Horses (Audio CD)

   I saw Patti read poetry alone. I saw Patti & Lenny at St. Marks Church. I saw Patti, Lenny & Richard at Max's. I was there at her last gig at the Academy of Music before a long hiatus. I rejoiced at her comeback performance at the Ritz after Fred "Sonic" Smith's passing. I saw Patti so often she once told me at a CCNY poetry reading, "You've seen me more than my manager!" All that I love about rock & roll is embodied in "Horses." When I listen I hear the Shangrilas in her girl-group vocals. Early Stones with Brian Jones in her swagger. Hardly ever do poetry and 3-chord rock marry so seamlessly. When she intones, "Suddenly, Johnny, gets the feeling, he's surrounded by horses, horses, horses...do you know how to pony?" it still makes my heart beat faster. Patti Smith is the original Riot Grrrl. The first woman, after Grace Slick, to not be a "my man done left me" victim. She hit a home run out of the ballpark with this record, uneclipsed even 30 years later. I still listen to...Read more