On Oct. 10, Patti Smith will celebrate the 50th anniversary of her acclaimed 1975 album Horses with a reissue featuring previously unreleased recordings.
The release will contain the original album, remastered from the original master tapes, plus various outtakes, including Smith’s 1975 RCA audition tape.
A complete track listing is available below and pre-ordering information can be found here. Ahead of the release, the previously unreleased song “Snowball” is now available for listening below.
Was ‘Horses’ a Successful Album?
Horses was Smith’s debut release, produced by John Cale of Velvet Underground fame. Smith’s band then consisted of Jay Dee Daugherty on drums, Lenny Kaye on lead guitar, Ivan Kral on both guitar and bass and Richard Sohl on piano. Though commercial reception was quiet — it went to No. 47 in America — it was lauded by critics at the time for its minimalistic approach to rock recording and poetic lyricism.
A New Book and a Global Tour
On Nov. 4 of this year, Smith will release a new memoir titled Bread of Angels. In it, she wrote the following about her debut album: “The poet may stand alone, but in merging with a band, surrenders to the wonder of teamwork. Thus joined, we birthed Horses together.”
Smith is scheduled to launch a tour in support of the 50th anniversary of Horses on Oct. 6 in Dublin, Ireland, a trek that will make its way through the U.K., Europe and the U.S. before concluding on Nov. 29 in Philadelphia. Smith will perform the album in its entirety on each stop of the tour.
READ MORE: Top 10 Patti Smith Songs
‘Horses’ (50th Anniversary) Track Listing:
1. “Gloria”
2. “Redondo Beach”
3. “Birdland”
4. “Free Money”
5. “Kimberly”
6. “Break It Up”
7. “Land”: (part one: “Horses” / part two: “Land of a Thousand Dances” / part three: “La Mer(de)”)
8. “Elegie”
Bonus Tracks:
1. “Gloria”*
2. “Redondo Beach”
3. “Birdland”*
4. “Snowball”*
5. “Kimberly”*
5. “Break It Up”*
7. “Distant Fingers”*
8. “The Hunter Gets Captured By the Game”*
9. “We Three”*
*previously unreleased
Top 30 Albums of 1975
Classic rock found its voice by the midpoint of the ’70s.
Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci
