Horses (album)
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Horses is the debut album by Patti Smith, released in 1975 on Arista Records.
Inspiration
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At the time she recorded Horses, Patti Smith and her band were favorites in the New York club scene. Smith was a rabid fan of many 60's rock musicians such as Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones and Jim Morrison as well as favorites of Motown and jazz such as Smokey Robinson and John Coltrane. The former's influence can be best heard in the track "Gloria", a radical retake on the Them garage rock classic. "Birdland"'s music, in particular, owed more to the jazz music Smith's mother enjoyed than to the influence of punk. When recording this song, which was improvised by the band in Electric Lady Studios, Smith has said she imagined the spirit of Hendrix watching her. The lyrics of "Birdland" are based upon "A Book of Dreams" (1973), a memoir of Wilhelm Reich by his son Peter. Several of the album's songs ("Redondo Beach", "Free Money", "Kimberly") were inspired by moments with members of Smith's family, while others ("Break It Up", "Elegie") were written about her idols. "Land" was already a live favorite and featured the first verse of Chris Kenner's "Land of a Thousand Dances."[1] Guest musicians included Tom Verlaine of Television and Allen Lanier of Blue Öyster Cult.
Influence
Template:RS500[2] NME named the album number 1 in its list "20 Near-as-Damn-It Perfect Initial Efforts".[3] According to a list released by Time magazine in 2006, Horses is one of the All-Time 100 Greatest Albums.
Smith has been called an early pioneer of punk rock. Allmusic's William Ruhlman said that it "isn't hard to make the case for Patti Smith as a punk rock progenitor based on Horses"[4] while David Antrobus from PopMatters chose Horses as his favorite album and considered it a life-changing classic.[5] Michael Stipe bought the album as a high school student and says it "tore my limbs off and put them back on in a whole different order."[6] Morrissey and Johnny Marr shared an appreciation for the record, and one of their early compositions for The Smiths, "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle", is a reworking of "Kimberly".[7] The Libertines' song "The Boy Looked at Johnny" is named after the line in the title track of the album. In 1977, Sammy Hagar released a cover of "Free Money" on his self-titled second album. An episode of Millennium, "The Time Is Now", would later use the song "Land" in a bizarre "music video" sequence depicting a character's descent into madness. In the Toy Machine Skateboards video "Good and Evil", Johnny Layton used the song "Free Money" in his part.
Cover
The cover photo was taken by Robert Mapplethorpe using natural light in a penthouse in Greenwich Village.[8] The triangle of light on the wall was the product of the afternoon sun. The record company wanted to make various changes to the photo including airbrushing out Patti Smith's moustache but Smith overruled such attempts.[8]
Track listing
Side one
- "Gloria: In Excelsis Deo / Gloria (version)" (Patti Smith, Van Morrison) – 5:57
- "Redondo Beach" (Smith, Richard Sohl, Lenny Kaye) – 3:26
- "Birdland" (Smith, Sohl, Kaye, Ivan Kral) – 9:15
- "Free Money" (Smith, Kaye) – 3:52
Side two
- "Kimberly" (Smith, Allen Lanier, Kral) – 4:27
- "Break It Up" (Smith, Tom Verlaine) – 4:04
- "Land: Horses / Land of a Thousand Dances / La Mer (De)" (Smith, Chris Kenner) – 9:25
- "Elegie" (Smith, Lanier) – 2:57
Bonus track (CD reissue)
- "My Generation" (Live) (Pete Townshend) – 3:16
Legacy edition
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The live album was recorded as part of the "30th Anniversary" at the Meltdown festival, which Smith curated. It follows the same running order as the original release of Horses, and features Tom Verlaine and Flea on bass. Released November 8, 2005 this is a double CD, with the digitally remastered version of the original 1975 album (with the bonus track "My Generation") on the first disc, and a live recording of the entire album on the second disc:
Track listing
- "Gloria: In Excelsis Deo/Gloria (version)" – 7:01
- "Redondo Beach" – 4:29
- "Birdland" – 9:52
- "Free Money" – 5:29
- "Kimberly" – 5:28
- "Break It Up" – 5:24
- "Land: Horses/Land of a Thousand Dances/La Mer (De)" – 17:35
- "Elegie" – 5:08
- "My Generation" - 6:59 [bonus track]
Personnel
Original release
Band
- Patti Smith – vocals, guitar
- Lenny Kaye – guitar, bass, vocals
- Jay Dee Daugherty – drums, consultant
- Ivan Kral – bass, guitar, vocals
- Richard Sohl – keyboards
Additional personnel
- Allen Lanier – production, guitar, keyboards
- Bernie Kirsh – engineering, mastering
- Bob Gruen – photography
- Bob Heimall – design
- Bob Irwin – mastering
- Bob Ludwig – mastering
- Chuck Krall – photography
- Danny Fields – photography
- Edie Baskin – photography
- Frank d'Augusta – assistant engineer
- Richard Aaron – photography
- Robert Mapplethorpe – photography
- Sherri Whitmarsh – design
- Tom Verlaine – guitar
- Vic Anesini – mastering
Charts
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | U.S. Billboard 200[9] | 47 |
| 2007 | UK Albums Chart | 157 |
Release history
| Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 13, 1975 | Arista Records | LP | 4066 |
| 1996 | Arista Records | CD | 18827 |
| November 8, 2005 | Sony BMG | CD | 671445 |
| 2007 | Sony BMG | CD | 37927 |
References
- Shaw, Philip (2008-04-15). Horses. 33⅓. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 0826427928.
Notes
- ^ Paytress, Mark. Break It Up: Patti Smith's Horses and the remaking of Rock 'n' Roll. Record Collector. Portrait. pp. p. 260. ISBN 0-749-95107-9.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help); External link in|ref= - ^ "The RS 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 2003-11-18. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
- ^ "Best of All-time Lists". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
- ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Horses Review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
- ^ Antrobus, David (2003-08-05). "Got to lose control and then you take control". PopMatters. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
- ^ Kaplan, Ethan. "Michael Stipe (Important to Patti Smith)". Retrieved 2008-02-28.
- ^ Goddard, Simon (2006-05-01). The Smiths: Songs That Saved Your Life (3rd edition ed.). Reynolds & Hearn. ISBN 1-905-28714-3.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help);|edition=has extra text (help) - ^ a b Thorgerson, Storm (1999). 100 Best Album Covers: The Stories Behind the Sleeves (1st American edition ed.). Dorling Kindersley. pp. p. 74. ISBN 0-789-44951-X.
{{cite book}}:|edition=has extra text (help);|pages=has extra text (help); External link in|ref=|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ "Billboard chart". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-02-28.