na to, że raczej nie przesłuchałabym tego kolejny raz. Nie jest to złe, nie moje klimaty. Najlepsza piosenka z tego albumu to free money, Kimberly chyba. No średni

Mmmmm. Perhaps I was not in the right frame of mind of mind for this album. Second half nearly put me to sleep.

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)

Has some great songs, but at some points its a bit too much of person talking over some postrock music(?). I do love some of the songs and think I'll appriciate it more with more relistens and reading into the lyrics. 1. Gloria: In Excelsis Deo 2. Kimberly 3. Free Money

Goddess!

Damn this is mid. Its even just rambling sometimes. Why is this in here?

Too folky for my taste. I like the tone of her voice though. Not too much to say about this

Pretty neat but not my cup of tea

proto-punk, bacán dentro de todo. nunca había escuchado a patti smith, definitivamente un sonido muy interesante. su voz resalta muchísimo, super avant garde a su tiempo. lo podría llamar pretencioso pero siento que sería una palabra muy dura, es ambicioso. Land es muy interesante de escuchar.

Great band, passionate delivery

enjoyed!

Goat.

Okay the first time through I didn’t like it. The second time I did! Not my favorite of all time but definitely liked it more on a re listen. Marking as 4 so I’ll come back to it in the future.

Need to get more into the middle of the album. First two and last song already top

Does it live up to the hype. Probably however this is not punk. It's more like storytelling with a tune.

This one probably doesn’t get the greatest review from a lot of people, but I enjoyed it. Maybe it’s the Velvet Underground effect since John Cale produced it, because parts of it definitely have that same artsy, loose, half dangerous feel. It’s also the kind of punk rock album that’s so different from the usual idea of “punk” that it somehow confirms its punk credentials anyway. It doesn’t sound like a bunch of later copy and paste punk records, which weirdly makes it feel more legitimate, not less. And that cover of “Gloria” was pretty damn solid. Favorite song: “Gloria”

I am very glad there is talent that can improvise tracks like Birdland, but I don’t find I want to listen to it.

so much emotion. it holds up.

An album I would replace this one with: PJ Harvey - Uh Huh Her (2004) 4/5

At times annoying, i feel like other albums of hers are probably better.

I don't really like Patti Smith. This album is good, has some powerful songs on there but she doesn't raise any emotion for me. It's fine.

"Gloria: In Excelsis Duo" is an attempt at punk. "Redondo Beach" is minimalist blues (if that's even possible). "Birdland" is a 6-year old kid trying to explain their day to their parents. "Free Money" is a hybrid between Lynard Skynard's "Free Bird" guitar solo and Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" if a cover band somehow butchered both of them. "Kimberly" is slam poetry about a woman. "Break it up" is about having sex. "Land: Horses / Land of a Thousand Dances / La Mer(de)" is incoherent ramblings of a lunatic to the same drums, guitar, piano, and bass for almost 10 minutes. "Elgie" is depression and mental instability in song form. You can DEFINITELY hear the Velvet Underground inspiration in this one. God it sucks. I hated the Velvet Underground album and now I have something as bad if not worse thrown in my face. It's a 0/10. I have to give it a star, but it doesn't deserve it. This shit sucks ass.

Bad ass. Can't go wrong with some early Patti Smith.

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.

2.3 To be honest, the vibrato vocals just put me off the entire thing. Very gritty, I actually thought it was around the PJ Harvey era so pleasantly surprised to see it was several decades earlier. Fair play. But sorry that voice is a no for me, is what it is.

Es wirkt wie ein elektrischer Urknall: roh, literarisch, kompromisslos. Patti Smith schleudert Spoken‑Word, Punk‑Ahnung und Beat‑Poetik in einen Raum, der bis heute nachhallt. Wenn man dieser Schaffensphase imaginär „Because the Night“ zurechnet, gewinnt das Album eine zusätzliche Strahlkraft – als hätte sich die rohe Energie von Horses schon in Richtung eines kommenden, melodischeren Triumphs aufgeladen. „Gloria“ eröffnet mit ikonischer Frechheit, „Birdland“ schwebt zwischen Vision und Ekstase, und „Land“ bleibt ein fiebriger, hypnotischer Monolith.

her book "just kids" is really good

leider nicht meins. 1.4 sterne

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

🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑, though may well have been a 🌕🌕🌗🌑🌑 if I was in a worse mood So I only knew of Patti Smith, as it turns out, from a song title I will not be writing out here, but luckily I had forgotten long enough to leave my impression of Horses untarnished. One thing with Punk that seems to hold true even as far back as this proto-punk is that it can sound a little flat without a lot of drive and a properly monotone yell, and at its worst, I think Horses is that. Not at its worst, interestingly, are the nine-minute, fervent, spoken-word that I suspect have incited many an eye roll since the seventies. I, to my own surprise, kind of dug them—they're the kind of thing I think I was socialized to dislike but have really come around to now that I've fully embraced my own pretentiousness. The first and last songs are the only ones I can see myself coming back to frequently, but that's more than I was expecting from this album—really fun and exciting. This Patti Smith gal is really something, hope she doesn't have any controversial takes on race in her future! 1: Bad | 2: Okay, No Desire to Revisit | 3: Good, Conditionally (OR Inconsistent Mix of Qualities) | 4: Great (OR Technically amazing but missing the sauce emotionally) | 5: Amazing

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

It's fine, abrasive

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.

I don’t understand the hype. Maybe I just had to be there. She’s got a really nice spoken word voice but the rest is nothing special. The second to last song has some insane lyrics lmao.

i know this album very well and i like it and i feel like i've always wanted it to be just a little bit better than it actually, truly is BUT HAVING SAID THAT there are some high high HIIIIIGHS here and it has possibly the best first 15 seconds of any album ever.

Not completely my cup of tea, but the artistry here is really phenomenal. Patti Smith definitely deserves her iconic status.

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

1/5

I’d not heard this album before, something I should’ve listened to by now, as I’m totally aware of Patti, I’ve read a couple of her books…..this album very good in places, and yep, I enjoyed its force, and toughness

Interesting, country kinda sound

not my thing 1/5

I don't own this album. I've never put it on myself, or played it in a jukebox. But, I don't mind when it comes on somewhere. When it's not on, I don't think about it.

A chier

Bit arthouse so I suppose typical 70s New York, she is an inspiration for others and some tracks really click but for me the album is limited with moments rather than a body of great work

Not my favorite.

Best Song: Free Money. I really like the segment around 1:30 where she starts singing over the drum roll that crescendos behind her. Worst Song: Redondo Beach. The surf rock / beach energy didn't seem to fit the vibe of the rest of the album. Overall: There is a raw creative energy that runs through this album. Everything feels thoughtful and purposeful. I respect the vision that the artist had in making it. It isn't common to have this quality of vocals, vocal artistry, and arrangement. That said, I sometimes wished there was less of a "rock" focus, and that she had instead staying in a quieter, more melancholy sound.

Interesting

Gotta love Patti Smith

I haven’t listen to a lot of Patti Smith music so I enjoyed this dive. The lyrics more than the music drew me in.

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

A weird hodgepodge of Velvet Underground and other influences, 'Horses' has a challenging sound that warrants re-listens. Some of these songs are sprawling soundscapes and the album is diverse. Top tracks: "Birdland," "Gloria," "Break It Up"

--Gloria…could be a sick karaoke song if I could learn all the words --Redondo Beach…that bass is slick but vocals not doing it for me --Birdland…the spoken word stuff ain’t working for me. Oh god, we’re only half way through the track --Free Money…great rhythm guitar. similar spoken word attitude as “Birdland” but this feels much better --Kimberly...skip --Break It Up...I feel like Patti walked so Kathleen Hanna could sprint --Land...not a good sign that two of my favorite parts of this LP (not full tracks, mind you, fractions of tracks) were written by people with no help from Patti Smith --Elegie...not my thing

i'm not sure exactly what i was expecting but it wasn't really this

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

It's always hard for me to get behind the spoken word aspect of albums like this, but otherwise, I enjoyed the music. The instrumentals were interesting (definitely see the Velvet Underground influence there), I didn't mind Smith's voice, and the lyrics were dynamic and ahead of their time. I see the influence it had on future artists, but I probably wouldn't give it another listen myself.

Ella es poesía

A tough one. I get her cultural impact, and I do enjoy some of her songs, but for the most part I find Patti Smith just too dramatic. Particularly the longer, spoken-word ones. Did not enjoy this album at all.

Didn't love it ... didn't hate it. Never really listened to Patti Smith ... at only 45 minutes, this album felt like it was running a bit too long.

This album feels like it is dripping with “cool 70s” energy. I can see girls back then wishing they had the effortless edge and charm that Patti had. But I think that energy doesn’t carry much weight today. The music is fine, but it certainly doesn’t feel cool now. It just feels like old rock, and despite what places claim doesn’t really feel Punk at all. It wasn’t a bad listen, but I think it’s not as timeless as some people might think.

Een dulle teve noa mien erte

Curiosamente me tocó escuchar el álbum el mismo día que se anunció que Patti Smith será galardonada con el Premio Princesa de Asturias de las Artes y puedo ver porqué. Un estilo único dentro del “rock/punk/alternativo (si es que ya se podía considerar el género en esa época)” con esas letras y estilo de canto. Mi favorita: Land. Ya me dieron ganas de leer su libro.

Wow

I kind of liked it. Definitely had some interesting lyrics.

first time listening to this, what a treat. definitely need to run through a few times, but you can hear the punk sound emerge in real time as you listen through

I love the weary voice and punky vibe. Weirdly relaxing record.

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

Manure

Listened to it a couple of weeks ago, good album but not sure why it is considered a classic

3.5/5

"Gloria" is the only one here I particularly care for, I think it does a really good job of building up tension. The rest is sort of like, we're told that she's a punk predecessor, but she's not really punk in form, and the original spirit of punk was kinda anti-intellectual so that's not her either, so I'm not really sure where she comes in? "Redondo Beach" sounds like worse Blondie, the rest is in the vein of "Gloria" but doesn't grab me all that much.

Just didn’t hit for me this one tbh

female-led alternative rock music. despite many sites calling this punk, it's more like a mixture of art/jazz rock music. the album is essentially patti puking up every last thought in her head. it took me a bit to get into it, but as i focused i really started to get into how... simple it is, i guess. what else do you need besides a drummer and a guitarist playing a few simple chords? despite the sound being what it is, the material itself is absolutely not. i think this is an artist i'll pay attention to in the future...

Didn’t love this as much as I wanted to :( Patti is obviously SO influential but the album itself…idk. Gloria is a RIPPER of an opening track and Elegie is perfect but the stuff in the middle just felt kind of muddled to me

Gostei

I dig it - both as an artefact of its time where it fits nicely on the shelf next to Television and Velvet Underground, and as a birth mother of PJ Harvey and everyone who kept it gritty through the 80s and 90s.

The amount of ones on this one is honestly surprising. It's a solid album with a lot of soul. It's cool, it's lyrically well written, and it fucks

Really cool album that's a combination of punk and more classical solo rock. It's another case where this seems like a really important album and I get why it's here I just didn't like it as much as I expected to.

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.

Enjoyable enough - I've never really listened to Patti Smith and feel like I've been missing out. Lots of energy.

Low 3 stars. I really don’t like how whiny the vocals are at times, especially because at other points Patti Smith chooses to actually sing and it’s beautiful. I think what saves this album from being a 2 star for me are the instrumentals. There are some really beautiful and cool songs on here if you don’t pay attention to the vocals. I will say, I get the appeal and how this was seen as groundbreaking for the punk scene, due to how bold it is. Patti Smith is very poetic, but I just cannot deal with her whining and cadence. Makes it boring and hard to listen to, but can respect the history.

Album 174. Horses (https://open.spotify.com/album/0OeuSeP8wp8n8OuTqYb61C?si=rqGx21dmTIqt95UL38TJmg) — Patti Smith (1975) Okak, a week or two ago I added almost every Patti Smith's album to future listening (except this haha). That's her debut album, cool. Next couple days I'm finally gonna listen to all her albums. Basically, I already listened today Easter (https://open.spotify.com/album/1p6cWoueuunhpgy6131zAd?si=Da9GNi1oTfOD50EFPrHRlg) album too, it was great, I've loved Because the Night from that album for a long time. Well, back to Horses. I don't know how to describe this..minimalistic (a little bit) punk rock, but it's so raw that it becomes hard to listen sometimes. But poetry, poetry of Patti Smith is great. And the album has so much energy and passion. She has a very specific voice and I like it. 3/5 Liked: — Gloria: In Excelsis Deo — Free Money

Have I listened to this album before? No How familiar am I with this album? Somewhat familiar How do I feel about this artist? Nothing but respect for Patti Smith Favorite song(s)? Land: Horses/Land of a Thousand Dances Overall Thoughts: I enjoyed this just as much as I expected to, which was a lot. Birdland could’ve been a 4 minute song.

There's something primal about this. It's the sound of a troubled woman excise her most personal demons in public. It's raw, sometimes almost uncomfortable, but also beautiful

This was more an exercise in poetry rather than music for me, but it’s hard to draw a line between poetry and music anyway. I like when people do weird things with their voices. But I’d say some songs were drawn out, but I think that makes sense if you view them as poetry rather than “songs”. Maybe, I will like it better if I listen again. 3/5 - 4/5

This album is a classic aparently but I never hear anyone talk abouth it. Lets see then. Well thats one hell of a voice. I dont think im a fan. She defitively listened to a lot of velvet underground. I hate this band. I dont like punk to begin with. I tried with this one but.. No... Not for me/5

Pouco desenvolvimento instrumental e forte poetismo. É um pouco chapado? claro, mas as abordagens nas diferentes musicas são bem legais.

2,5/5 3 ou 2 músicas boas. Em geral, criativo, só que senti falta de alguma música que seja realmente marcante

se isso é punk, eu sou um coqueiro +gloria

Gloria- is this gonna be jesus core... Omg it isn't I quite like this. Is she gay? Apparently she's straight... Sure. Redondo Beach- ok this is fun Birdland- I like this intro. Oh ngl I don't really like the speaking idk why. I like the bass in the outro. Ngl I had no idea what the lyrics were so I should probably listen again but I didn't really like it much. Free money- I like this intro the piano is nice and the bass is good. Omg drum entry! I like that song my favourite so far Kimberley- I like this so far. Ooo I like this bit a lot. Again idk why I just don't really like the speak singing she does 😭 Break it up- that was good I liked it. Also the vocal thing was creative Land: Horses etc- I like her speaking voice in this now? Idk send help. I didn't really like it very much but it was sok Elegie- I liked this song! Ranking: Free money Elegie Gloria Break it up Kimberley Redondo Beach Land Horses Birdland

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

A good listen

2.5/5

No me gusto y no me engancho

I just love it

Not for me

Kinda bluesy start then rips right into rock. And what’s that now?! Ode to Van Morrison?! This one song has convinced me that I definitely need to investigate further.

Partially known. Solid album.

5/10

Horses was just a really odd album to me. I honestly did find it odd that this album is considered punk considering how minimalist it sounds in comparison to a lot of other punk rock albums are typically very aggressive and chaotic but apparently this is what punk used to be for a lot of people, and I'm glad it changed because I'm not the hugest fan of this. The music itself was pretty decent even if it is different than i would expect from punk music, the main issue though is the vocals as i feel like Patti really loves to ramble and i don't really like that and these lyrics aren't great either so there is that. I feel like this album could have been good but these vocals really hold it back. Best Song: Free Money Worst Song: Land: Horses / Land of a Thousand Dances / La Mer (de)

I thought this was great … genuinely an album I’m pleased to have heard before I died

J’aime pas sa voix

Respected more than liked how melodramatic her vocals get (despite the great minimalist cover). Kimberly’s the best

I tried to give this a 2. Nothing worked here.

so much character. proto pj harvey

Raw proto-punk and poetic rock built on loose guitars, minimal piano, steady rhythms, and intense, spoken-sung vocals unfolds with restless, confrontational energy. Listening feels like standing in a dim loft where words spill out in long, unfiltered bursts over a band that shifts beneath them. The result is powerful and distinctive and at the same time its free-form approach feels uneven.

Это же просто ахуенно

Punk chords and beatnik poetry combo unexpectedly successfully. Patti Smith seems to be a genre of her own, and I haven’t heard her better, though still listening to “Easter” again later, with a nod to my partner in crime here. Smith’s choice of Cale was intelligent: few could capture this punch of these performances without losing clarity or adding chintzy distractions.

A masterpiece, always welcome and one I will always pay full attention to when the chance arises, much like "Marquee Moon". Top opening line on a debut album? On any album? "Birdland" is still remarkable 50 years later: 'It was as if someone had spread butter On all the fine points of the stars 'Cause when he looked up they started to slip' All the bickering here as to whether this is "punk"!? Just like the Ramones debut (later) this kicks open the door established by early '60's R&R with a sneer; Smith's addition of Rimbaud to the mix is the only practical difference. Didn't know Tom Verlaine was on "Break It Up", although pretty obvious. Lenny Kaye does sterling work throughout. Side note: no Wikipedia when I first heard these momentous records (see Electric Ladyland prior) so we just *didn't know* these things automatically. One benefit of running through this 1001..! John Cale here too, of course - two bolshy auteurs butting heads to knock out a once-in-a-generation achievement. 6

diosss me enamoré

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

Really like the first song. I don’t really like the almost her raw “talking” singing voice.

I hadn't heard of Patti Smith before this album popped up (Rather, I hadn't connected her name with what I had heard of hers), and didn't have a good idea of what I was getting into just from the album name and cover alone. Looking through reviews, I found a lot of people calling her "Female Bob Dylan" which does reign true. I also found many people who gave this album 5 stars saying that it's her lyrics that inspired them to give this album such a high rating. Perhaps I'd say similar if I understood anything that she was saying. While I do appreciate clever and poetic lyrics in the music I listen to, I am far more drawn to the musicality of an album. This album is not for people like me. I can respect what Patti Smith was for the punk rock scene, but this album did not capture my attention at any point.

I really liked this album. Reminded me of Fiona Apple 7/10 but if i listen to it intently in a dark room, could be a 9 or even 10 Saved a Song? ----- ✅ Saved Album? ------ ✅ Will Listen Again? --- ✅

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

nope. The first song, there was a part i liked, when they were singing "gloria" but then i realized, i only liked it because it sounds like the song "victoria" by the kinks, written 6 years prior. song 2 i liked the instrumental. song 3, i liked it until she started singing..

Interesting. Not one I’d return to though.

Didn't do it for me. Not bad, but not my jam or interesting enough to become my jam.

What an icon

Not for me. 1/5

Not my cup of tea but different for the time.

That was a fun departure. It felt kinda punk rock

Infinity/5 stars! I love Patti Smith!

pop-rock, ya la primera se caga en el cristianismo, en general bastante alegres y movidas, se deja escuchar aunque tampoco mucho, 3/5

4.5

eh her voice kinda annoyed me, i liked the hunter gets captured by the game a little

Didn't love or hate

Will need a second listen at some point! Loved all the nice piano intros and had some great lyrics but maybe just not my thing. Faves were Kimberly, break it up and elegie

Patti seems extremely cool however album is not my favourite however it was a good way to stay awake on the plane and did enjoy elegie at the end

3/5; fine album.

A striking debut that feels raw in a very deliberate way. 𝘏𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘴 isn’t about polish — it’s about attitude, presence, and a kind of poetic intensity that holds the whole thing together. Patti Smith moves between spoken word and singing almost effortlessly, giving the album a loose, unpredictable feel. Not everything lands equally, but when it works, it’s genuinely powerful.

One of Rocks most poetic album with some amazing RnR and singles

4 - BAD

Was a beautiful mess!

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

Never listened to this before. Talented but…

A lot of spoken word. A couple of the songs have fun music, but overall very much not for me.

Rock, 1975 -> 3

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.

Que mujer. amo la locura del álbum. no la conocía desde este lado más experimental, dramático, sentimental, ruidoso.

This may have the most startling debut album opening track since the Beatles went "1 2 3 4". What a calling card! The cover photo, surly, defiant, tells you what you're getting.

"Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine." A strong opening declaration!

I'm obsessed with Patti Smith's voice and more surprised I'd never heard of her before (I'm rather uncultured) but wow! A catchy song to open an album with but for some songs I found them unnecessarily long and repetitive, making them somewhat boring to listen to (but I enjoyed birdland! a bit bizarre to me but nonetheless entertaining) Favourite song on this album is probably free money for the catchy instrumental and I quite liked the vocals, but Horses was a very good listen) Overall, some songs were a bit long and boring and the stories told by her lyrics were intriguing and bizarre, but i was fun and the instrumentals were very enjoyable as well as the controlled and gradual start to each song and later the explosive and chaotic ending.

Bare ren kærlighed.

cooool, like it

I always thought Patti Smith was considered punk rock, but that doesn't seem to fit here at all. Art rock maybe. Another artist I should have paid attention to at the time. This is very good.

Gloria: In Excelsis Deo — holy shit that's an opener. The opening line is confrontational and it means every part of it. Whole song is filled with rebellious energy. This is punk. That final chant and repeat of the opening line is a perfect climax. Redondo Beach — a sad story with honest lyrics. Doesn't shout as loudly as Gloria, but it doesn't hide either. The melody doesn't slouch either. Birdland — a very chaotically portrayed story of a boy losing his father and that grief driving him towards God at the expense of his mother and all women. Piety becomes a dehumanising force. Religion is depicted as birds that flock to the lonely boy, supposedly to convert him. The boy is constantly yearning to be taken to the ship, perhaps Noah's Ark, the first culling of heathens and the first saving of the believers, a chance for a new life in the next world under God. The vocals build and build and every call for the Ark feels climactic. While sometimes the lyrics and the performance go absolutely haywire, it adds to the internal struggle of the boy and the rebellious nature of Smith's songwriting. Free Money — really strong vocal perfomance here. More simpler lyrically, but they are still perfomed with relentless energy. That guitar riff throughout is also great. Kimberly — another song with strong imagery. I thought the end section dragged a little, but otherwise a solid song. The rise on "the sky is falling" is an earworm. Break It Up — that crying guitar is beautiful. The chorus builds and hits harder each time. Am starting to think she was just crazy though. Horses / Land of a Thousand Dances / La Mer(de) — I don't even know what to think about it. Very chaotic. Does tie itself together (I think). The overlaying and overlapping vocals were very cool. Felt a bit too chaotic for me at times. Elegie — a sombre elegy for Hendrix. The piano was beautiful throughout and the vocal perfomance was emotive. Do personally find it strange when poetic language masks the real tragedy; why flaunt your poetic ability when you're grieving or trying to remember or honour someone. Favourite song: Birdland Worst song: Horses / Land of a Thousand Dances / La Mer(de) Overall: amazing album. Stunning lyricism and rebellious chaotic energy throughout. Sometimes the chaos was a little too much and sometimes the poeticism lessened the emotional impact towards the end, but there are many songs here I can imagine myself listening to more and more and enjoying more and more.

Emerging from the melting pot of New York's CBGB Club, Patti Smith combines poetry wrought from memory and a punk attitude before punk got its tenure. Patti Smith delivers one visceral performance after the other and not without substance, with some frankly excellent lyrics ranging from tragic tales to the human abstract. Horses starts off with a bang with Gloria, a song that thoroughly embodies the spirit of adolescence. With its changing swings in tempo, unappologetic denouncement of religion, and the hypocrisy of worshipping lust, the disillusion of the narrator comes to a boil as the song crescendo. Musically I would describe this a mishmash of punk, prog and rock & roll that serves to elevate the lyrics and performance. Redondo Beach tells the story of the tragic passing of a girl after an argument and sets it over a ska groove and somehow it works perfectly. A unique melancholly is present in between the mournful lyrics, pained vocals and upbeat 12 bar blues. Birdland is a 9 minute epic concerning the inner turmoil of a young boy after the passing of his father. The dreamlike imagery evokes a disconnect from reality that the boy feels and in a way be thought of as a detatchment from humanity. The heavy desire to not be alone is felt in the boy's wanting to go with the ship; the ship being symbolic of souls being taken away. The inhuman quality of the dead highlighted by the refrain is two-fold, we find that to be seen as inhuman is no different from being dead, a political sentiment that can be interpreted from lines in the song. On the otherhand, the yearning of the boy to go with the ship connotates death as freeing, possibly from the shackles of humanity. Patti creates a contrasting abstract of death as both a freeing and oppressive force which only serves to highlight the the boy's internal conflict. Free Money is a powerful expression of the obsessive desire to escape poverty, even if it means stealing. The desperation is built up as the song goes on, shifting from sombre to a manic climax as the singer repeats 'free money' over and over. Kimberly is a melodic punk ditty that is reminiscent of Lou Reed's song writing but still unmistakenly Patti Smith with her raw spontaneous vocal styling. Not the most interesting melody Break It Up interestingly is cowritten by Tom Verlaine and anyone familliar with Television will recognise his signature wailing guitar work. Honestly I'm not sure what this one is about though like other songs there is imagery of death. However, the passion is there with every passing chorus becoming more and more inflamed beautifully ending with the repeating group chorus. Land: Horse / Land of a Thousand Dances / La Mer(de) is the centre piece of album with its run time comparable to Birdland and includes the album's namesake. Split into three parts, though I don't have the time to parse the lyrics, they are chaotic cobweb with the vocals overlapping each other at times. The song is avant garde in its approach reminiscent of The Velvet Underground - a likely influence given that John Cale produced the album. Land of a Thousand Dances seeming to be the bulk of the track is bookended by Horses which seems to be the introductory section and la Mer(de) being a ending. Overall, I don't think I haven't spent enough time with this track to come to a conclusion with its seemingly impenetrable artistic scope. Musically its excellent with the unusual avant punk blend and Smith's unique vocals being the highlight. Elegie - the final track is a haunting elegy with instrumentation sounding like it resurrected. A fitting end to an album which has many themes touching upon death. Overall, horses is a spectacular album that defied my expectations. Even without listening to the lyrics, the album is written superbly with fantastic performances from Smith and her musicians. Lyrically the album is one of the best I've heard, seeming as I don't often consider lyrics too deeply is indicative of the poetry put to song. At times however some of the songs can become repetitive and the lyricism can burden the songs with their need to be heard. Thinking back to Land, it can be hard to become engrossed due to the lyrical density. Favourite Songs: Gloria, Redondo Beach, Birdland, Free Money, Break It Up, Elegie Least favourite song: Kimberly (if I had to pick one) and Land (if I had to pick two) Rating: 4.5/5

Fine! Interesting to see this labeled as punk.

Nuevamente, esta pagina cumple su propósito y me da descubrimientos que de otra manera no hubiera encontrado. Debió ser divertido grabar este álbum, se siente como una adolescente jugando en su cuarto, pero si llegué a aburrirme después de un rato aunque es disfrutable. terrible canción la 7

Patti Smith is an absolute badass. She can rock and bring the fire. Amazing first album with an opening line that absolutely cannot be beat. Gets a little slow and draggy at times. The only thing keeping it from a 5er

Not my cup of tea or my favorite of her songs.

This is a very good album. A lot of emotion.

i want to like it but i don’t. her memoirs slap tho.

It's alright

Quand en écoutant en l'album, on a l'impression de se faire engueuler, c'est pas bon signe. Patti Smith hurle plus que ça ne chante, ça en devient énervant. Certaines instrus sont même pauvres. Je n'ai pas du tout accroché. Note : 2 À réécouter : Non

I love the cover, iconic.

Me gustó, no sé si es un album que escucharía habitualmente, pero me relajó bastante.

I feel like some albums aren't meant to be listened to. The music is secondary to the message. This is one of those albums.

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.

3.5 rounded to 4. I understand the context for this album, but I just can’t really like the music. The album isn’t bad it just isn’t amazing to me. I enjoy hearing her voice, so that’s always a bonus. The album itself is defiant. Favorite song: Gloria: In Excelsis Deo

Patti walked so that so many others could run. I appreciate this album, and I’m sure after a few more listens I’ll want to change my rating to a 5.

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.

Another one praised by critics I see. It wasn't terrible but I didn't like it that much. It was boring. I don't get what is punk about this aside from the whiny vocals.

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

I had never heard that before, I quite enjoyed it.

Great album!

I like punk, avant garde and far from the mainstream musics but not this album.

Punk and poetry are meant to convey a message, right? Communicate some sort of meaning? Or is expressing abstract emotion and feeling? No idea. And I've no idea what Patti is rattling on about. But she does it passionately and wildly and the music builds up and crashes repeatedly. Often rousing, rarely uninteresting. Definitely a unique album and worthy of a place on this list. Did I personally love it? Maybe not. But it's good. I expected more songs about Horses.

I get sick of her delivery every once in a while but the compositions she puts together on this album are really rocking. I'll have to give this one another listen someday.

ein horse

50 years old and still making great music. That deserves a compliment.

First song was fun, but it was downhill from there. I heard a live performance by her the other day and listened to her address the crowd. I lost a lot respect for her at that moment, which has affected my view of her music. She’s definitely not punk.

The influence this album had on punk is evident and I do like how she blended other styles of music to make this album. Smith is also clearly a brilliant lyricist with a poem-like quality to her lyrics but I think this just isn't my kind of music. Nothing wrong with it, it's a good album but not something I would add to my regular rotation although Free Money definitely is a highlight. This is an album I can see my opinion changing on after subsequent listening.

not as good as Joni Mitchell’s Blue

An unexpected joy. So much of this album feels like a heartfelt confession. In some ways, this reminds me of the Nick Cave album, but here I found the stories of the songs to be compelling. Added to the rotation: "Gloria: In Excelsis Deo" and "Kimberly"

The first time I heard this album I didn’t really care for it. Listening again now, it’s starting to grow on me. I still don’t love it, but I’m finding her voice less offensive, and I’m appreciating the music and the themes more. I can also see the influence, as it’s kind of punk, kind of Rolling Stones… it’s a fusion of things, but it’s done by a woman (obviously) which I think was new territory at the time.

This was ok i guess, it felt a bit slow at points and I couldn't really get hooked into it. Don't feel like i have much more to add apart from that.

Punk rock classic that stands the rest of time braving spoken word and catch tunes

It's got attitude. Not gonna win any vocal awards, I don't think she cares! It has a cool punk droning type sound, can hear Jon Cale's influence throughout. The Gloria opener is blazing hot, then a bit of the ska feel in Redondo Beach (sounds like early Police songs). I know her spoken word poetry over experimental drone rock isn't for everyone but I really dug it.

Gut - sehr gut.

konji

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

Bien sin fliparme

This is an album I respect more than I enjoy. I'm terrible at understanding lyrics, and that's the major appeal of this album, so a lot of it went over my head, but what I did understand I enjoyed. Something that will probably grow on me with another listen or two.

A great energetic and varied album. Patti is really emotive with the raw vocals, and the instrumentals are really solid throughout. “Gloria” is a great opener, I love the way it builds and explodes into the chorus. I’m not so much of a fan of the next track, “Redondo Beach”, the reggae style doesn’t do much for me and I think Patti can stray into sounding a bit grating here. “Birdland” is absolutely phenomenal, a 9 minute epic that starts with some soft smooth instrumentals with Patti almost whispering over the top. It builds slightly as Patti breaks into song. It’s over quickly though and we’re back to spoken word with the guitar dancing around in the background. From here it gradually builds, Patti and the piano picking up energy towards the climax and then fading again. Excellent. “Free Money” is probably my favourite track. The instrumentals just sound great on here, and Patti as well. I love Patti’s spoken word on “Land” with the furious guitar underneath. The sort of repurposing of Wilson Pickett’s “Land of 1000 dances” works surprisingly well. “Elegie” works really well as a haunting closer, the dark bass with the intermittent distorted guitar chords give it a lot of atmosphere.

This wasn't a very pleasant listen. I still hate spoken word. There's some parts I like, even more parts I really dislike. This just isn't an album I would listen to for fun. It didn't catch my attention at all.

MUITO BOM

Excellent album. Need to spend more time with it to digest it all, but I really dug it.

vibes, no creo que lo vuelva a escuchar

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!

Very enjoyable, but not something I think I'd be listening to over and again

Wtf

(87/100)

Siento que canta un poco sobreactuada, en plan alguien que quiere ponerle drama y no sabe hacerlo de otra forma, o que quiere llamar la atención demostrando lo bien que canta (aunque creo que este no es su caso, pero para que me entendais) y eso, hace que me guste un poco menos, aun así, reconozco el potencial. Ojo, muy fuera del resto del estilo músical que suelen quemar en los 70's.

7/10 Buen álbum, no tiene ninguna canción que sea una locura pero todas cumplen, mantiene un buen nivel, tranquilo y relajado para pasar el rato sin prestar mucha atención. Uno de los temas me hace acordar al final se "Escuela de Rock".

requires a certain mood

I’ve only known Gloria for years so good to finally do this one!

I had heard a lot about this album but never actually heard it. As a big REM fan I knew her from E-Bow the Letter and later on Blue. This was good but I was probably hoping for more from hype.

really well crafted, just not my exact cup of tea

pretty good. not quite my stuff

unexpected Banger - erinnert mich lowkey an bcnr und dire straits. Kann nur vom sound reden und free money ist crazy song wirklich, ziemlich antikapitalistisch, auch für diese Zeit sehr beeindruckend.

Oh this was a good one. Loved every minute! You can tell how influential she was as well as who was influencing her.

solid 70s rock album, started off strong and kept me engaged through the whole thing

Very poetic, would listen again

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.

I know of Patti Smith but I know nothing about her music. Maybe she has better albums? This was rather dull

Shades of things to come - I hear elements of Patti Smith's voice in Debbie Harry, Sharon Van Etten, Kate Bush, all sorts of other fantastic musicians. Ultimately I didn't think the album itself was particularly memorable, but I could see it growing on me given enough time.

I hear in this a lot of artists I like more - Poe, PJ Harvey, Siouxsie, Tori, so on - but it is, unfortunately, Poetry. Music gets worse the closer it gets to Poetry. I'm glad I gave it another listen because I do like it more than I did on my initial attempt but a track like Birdland makes me want to give it the two I originally planned

Well written and performed, but not necessarily the most interesting

Patti Smith's vocal presence is grating (reminds of school bullies). The album is emotionally taxing — specific imagery (boy hitting locker) is disturbing rather than artistic. Revolutionary for 1975, maybe, but unpleasant to listen to. Needed upbeat music to recover from the mood it created.

I had to actively fight the urge to cover my ears, even with earbuds in...why must Yoko Ono's reincarnation make me suffer on this dull Monday?

Great poetic punk rock.

Hell yeah, Patti Smith. Such a solid album.

Not really my kind of thing

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.

come on now...

Not really my cup of tea

an unpopular opinion but i never liked her

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.

Aight

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

j'aime pas comment elle mange ses mots exprès

My rating 2.6. Critics tell you this album needs to be respected. I respectfully disagree.

The music is ok, not good not bad. I really don't like the vocals or her voice. And I really don't like the speak-singing. 2.5

Love horses in art.

A beautiful album i barely even understand as its true narrative is hidden deep in its lyrics and spoken word passages, pretty sure it’s about personal freedom though, could be wrong. My standouts would be Break it up for being a clear banger and also Birdland and Land: Horses for being more spoken word.

This had been on my long list for awhile. Really solid album. She's got a great voice and a poetry to her lyrics. Definitely worth a listen.

really enjoyed the lyrics but the music less so… punk isn’t really my go-to genre. ‘birdland’ had my favorite lyrics.

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.

This one was hit or miss for me. Some of it was pretty good, but a lot of it was boring or unimpressive. I was expecting a bit more punk rock attitude from what I'd heard about Smith's influence and her place in the movement. Instead, it was a lot more artsy and poetic, with a couple ballad-like compositions in the mix. After this listen, I feel like maybe her music had more impact live than could be captured on a recording. I wouldn't say this was bad, but it didn't really do a lot for me. I'll put it on the borderline of OK and good. Overall: 2.75/5

Decent listen.

Average listen Very unmusical

4. Good and unique

Raspy female rock vocals match 70s rock vibe. I never love the lingering discordant guitar solos but this felt “cool”.

Hatte am anfang echt Potenzial, aber leider hat es mich nicht ganz abgeholt. An Stellen war der heulerisches Gesang echt zu viel (anfang von Birdland z.b) 3/5

A wonderful and iconic record. #johnsvinyl

has its moments

Красивый альбом

Pues la recordaba como más... más... algo!

Patti Smith and Bjork are 2 sides of the same coin

1.4/5 I'm not the biggest fan of her voice and it was a pretty bland album. I know she's a big artist but this album didn't really do anything for me.

Great but was NOT in the mood for it.