The “greatest performer” that Patti Smith ever saw live
An artist like Patti Smith didn’t really need permission to play her style of music.
Rock and roll needed a bit of a kick in the ass when she debuted, and while her music wasn’t the most commercially-friendly tunes in the world, an album like Horses was almost mandatory listening for people that wanted to make kids feel something other than the sounds of roaring guitars. Smith had more to say than rock and roll, but she was still a firm believer in those that could do it insanely well.
Because no matter how many times she quoted her own heart, she knew she was far from the first person to make that kind of impact. Lou Reed took all of the swagger of rock and roll and brought poetry into the mix with The Velvet Underground, and while the written word was already important thanks to people like Bob Dylan, Reed helped open the doors to people that weren’t exactly the best musicians in the world.
Dylan himself would have said he was far from the best musician, but listening to Smith’s music, it was about having a more visceral reaction than what the usual poets of the world were doing. There had been people that teased that kind of mentality on tunes like ‘Heroin’ by the Velvets, but while listening to a tune like ‘Gloria’ helped bring rock back to basics, it was nothing compared to what Smith was doing live.
Throughout her prime, many of Smith’s greatest sets could fluctuate between everything from freeform poetry to the most raucous performances that even punk dared not to touch. Smith never claimed to be a punk in the same way that Joe Strummer was a few years later, but when it comes to someone’s passion to do what they felt was right, Smith could certainly relate to the new kids taking what she did and running with it, whether that was Michael Stipe or Morrissey.
Before there was punk rock or even its progenitors like the MC5, the closest thing to the genre came from blues rock. There had been artists like The Rolling Stones that seemed dangerous when the British invasion started, but by the time that Cream debuted, the blues jam band left the door open for legions of guitar luminaries to wow audiences by playing with as much fury as they possibly could.
There were people like Jimi Hendrix that took rock to other places, but when Smith looked at her own performance art, she remembered being mesmerised by what Johnny Winter could do onstage, saying, “Johnny Winter was one of the greatest performers I’ve seen. He was confrontational, with such demonic humor. He would leap out, amongst the people, and sing right in your face. He made a big impact on me.”
And when witnessing her first performances, it’s clear that she wasn’t willing to give up that confrontational style, either. It’s hard to really feel the energy of that translated onto a record, but when listening to the live recording of ‘My Generation’, Smith sounds like she’s actively trying to lash out at the audience with every single move she makes.
It might not always make for the catchiest record of all time, but Smith was the last person to worry about whatever kind of commodity labels wanted to turn her into. Whereas every other artist wanted to have an excuse for audiences to buy their records, Smith wanted to make the kind of tune that would leave a lasting impression on someone for years after they’ve heard it.
