I’ve been
crowing all week about how, for the first time ever, I purchased music by downloading
it (legally, of course – support artists!). It took an album I really wanted
badly that wasn’t available on CD to finally make this happen. That album was the
Jens Lekman/Annika Norlin collaboration, “Correspondence.”
Lest you
think I have now abandoned physical media, you should know that my first act
after downloading the album was to burn it to CD, create a jewel case for it,
and put it on my CD shelf where it belongs.
Disc 1368 is…. Easter
Artist:
Patti Smith
Year of Release: 1978
What’s up with the
Cover?
Patti deep in thought, or maybe deep in dance. Whichever it is, you can be sure
she’s doing it the way she feels like doing it.
How I Came To Know
It: Sheila
bought me two Patti Smith albums for my birthday a few years ago (the other
one was “Horses” reviewed back at Disc 915).
How It Stacks Up: I now have five Patti
Smith albums. “Easter” is #1.
Ratings: 5 stars
Who among us lives a fully authentic life? No filter, no artifice, just
living your truth 24/7? It isn’t as easy as it sounds. It takes inner
conviction, bravery, and unflinching vision. On “Easter” Patti Smith demonstrated
all these things, and in the process gave us one of rock and roll’s all-time greatest
records.
“Easter” is raw and passionate. A record swirling with yearning, angst,
anger, and rebellion. Smith feels things in a way that would double most of us over
and leave us lying fetal. However, she has an uncanny ability to focus and
forge those feelings into art. The melodies are beautiful and elegant, even as
they strain against their own structure. These songs are captive animals, where
you’re never quite sure if someone left the lock off the cage.
Smith is a gifted poet who is equally adept at employing structure and
free form. “Babelogue” is just ninety seconds of Smith spouting a florid
stream of consciousness, as rabid fans cheer and clap. I know the rule for
spoken word is that you’re supposed to snap your fingers rather than clap, but
that would not be sufficiently rock and roll in this moment. Besides, Smith just
gains energy from the din, as she masterfully spits her flow over it.
When she sings, Smith has a low, rich tone that seems to come from a primal
place deep within her gut or the back of her throat. Her vocals are like a
punch, sometimes hitting you in the stomach, and sometimes herself.
“Easter” is rock and roll in its purest form, unadulterated and
unapologetic. Forty years after it was released it still feels ahead of its
time. It is unafraid to say anything or go anywhere. Be warned: it may make you
feel uncomfortable and it may even deeply offend. How it goes for you is
between you and Patti, but consider this your trigger warning.
It is also a record that inspires. “’Til Victory” and “Ghost
Dance” feel like mystical anthems that lift and transcend the human
condition. The album’s biggest hit (co-written with Bruce Springsteen), “Because
the Night,” is young romance, flush with longing and wild abandon.
The record has the rebellious spirit of punk rock, combined with the
churning energy of hard rock. Some of the songs are dirges, some are anthems
and others are fist-pumping anthems. Whatever their form, each is all held
together with Smith’s unflinching artistic vision. This is the rock album version
of modern dance, free to move in any direction, but where each movement is
deliberate and in service to the vision.
Often when music gets this experimental it loses the plot, and becomes
more about its own cleverness, and less about the music. This never happens on “Easter”
where the songs are not only inventive, but also a joy to listen to.
Walking home today I began vigorously air guitaring at least three times.
The music just moved through me, and I had to let it out. I wanted to lean my head
back and pinwheel about as I looked up at the sky (somehow, I resisted). The
music just felt too big for just a regular walk through the neighbourhood. It
felt majestic and wild, and invigorating like the edge of a high cliff, or a
fast-flowing river; savage and beautiful.
So, yes, I recommend this record, but approach with caution. Be prepared
to be swept up, and to get a bloody nose, because “Easter” has aged well, but
it hasn’t aged gracefully. It is as dangerous and wild as it was back in 1978.
Best tracks: All
tracks
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