So Patti Smith combines the youthful exuberance and spoken word of Horsesand Radio Ethiopia (Babelogue, the original rock brat!!) with the punkishness of Gloria (the catchy, simple 3 chord Rock’n’Roll Nigger) and she also “gets” religion (Easter, We Three, and Privilege (Set Me Free) which makes her sound like a naughty, wayward singer in the church choir (my brother said that, actually.) I hate the fact that she got religion, which clinches what I have been saying all along – it was all a front, all the “Jesus died for somebody else’s sins but not mine” bullshit down the drain, huh Patti? In any case I hate a person who “gets” religion, because I hate religion and feel that it is corrosive to the progress of mankind, but what do I know? Coming back to Easter it is a pretty nice album, middle of the road except for the Babelogue+Rock’n’Roll Nigger part which I like, yes, I like the spoken word 2 minute part too, which is a first. “Because the Night” was the hit single and it is quite the first pop song she ever did, but not in the league of the cuts on the next album, Waves, which came out in ’79, and was the last ever Patti Smith and Group album.
To put it in a nutshell, Easter is my second most favorite Patti Smith album, which is not saying much since I like only two albums (this and Waves) and around the time I started listening to Easter, I genuinely started liking Patti Smith’s voice and the use to which it has been put on here. Even though I hate religion, that does not mean I do not like music inspired by religious thoughts/feelings like some of the songs on Easter.
Recommended Songs – Babelogue, Rock’n’Roll Nigger, We Three, Easter, Because of the Night, Ghost Dance. (Baba T – thatdoesntsoundright)