Monday, March 26, 2012

My Music Monday


I love Patti Smith.

I wouldn't expect you to remember me posting about seeing here back in 2007.  As I said in that post, most people know her from "Because the Night", that is if they know someone sang it before 10,000 Maniacs.

A few others might know her as Robert Mapplethorpe's roommate and muse. Smith wrote about it quite eloquently in her book Just Kids, which I talked about almost two years ago.

And while Easter was arguably her most commercial album, I am still more fond of Wave. At that point her band had really gelled and they were hitting it on every mark......well, except radio acceptance. I certainly like her cover of "So You Want to be a Rock and Roll Star" more than the Byrds' original. I love "Dancing Barefoot", but it is really "Frederick" that makes the disk.

A love song to her then husband (he died in '94), Fred "Sonic" Smith. (Yes, she married a "Smith".  It makes it easier for monogramming shit) from the punk group MC5. Not only was the Lp version great, which you get here, but a live version graced the b-side of the single.

It was actually the b-side that was stellar.  There are many-a-versions out there on YouTube, but nothing that quite stands up to that original live pressing.  It's quite possible I'm romanticizing it all from way back in 1979, but I don't think I am.  Even going to see ones from that era, or from current day - and they are strong, which says a lot about the song and singer.

As it was 1979, there is no official video. The one here is clips of live performance synced up with the studio version of the audio.  For all intents and purposes, it works.

I don't really expect anyone to know this, but I hope some might enjoy it.


2 comments:

don said...

I love Patti Smith. She helped to bridge my angry youth to emo adult phases.

Wonder Man said...

I always loved her voice