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7 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the albums of the year in 1978(corrected version), 25 Jan 2005
In the spring of 1978 Patti Smith released what would be her only top 5 single in the U. K., "Because the Night" which was co-written by Bruce Springsteen who wrote the music and of course "Patti" wrote the lyrics.Natalie Merchant famously covered this track on the 10,000 maniacs album "M.T. V. Unplugged" released in 1993. This was the taster for her forthcoming album called "Easter" which was released on the back of the success of the single; the album sold well and introduced "Ms Smith" to a wider audience. As the album thunders into life with the song "Till Victory" with the sound of Jay Dee Daugherty drums announcing it's beginning, the listener can't help but feel a sense of being un-comfortable as Ms Smith's angry vocals come barking from the speakers, this track was written by her long-time writing partner Lenny Kaye the guitarist in her band. For the following track "Space Monkey" was co-written by Ivan Kral the bass player in the band and Tom Verlaine of the band Television fame who is another long-time collaborator of "Ms Smith", this we are told on the sleeve-notes, as there is a credit for Mr Verlaine for the arrangement of the song "We Three" from 1974. The hit single "Because the Night" is next in the running order and is a welcome piece of familiarity for the listener who is new to Ms Smith's work. Then comes one of my personal favourite songs of the album "Ghost Dance" which is written using minor chords and creates an atmosphere of despair and melancholy that the words and music of this song just capture perfectly for me as that track finishes hold onto your hats "Patti" rage is burning she begins a rant called "Babelogue" which introduces the angriest song on the album "Rock n Roll Nigger" which I find very unsettling to listen to. "We three" is a song that sounds like a blues track but with a different twist, the song "25th Floor" is an excellent track with its electric guitar riff at the start to give it that meaty feels that rock fans love. The following 2 tracks "High on Rebellion" and "Easter were on the original vinyl release, these are the songs that must be listened to very carefully as the lyrics of both give the listener an insight to the tracks on the rest of the album. As a bonus this 1996 20 bit re-issue has included the track "Godspeed" that was the b-side of the single "Because the Night", which was an out-take from the original recording sessions. This for me this is a welcome re-issue package as a along time follower of Ms Smiths music and words this was essential for my collection...
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