What is considered to be the first-ever punk album?
Punk is among the most abstract genres to identify. Depending on who you ask, punk could be classified as anything from an inherent attitude to nothing more than a fashion trend. Either way, the genre’s ambiguous identification makes it difficult to pinpoint its exact musical origins. The scene hit the mainstream during the mid-1970s, but artists across the world had been making abrasive, politically charged rock for years prior to the advent of mohawks and safety pins.
If you subscribe to the idea that punk is an inherent attitude or rebellion against the status quo, the origins of punk could stretch back as far as you are willing to take them. The pioneering shock rock of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins during the 1950s could easily be identified as paving the way for many of the performers of the punk rock age, who often strived to shock or offend audiences. Further, the original jazz scene of America could be viewed as something of a rebellion against the cultural mainstream, yet it is rarely afforded a mention within punk discourse.
If you look exclusively at musical style, the conventions that would later define punk rock largely arose during the American DIY garage rock scene of the 1960s, which was itself influenced by the British Invasion. Even colossally successful rock bands of the decade, like The Kinks or The Who, had a part to play in the history of punk as a result of their early use of guitar distortion and fast-paced songs of adolescent anger.
Musically, the genre is undeniably indebted to the groundbreaking sounds of Iggy Pop and The Stooges, who established themselves during the late 1960s and laid the foundations for much of the amphetamine-fueled rock and roll that typified punk rock. Simultaneously, during this time, The Velvet Underground were noted for their staunch DIY approach to music-making, something that would become an inseparable aspect of the punk movement in both music and culture.
During the early part of the 1970s, more and more groups began to embrace an abrasive, DIY sound that was virtually identical to what would later be considered punk rock. Groups like The New York Dolls, Death, and the Patti Smith Group could all easily lay claim to creating the first-ever punk album. However, these bands were largely victims of being too ahead of their time. After all, the general consensus among punk communities is that the year 1976 was ground zero for punk.
It was during that year that New York’s CBGB club would become a haven for the global punk movement, with groups like the Ramones, Blondie, and Television establishing themselves for the first time. Across the Atlantic, 1976 saw the formation of the Sex Pistols, The Clash, and the release of The Damned’s ‘New Rose’, which officially kicked off the UK punk and new wave movement.
Ultimately, it was the Ramones who pipped everyone else to the post, releasing their eponymous debut album in April 1976. It was this record that signalled the beginning of the punk wave as we know it today, inspiring countless other artists across the globe to follow suit. The Ramones were also essential in developing the blitzkrieg playing style of punk, as well as the attitude and fashion that defined that early era.
But what about Patti Smith and ‘Horses’?
Although it is widely accepted that Ramones was the first-ever punk album, there are certainly other records which could lay claim to that title. Perhaps its biggest competition comes in the form of Patti Smith’s Horses. Released six months prior to the Ramones’ debut, the record was essential in spreading the minimalist, DIY simplicity of the punk genre. Many of the themes explored on Horses, as well as the energy and anger of Smith’s performance on it, are undeniably punk rock.
So, why isn’t Horses considered the first punk rock album? The answers to this question are myriad. For starters, Smith was one of very few women within the early punk and proto-punk scene. Even in the CBGB club, female-led acts were often viewed as something a novelty, not to be taken seriously by punk purists. In fact, this attitude continued long into punk’s heyday and can be seen in early audience attitudes towards groups like The Slits. This widespread misogyny meant that Horses was rarely afforded its deserved reputation as an essential record in punk’s development at the time of its release.
On the other hand, reducing Patti Smith’s material exclusively to the label of punk rock feels like a needlessly blinkered view. The truth is that Horses incorporated a vast range of influences and styles; it could just as easily be viewed as a masterpiece of avant-garde art rock as it could be punk. In contrast, the Ramones’ debut was exclusively punk rock and stuck rigidly to that distinctive sound. In many ways, therefore, Horses often fails to be considered the first punk album for the simple fact that it was a far superior record to Ramones.
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