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Album Thoughts

Patti Smith’s Horses is truly a boundary-pushing album. Its poetic lyrics and wild melodies, coupled with the dynamic shifts throughout songs, make it a perfect blend of pushing my musical limits and immersing me in its artistic world.

The album opens with a hauntingly airy echo of a bass over a piano, setting the tone for the bold and thought-provoking nature of the music. The opening line, “Jesus Died For Somebody’s Sins, But Not Mine,” immediately establishes that this isn’t just a simple Sunday evening album. It’s an artsy masterpiece brimming with lyrical depth and songs that will challenge and inspire.

Patti’s ability to push the boundaries of what can be sung in a song and what can become its focal point is truly evident during the climax of “Gloria”. The simple yet somewhat gospel-like chorus, with the lyrics “Gloria, G-L-O-R-I-A”, creates a powerful image of a church choir behind her, as she commands the stage. Or consider the moment halfway through “Break It Up” when she begins singing while striking her chest to emphasise the break in her vocals throughout the sentences. It was incredibly unique. I’ve never considered using my vocals in that way before and I can see why this album is considered so great. It truly allowed for freedom of experimentation.

Her vocals throughout this album are likely to be as divisive as I feel she intended. This is a style of singing that somewhat “lazily” articulates her vowels. It’s a deliberate artistic choice to decide which vowels to emphasise to enhance the song’s impact. This is evident in “Redondo Beach” where she sings lines like “I Went Looking For You, Are You Gone, Gone?”  It sounds like she’s pronouncing them as “Gun, Gun”.  I’m not entirely sure what inspired her choices, but I think that’s the beauty of this album. You’ll never fully understand it, but you can still enjoy the art for what it is.

“Birdland” is a deeply bluesy poem that really threw me for a loop. I didn’t know how to feel listening to a nine-minute spoken word poem. Growing up, I was firmly rooted in the music scene of “UK Pop, Classic Rock, and Easy Listening” artists like Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, and The Carpenters. This song truly broadened my understanding of music’s possibilities. Even now, as I write this, I still don’t quite know where to place it in my life. However, I can say that musically, this song wouldn’t have worked with anything else than this bluesy rock sound. The choice to feature only a piano and electric guitar was the most obvious and effective choice, and I believe it’s the only way this song could have truly resonated.

The middle of the album feels like the music my brain naturally gravitates towards. “Free Money & Kimberly” embodies that 80s pop rock vibe, reminiscent of Billy Joel’s “Glass Houses” album. It has that soulful rock feel with a heavy bassline and a kick drum-heavy beat.

“Land” feels like the album’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”, with its captivating progression, dynamic shifts and intriguing narrative. It’s a beautiful blend of storytelling and musically progressive and engaging. Every time I listen, the only other song that comes to mind is Meatloaf and Ellen Foley’s theatrical “Paradise By The Dashboard Light”. It evokes the same sense of storytelling and, personally, I think Meatloaf might have used “Land” as a template for crafting this masterpiece.

As I mentioned, this album was a huge musical shift for me. I’ve heard about it for years and never got around to listening. It’s undeniable how artistic it is; it’s like a theatre show in an album. Songs sound like a performer giving a monologue, then suddenly shift into massive crowd-tapping rock ballads. It’s incredible how creative and advanced it was for 1975. Even now, in 2026, not many artists would achieve such a level of success. Is it one of my all-time favourite albums? Probably not, and that’s okay. I can’t deny its brilliance and it’s challenged me to realise that sometimes albums aren’t meant to be understood; they’re meant to be felt, like a poem.

Track List

1. Gloria
2. Redondo Beach
3. Birdland
4. Free Money
5. Kimberly
6. Break It Up
7. Land
8. Elegie