Patti Smith Group - Live in France 1978

Patti Smith (ur. 30 grudnia 1946 roku) - amerykańska punkowa wokalistka i poetka. Zyskała rozgłos swoim debiutanckim albumem Horses. Wniosła do punk rocka feministyczny i intelektualny punkt widzenia. Uważa się ją za jedną z najważniejszych kobiet w historii rocka. Nagrywała i koncertowała razem z grupą muzyków, znanych jako Patti Smith Group.

W 1978 roku nagrała piosenkę Because the Night, którą dostała na taśmie od Bruce'a Springsteena jako odrzut z jego płyty Darkness on the Edge of Town. Piosenka stała się wielkim przebojem - dotarła na 12 miejsce listy singli w USA, a wielu krytyków uznało ją za najlepszy singel roku.

Smith zachowała intelektualny i krytyczny punkt widzenia aż do chwili obecnej - 6 września 2006 roku potępiła Izrael za agresję na Liban, a nawet nagrała 2 protest songi - Qana i Without Chains.

12 marca 2007 r. Patti Smith razem z zespołami R.E.M., Van Halen, The Ronettes i Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five została wprowadzona do Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.Występowała w Polsce dwukrotnie: w Warszawie (2002) i w Poznaniu (2007).

Horses

The Stooges may have defined the sound and attitude of punk rock, and the New York Dolls lent it some style, but Patti Smith gave it its substance. Imbued with an all-consuming passion for the verse of Arthur Rimbaud and the grit of early rock ‘n’ roll, Patti combined simplicity and intellect to help forge the most vital and honest musical form of the 20th century.

After humble beginnings in Chicago and chasing her muse to Paris, Patti Smith eventually found her way to the artistic circles of New York in the early ‘70s. Her readings at St. Mark’s Poetry Project lead to performances including musicians like rock historian and guitarist Lenny Kaye and pianist Richard Sohl, who would later comprise her fully fledged rock band and contribute to a series of records that were as aggressive and daring as they were beautiful.

Rock 'n Roll Nigger

This show from March of 1978 was a sort of spiritual homecoming for the woman that had once busked on the streets of the City of Light, immersed in the environs that had created her favorite poems. But the cobbled alleyways needn’t have served as her theatre this time around; the punk scene Patti helped nurture was in full swing and the recent release of the album Easter yielded her highest charting hit, “Because the Night,” co-written by Bruce Springsteen. The band is in top form as the rattle through a brief set, book-ending their palpitating version of Them’s “Gloria” with newer material that is just as transcendent - listen for a room full of raucous French fans chanting, “pah-TEE, pah-TEE!!”

With maybe the exception of hip hop, punk was the last great folk movement in music; if not accessible in sound or subject, then certainly in its practice. These were artists of often limited means or ability coming together to kick and scream because they had to. Music chose them, and the sum was certainly greater than the whole of its parts. Listen to the Patti Smith Group for evidence: this is the sound of the ordinary being made extraordinary.

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