Horses

Description

With the exception of Bob Dylan, few rock n rollers explored poetry within the rock format as thoroughly as Patti Smith. By the mid-70s, Smith had been a regular poetry-reader in New York City clubs for years, and with a deep admiration for The Rolling Stones, it was only natural to set these poems to music. With an exciting rock band to back her up (including renowned music critic Lenny Kaye on guitar), Smith built up a following on the strength of the bands thrilling and trance-inducing live shows. Produced by ex-Velvet Underground bassist John Cale, HORSES was considered punk rock when it was first released, but there was much more to it. Smith had a gift for being able to paint vivid pictures with her prose, as evidenced by a pair of 10-minute long epics, Birdland and Land (which consisted of 3 sectionsHorses, Land of A Thousand Dances, and La Mer). Other tracks are more conventional, yet just as grippinga cover of Gloria, Free Money, and Kimberly, plus a ragged live cover of The Whos My Generation (included on the 96 remastered CD edition as a bonus track). HORSES is a classic.