Kid Congo Powers on the brilliance of Patti Smith: “Feed it to your young!”
In addition to having perhaps the coolest name in all of rock and roll, Kid Congo Powers has also been a key element of many groundbreaking bands. From the psychobilly stylings of The Cramps to the macabre post-punk of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Kid Congo has always been there, imbuing the scene with his unique and distinctive guitar stylings. Like the vast majority of musicians who populated the early punk rock scene, Powers owes an incredible debt to the trailblazing music of one Patti Smith.
moving to New York in the late 1960s, Smith found a natural home within the vibrancy of the city’s underground scene. After forming a band and releasing her debut single in 1974, Smith became a stalwart of the East Side’s legendary CBGB club, ground zero for punk rock worldwide. Performing alongside the likes of Television and Velvet Underground founder John Cale, Patti quickly established herself as the undisputed queen of New York’s underground. This reputation was cemented in 1975 with the release of her debut album and ultimate masterpiece, Horses.
Predicting the punk rock revolution that would arrive a year later, Horses was criminally ahead of its time. Nevertheless, the John Cale-produced project proved to be an unavoidable influence on the vast world of alternative rock that would follow. Despite its brilliance, the album only managed a measly 47 in the US charts upon release, but then Smith was not seeking commercial success. She was a true poet and artistic visionary, committed entirely to her work.
Influencing everybody from The Smiths to PJ Harvey, the impact of Horses cannot be overstated. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that Smith’s debut album still stands out as a favourite of Kid Congo Powers. The multi-instrumentalist told Louder Than War, “Like almost everyone I know from my generation, Horses hit my 16-year-old psyche like a punch to the solar plexus. And yes, we enjoyed the pain to the brain.”
Powers would have his own impact on the New York scene, joining psychobilly progenitors The Cramps in 1980, featuring on two of their greatest efforts in Psychedelic Jungle and Smell of Female. Of course, The Cramps largely took huge influence from the garage rock and rockabilly of the 1950s and 1960s rather than their punk rock contemporaries populating clubs like CBGB. Nevertheless, it is unlikely that a group like The Cramps could ever have existed were it not for the music of Patti Smith.
In a rambling deluge of adoration for Patti Smith and Horses, Powers shared “Equal parts irreverent and stark raving worshipful, songs about genderless (or genderful) Sex, UFO’s, Rimbaud, Razors, The Watusi and Warhol. The band wail, scratch and claw their way through the images. It’s sublime.”
As a final endorsement for the legacy of the album, Powers affirms that “this is the beatnik alchemy punk learned from”.
Adding, “Feed it to your young!”
It is difficult not to agree with Powers; Horses is essential listening for any and every music fan, particularly those looking to explore feelings of adolescent rebellion and cultural revolution. The fact that horrendous abusers like Ted Hughes can be on the national curriculum but not the wondrous prose of Patti Smith remains one of life’s greatest injustices.
