Land (1975-2002)

by

Patti Smith

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I didn't exactly grow up with the music of Patti Smith, and I've never seen her play live. But in the past few years, I've had the good fortune of being exposed to some of her fine songs -- "Gloria," "Because the Night," "People Have the Power," "1959," "Glitter in Their Eyes" -- thanks to radio and TV; and back in January, I finally caved and bought the classic album Horses (1975) at a used-CD store when the guy behind the counter recommended it to me. Sure enough, the aforementioned songs -- and the Horses track "Free Money" -- can be found on Disc One of Land: 1975-2002. I've also discovered new favorites like 1976's moving "Pissing in a River," 1978's ferocious "Rock 'n' Roll Nigger" ("Outside of society / That's where I want to be!"), 1979's tender and catchy "Frederick," 1996's powerful "Beneath the Southern Cross," and a surprisingly soulful new rendition of the Prince hit "When Doves Cry." Okay, so I would have deleted "Babelogue" (1978), "Ghost Dance" (1978), and "Paths That Cross" (1988) in favor of "Land" (1975), "Kimberly" (1975), and "Lo and Beholden" (2000). Otherwise, Disc One is a pretty solid and entertaining retrospective.

Disc Two is less consistent, and more problematic for newer fans like yours truly. I really like the stripped-down demos "Redondo Beach" (another favorite Horses track) and "Distant Fingers," as well as the Gone Again-era outtakes "Come Back Little Sheba" and "Wander I Go;" but I think the early single "Piss Factory" and the live version of 1978's "25th Floor" will more likely enthrall older fans. The rest -- including the new studio recording "Higher Learning" and a handful of live tracks recorded during a 2001 tour -- is hit-and-miss, although I find "Dead City" and "Wing" especially stirring. Oh, and stay tuned after the 2002 live track "Notes to the Future" -- the old live version of "Tomorrow" (from the musical Annie) makes for an entertainingly odd closer. Ultimately, Disc One (with its hits and choice album cuts) is a must-have for young rock 'n' roll fans curious about this revered and influential punk/alternative-rock figure; while the uneven-but-intriguing Disc Two may require a little more time and patience to be fully enjoyed.

This collection purports to be a Patti Smith career retrospective spanning years 1975 through 2002; however 'Piss Factory,' rare and finally officially available here, oddly dates from 1974. Sadly, the weaknesses of Land are many and obvious. It's difficult to believe that Land was an official Patti Smith project, something she oversaw and would desire to leave behind as a record of her ground-breaking and difficult career.

The much-publicized 'collaboration' between Smith and Susan Sontag turns out not to be liner notes or even commentary as announced, but a one paragraph prose poem by Sontag which hilariously apes the short poems Smith wrote and included on her four classic albums of the Seventies. With a reference to Genet, two references to armpits and others to cigarettes, saliva and 'the crotch,' the piece is an awkward embarrassment and caricature. Smith should have realized this and had the piece omitted. (Somewhere, Sontag antagonist Camille Paglia, who has written about Smith at length with verve and genuine understanding, is having a good laugh.)

Patti Smith and the Patti Smith Group are and were great rock and roll artists, but the selection included here does not support this fact. Smith let fans choose favorite tracks via the internet; the winning selections compose the first disc. Democracy this may be, but a rightful career retrospective it does not make. While essential Smith tracks like 'Pissing In The River,' 'Dancing Barefoot,' 'Gloria,' and 'Ain't It Strange' are included, many others, such as 'Til Victory,' 'Space Monkey,' 'Citizen Ship,' and 'Revenge' are not. It's absurd to place brilliant songs like 'Ghost Dance' and 'Because The Night' along side anything from Smith's last (and first-ever bad) album, Gung Ho. It's impossible to believe that a dominant number of fans wanted the sophomoric 'Glitter In Their Eyes' included here. Visionary Smith dazzlers from Peace And Noise--'Waiting Underground,' Blue Poles,' and 'Death Singing' are absent, but the weaker, overtly political '1959' is inexplicably included in their place.

The disc closes with an interesting but mannered and too-safe cover of Prince's 'When Doves Cry' which illustrates how sober an artist Smith has become. 'When Doves Cry' sits squarely and unthreateningly in the middle of the road.

The second disc, consisting of live cuts, demos, and rarities selected personally by Smith, should have made this album invaluable--at last, one assumed, the vaults would yield up blistering live tracks of classic era Patti Smith Group. But Disc 2 includes exactly one track from this period, a mediocre version of '25th Floor' which only leaves the listener newly in doubt about the group's live reputation. The other concert selections, recorded in 2001, are ho-hum at best, with the exception of 'Dead City,' one of the most powerful and cutting of Smith's later songs, and a slow, bluesy rendition of 'Birdland.' Demos 'Redondo Beach' and 'Distant Fingers' are throwaways, and unreleased Gone Again-era tracks 'Come Back Little Sheba' and 'Wander I Go' are undistinguished. The disc closes with a New Year 2002, post-September 11th-themed reading, 'Notes to the Future,' which, however sincere and well-intended, and perhaps stirring in the moment, makes for maudlin and mawkish, not moving, listening.

The single revelation--other than 'Piss Factory'--on the second disc is riveting new song 'Higher Learning,' a loose, extended Lounge Lizard-like jazz number, featuring Smith gloriously blowing away on several moody clarinet solos. Unlike anything Smith has done previously, the lyrically subtle, uncommercial 'Higher Learning' maps out new territory and points to directions Smith may pursue on future recordings. Smith compromised her integrity and talent on the one-dimensional Gung Ho, but 'Higher Learning,' perhaps recorded during the sessions for that album, belongs with the best of her late-period work.

Disappointing all around, Smith fans should consider purchasing the Patti Smith box set (originally released in 1996) instead, and the terrific return-to-form album which followed it, Peace And Noise. Land is unessential, uncomprehensive, irrelevant, and dull.