Patti Smith – Dream Of Life (1988)
Patti Smith – Dream Of Life (1988)
1 People Have The Power 5:09 2 Up There Down There 4:49 3 Paths That Cross 4:19 4 Dream Of Life 4:39 5 Where Duty Calls 7:48 6 Going Under 6:00 7 Looking For You (I Was) 4:06 8 The Jackson Song 5:25 9 As The Night Goes By 5:04 10 Wild Leaves 4:03 Bass – Bob Glaub (2), Gary Rasmussen (1, 3, 6), Kasim Sultan (4, 5, 7), Malcolm West (8) Drums – Jay Dee Daugherty Guitar – Fred "Sonic" Smith Keyboards – Richard Sohl + Backing Vocals – Robin Nash, Andi Ostrowe Percussion – Hearn Gadbois, Sammy Figueroa, Crusher Bennett Bass – Malcolm West Cello – Jesse Levy Harp – Margaret Ross
The big difference between Patti Smith's four 1970s albums and this return to action after nine years lies in the choice of collaborator. Where Smith's main associate earlier had been Lenny Kaye, a deliberately simple guitarist, here her co-writer and co-producer (with Jimmy Iovine) was her husband, Fred "Sonic" Smith, formerly of the MC5, who played guitar with a conventional rock competence and who lent his talents to each of the tracks, giving them a mainstream flavor. In a sense, however, these polished love songs, lullabies, and political statements are not to be compared to the poetic ramblings of Smith's first decade of music-making -- she's so much...calmer this time out. But you can't help it. Where the Patti Smith of Horses inspired a generation of female rockers, the Patti Smith of Dream of Life sounds like she's been listening to later Pretenders albums and taking tips from Chrissie Hynde, one of her spiritual daughters. Dream of Life is the record of someone who is simply showing the flag, trying to keep her hand in, rather than announcing her comeback. Not surprisingly, having made it, Smith retreated from the public eye again until the '90s. ---William Ruhlmann, AllMusic Review
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