#26 Patti Smith, 'Horses' (1975)
Previously #44
Emerging from a two-month residency at the famed CBGB in New York, Patti Smith and her band caught the attention of Arista Records founder, Clive Davis (who would later sign Whitney Houston). Davis promptly signed Smith to the label and hired John Cale of The Velvet Underground to produce the record. Smith would later claim that ‘Horses’ was a conscious effort “to make a record that would make a certain type of person not feel alone. People who were like me, different ... I wasn't targeting the whole world. I wasn't trying to make a hit record.” While Smith was an experienced live musician, she had no studio experience, which was a source of major tension between her and Cale. The band’s instruments were so damaged from years of relentless performing that Cale would have to buy them new instruments to record with. He desired to add strings to the record, which Smith strongly opposed. Smith was suspicious of Cale. She was incredibly overprotective of her work, making it difficult for Cale to explore many of his ideas. She would claim at the time that her and the band had ignored everything Cale had to say, ultimately making his role as a producer redundant.
Smith’s lyricism, which was based on her background as a poet, combined the band’s three-chord punk, made for a visceral explosion of passion and energy. Opening with an interpretation of Them’s song, ‘Gloria,’ never was there a better example of an artist covering a song and making it their own. Her version is absolutely brilliant, completely blowing Van Morrison out of the water. Paying tribute to her fallen heroes, ‘Break It Up’ recounts Smith’s visit to his grave in Paris, while ‘Elegie,’ purposefully recorded on the 5th anniversary of Jimi Hendrix’s death, pays tribute to Hendrix, Morrison, Brian Jones and Janis Joplin, all members of the 27 Club. Smith borrowed the line “But I think it's sad, it's much too bad/That our friends can't be with us today” from Hendrix’s song ‘1983… (A Merman I Should Turn To Be).’ ‘Horses’ is a landmark album in Punk Rock. Arriving 5 months before Ramones’ debut (#47), it is the record that ignited the fire of the Punk Rock movement, inspiring countless musicians. R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe has said that this record was his primary inspiration for becoming a musician, as did Courtney Love. PJ Harvey found major inspiration in it, as did Johnny Marr and Morrissey, from The Smiths (no relation). It’s an album that, in just 8 songs, truly changed the course of music.
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