Patti Smith - Horses

It’s hard to exactly pinpoint an opinion about Patti Smith’s voice because she changes it so much as her songs evolve. She has a certain edge to her voice that aids in effective vocal fluctuations. A lot of the time, though, it seems a little crazed in a bad way. I feel like she has too many random outbursts throughout her songs that seem to stand out like a sore thumb. She relies heavily on her voice and uses it to construe a particular sound but I frequently feel that this takes away from the appeal of the song. Overall, the countermelody (from the introduction to the end of her songs) is relatively strong and full of enthusiasm. While I would venture to say that she also possesses this excitement in her vocals, her voice has a certain raspy quality that detracts from the musical fabric created. Her sound is similar to the Ramones in the fact that she has the energy and wildness of the song yet doesn’t quite possess the talent of other non-punk artists. While her voice seems unappealing, it somehow meshes with the song and works. Her songs are so strange in their entirety that her voice fits right in.

Despite her unique voice, lyrically, Patti Smith excels. I can see how she was an aspiring poet in her life because it definitely has influenced her music and songs. While at times I cannot tell what she is actually singing because of her blurry voice, when I read the lyrics I feel a deeper and powerful message being portrayed. I’m really enamored with her voice because it acts as such a barrier for me to get over to enjoy her music. Everything else falls into place so nicely, but I can’t quite place what’s wrong with her voice: if it’s just blurry or a serious lack of enunciation. But with very careful listening, I can understand the lyrics and they are pretty amazing to say the least. While they don’t always address worldly issues and concerns such as Bob Dylan, she utilizes language that illustrates exactly what she wants to portray. For example, in “Redondo Beach”, she says “Down by the ocean it was so dismal, Women all standing with a shock on their faces.” I love the power that shines through in this lyric and song.

Another issue that I have failed to cover is her extremely long song. I feel like she just keeps singing and going until she just physically cannot anymore. The third track on Horses, “Birdland”, is over 9 minutes! I highly dislike songs that are this long because I feel like they just drag on and take the listener through a dreary soup of monotony. Also, in “Birdland”, Patti Smith shows her weird side in which she throws in a vast assortment of (not so good) vocals and funkier punk sounds. In “Kimberly” she also has a pretty awesome beat at the introduction of the song that extends throughout its entirety. Because I’m a percussionist, this great beat made the song pretty enjoyable. But just barely. I feel one of the only things going for Smith is the lyrical poem that she is able to establish through her music. While her countermelody is always strong and her beats are simple yet appealing, they don’t quite match up to the instrumentals of even other bands of the time (such as the Ramones). She definitely has more complexity than the one-sided Ramones, but I felt that their music was a little more enjoyable than Patti Smith’s. Maybe if her voice was a little different I would say otherwise.

By the sixth track of the album, I think Patti Smith might have begun to hit her stride with “Break It Up”. This is the first song that I heard on the album that really meshed together between her voice and an advanced countermelody. It all kind of coagulated together into a successful single. If all her songs were like this, I might have enjoyed the album a little more than I did. Crazy electric guitar chords, nice rhythms and beats, along with decent harmonies and vocal fluctuations made this high-energy one of the few bearable ones. Check it out:

Another song that I enjoyed somewhat on the album was “Redondo Beach”. This one I appreciated less for its sound and more for its lyrics. As shown above, I cited a verse from this single but listen below to get the full experience. As I listen to this song again, though, I kind of like the reggae feel that it oozes. Make your own opinion. Check it out: