Review: Patti Smith Celebrates The Golden Anniversary Of The Iconic ‘Horses (50th Anniversary)’

“Jesus died for somebody’s sins, but not mine…” – Patti Smith, “Gloria”

While I was detouring into a fever dream of late 60s/early 70s blues/blues rock last week and then followed that by being captivated by Springsteen’s Nebraska: Expanded Edition, influential, trail blazing rock n roll legend Patti Smith celebrated the golden anniversary of her storied debut album with the release of Horses (50th Anniversary). I’m on record as always looking around for good female rock n roll singers (and there are so many), but I needn’t look any further than Patti Smith. This anniversary edition of her 1975 album Horses contains the original album and then a disc of outtakes and early versions of the songs on the album and while the bonus stuff may not change anybody’s life, the original album certainly influenced so many people from Michael Stipe to Courtney Love to the lads in the Smiths. It’s simply put, one of those very, very important rock n roll albums.

There are many who consider this album the first punk rock album. I’m not as well versed in punk rock as I’d like to be, I grew up in the American Midwest after all – the buckle on the bible belt, but if push came to shove I’d have guessed the first punk album was the Ramones debut. But that one came out in May of 1976, where as Patti’s debut came out in November of 1975. I’ve also always thought that any of the Stooges’ original 3 albums (The Stooges (’69); Fun House (’71); Raw Power (’73)) would have held that honor. The raw, primal music she and her band played – Lenny Kaye (guitar), Ivan Kral (guitar, bass), Jay Dee Daugherty (drums), Richard Soul (piano) – certainly was informed by the burgeoning punk scene in New York and at CBGBs and in turn informed so much of what came after in punk.

I’d like to tell you that as a grade school kid (a boy in short pants if I may quote Tom Petty), I was headed off to school with my lunchbox in my CBGB t-shirt, with my lip pierced by a safety pin causing a permanent snarl but obviously I wasn’t nearly that hip…it was the suburbs for heaven’s sake, somebody would have kicked my ass. I didn’t really start listening to music until a full three years after this album came out. I used to always see it on everyone’s list of “the greatest albums ever” like Rolling Stone magazine, whose list influenced and help guided my music collecting back when I was in college. I was always slightly afraid of music like this. What little I knew of punk rock was that it was loud and sometimes abrasive…I grew up listening to Boston. I always thought punk would be hard to listen to. But then I discovered the Clash and I realized there was a ton of music out there that wasn’t exactly mainstream and it needed to be explored. It wasn’t until I was in my 30s that I picked up Horses in a used CD store down in Waldo. The shop was on the second floor above a bar… I’d grab a beer and then go up and expand my record collection (never go shopping loaded, you’ll spend way too much money). I will never forget the experience of putting this CD into the player when I got home and hearing those first few words, quoted above, “Jesus died for somebody’s sins, but not mine.” It was from her rewrite of Van Morrison’s track from when he was with Them, “Gloria.” Oh yes, I thought, I’m onto something here. The way I was living back then, let’s just say I could relate to that lyric.

Everything about this album is iconic. The cover photo was taken by none other than controversial photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, they were pals as documented in Smith’s book Just Kids. Her outfit on the cover, a woman in a man’s suit also was a gender bending first. The album was produced by John Cale of Velvet Underground fame. Cale and Smith clashed quite a bit during the recording of the album as she wanted it to be as primal as their live shows and he wanted to sweeten it up. Jonie Mitchell, she wasn’t. A few of of the songs are written about her heroes, Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix, which are pretty cool heroes to have.

The music, as mentioned, was primal, hard driving rock n roll. There were no frills on this thing. Lenny Kaye and Ivan Kral crash away on searing riffs throughout. But what sets this thing apart was the poetic lyrics of Patti Smith. It’s as though Rimbaud and Verlaine (the poet, not the guitar player from Television, who actually appears on a song here) instead of writing poetry picked up instruments and started a rock band. Smith began as a poet before she became a rock singer. Yes there’s punchy, driving rock when they cover Them (Van Morrison) on “Gloria” with an intro written by Smith, “In Excelsis Deo.” “Free Money” starts with a beautiful piano from Sohl which then builds into a furious rocker. “Break It Up” is a mini epic about Jim Morrison. “Redondo Beach” is a reggae tune… I wonder if I put that on my Playlist: Rockers Playing Reggae? But the heart and soul of the album are two tracks that stretch over 9 minutes each, “Birdland” and “Land.” These tracks are cascade of poetic language spilling out of Smith. She starts “Birdland” with spoken word and it takes us on a journey. “Land” starts with just Smith speaking but then builds from there… and actually includes a cover of “Land of A Thousand Dances”… turns into a story about a fictional Johnny that could symbolize Hendrix or could be Mapplethorpe… who knows, but when the band kicks in, look out. It’s amazing. The album ends with a beautiful track, “Elegie” about the loss of Hendrix. It’s a breathtaking listen. This music certainly expands what anybody’s conception of punk could be.

The bonus disc, as mentioned is mostly demo’s and outtakes. I’d have liked something live from ’75 but I think she’s already done that before on a previous re-release. There’s a nice demo of “In Excelsis Deo.” It’s a nice glimpse into Smith and the band’s writing/creative process. There’s also a demo of “Redondo Beach.” There’s a shorter “alternate version” of “Birdland,” as well as alternate versions of “Kimberly” about her sister, and “Break It Up.” I found each of those fascinating but likely they’re not of much interest to a casual fan. More interesting for everybody are the outtakes. “Snowball” was a great track driven by piano. At first I thought it might be about cocaine, but I think it’s about memories. “Distant Fingers” is another fabulous bit of poetry set to laid back music. It was clear she was exploring here. “The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game” borders on lounge singing. It wouldn’t have fit on the album but I hope somewhere she finished the song. “We Three” is the final outtake and it’s a gorgeous ballad. I would think any of these four outtakes would be worth the price of admission for Smith fans.

I can’t recommend this landmark album in strong enough terms. This was a true artist exploding onto the scene like a super nova. The language and lyrics she uses are astonishing in their beauty. It’s easy to see why this album influenced so many other musicians. Patti has had a long and really under appreciated career but this album is the one that everyone should have. Get this one and then explore the rest of her wonderful catalog. It’s what I did.

Cheers!