Patti Smith - Gung Ho

Patti Smith's fourth album since her 1988 comeback vehicle Dream of Life finds the plugged-in poetess looking outward after the extended period of introspection that followed the death of her husband, Fred "Sonic" Smith. The scathing eight-minute-plus "Strange Messengers" illustrates Smith's renewed interest in the world around her, as the streetwise New Yorker turned Midwestern suburbanite rails at crackheads ("That's how you repay your ancestors?"). Working with producer Gil Norton (Foo Fighters, Pixies) and fronting a quartet built around longtime lieutenants Lenny Kaye and Jay Dee Daugherty, Smith's music harkens back to the commercial apex of New Wave; indeed, "Gone Pie" sounds like the singer sitting in with Blondie. In fact, Gung Ho as a whole feels like the album the high-priestess of punk didn't make in the early '80s, a time when she was laying low and a number of artists inspired by her visionary early works were racking up MTV and modern-rock airtime. Gung Ho is somewhat muddled in execution, but then again, so are the times. --Steven Stolder Amazon.com

An Artist Forgotten

Patti Smith was one of the unsung heroes of the brief but refreshing New Wave era that just faded into rocknroll lore. She vanished from the public eye after air play for her kind of music and Arista records pulled the plug on her recording contract by deciding not to resign her. She has recorded off and on since then, putting out some great songs.
Gung Ho is a great CD,very reminiscent of Radio Ethiopia with plenty of jamming and sprawling songs to get lost in. Highly reccomended. September 29, 2008

Ignore the pontifications - this is a great album.

If you allow yourself to be hypnotized by the self-appointed "superior music critics", then you will miss enjoying this great album. Don't submit to their insights: they're just subjective impressions driven by their psychic needs. They always slobber after music that helps them fill some need or yearning. If an artist releases an album that does not heal that pimple of hurt or that suspicion of inferiority, then they use their "sophisticated" intelligence to smash it. They are always so disappointed or disillusioned. They generously point out the mistakes made by the artist. They seem to declare: "Next time this 'nobody' releases an album worthy of my attention and judgement I might deign to praise it." Ignore these great ones and buy Gung Ho by Patti Smith, because every nuance and note on this CD is touched by complexity. Gently, without hoopla, Patti explores many of the themes that perplex us ordinary monkeys on this album. It is amazing how critics tuned to one artistic exploration by Patti moan and groan when she veers elsewhere. But these are the very critics that would scream if she dared to repeat Horses. Bob Dylan has been praised for retreating back to simple, unadorned music that touches the human need for temporary wisdom amid the chaos of existence. This is what older artists have done for generations. But when Patti does it, then the supercillious powder puffed connoisseurs emerge to carve her work as if it were a dish served for their "superior" judgement. Play this album at least five times and its quality will shine. In my humble opinion this is one of Patti's great recent albums, all the more stunning and amazing than her youthful attacks of flaming beauty. The fact that none of her recent albums have featured in any best of 90s or 00s lists, is a belly laugh. She has never been better. Gung Ho is an album constructed with care and grace, with music that will glow in your dreams and sneak through walls as you earn your dollars.

February 18, 2007

gung ho!

i love patti smith! this is another amazing album of hers. her voice & the guitars sound so lush & full & it's beautiful. January 16, 2005

One great moment

Although this album has more musical and melodic variety than 1997's Peace And Noise, it's not on a par with her best 70s work or later masterpieces like Gone Again. The one brilliant moment is the bluegrass number, Libbie's Song, a very moving and personal ode to General Custer after his death at Little Big Horn, through the words of his widow: "If it wasn't for your golden hair/would not be alone/I longed for you, I longed to die/The pillows bare by my side/Yet I shall abide." It's worth the price of the album hearing Patti go bluegrass on such a lovely composition. Gone Pie is passable but nothing special. New Party sort of gets there but not quite. There is none of the passion that characterizes her best work. A lot of the songs are plodding, uninspired affairs, lacking melody and direction. There's nothing anthemic about any of them and very few tunes that stick in the mind afterwards. Then again, it's not a bad album by any other standards than Patti Smith's own. Get it just for Libbie's Song which is a timeless masterpiece. April 21, 2003

The Punk Poet Goddess makes her bset one yet!

Gung Ho is without a doubt the single greatest album released by a female artist. Patti Smith has always been able to deliver her songs with deep feeling and emotion but only Horses and Easter get even close to the overall quality of this masterpeice. With incredible passion, well written songs and Patti Smith's wonderful deep meaning lyrics Gung Ho is an album you dont want to miss. January 13, 2003

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