WIWS Banner

The Second Disc

Expanded and Remastered Music News

  • Home
  • News
    • Classic Rock
    • Rock
    • Pop
    • Jazz
    • Popular Standards/Vocal
    • R&B/Soul
    • Country
    • Folk
    • Cast Recordings
    • Soundtracks
    • Everything Else
      • Classical/Opera
      • Disco/Dance
      • Funk
      • Gospel
      • Rap/Hip-Hop
  • Features
    • Release Round-Up
    • Giveaways!
    • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Classic Rock
    • Rock
    • Pop
    • Jazz
    • Popular Standards/Vocal
    • R&B/Soul
    • Country
    • Folk
    • Cast Recordings
    • Soundtracks
    • Everything Else
      • Classical/Opera
      • Disco/Dance
      • Funk
      • Gospel
      • Rap/Hip-Hop
  • Release Calendar
    • Coming Soon
    • Now Available
  • About
  • Second Disc Records
    • Full Catalog
  • Contact

/ News

Patti Smith Still "Outside Society" On New Legacy Comp

July 1, 2011 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

October 30, 2009.  Electricity was in the air at the second evening of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Concerts at New York’s Madison Square Garden.  In a crowning irony, quintessential downtown icon Patti Smith had taken the uptown stage in this most mainstream of venues.  She was on hand to sing her 1978 hit “Because the Night” with its co-writer and the unofficial ringleader for the two marathon shows, Bruce Springsteen, and pianist Roy Bittan.  The song required a couple of takes to get it right for the broadcast, but take it from one who was there: the first try was raw, unvarnished, imperfect rock and roll.  And who better to embody that spirit than Patti Smith, often recognized as the godmother of punk?

Her story is the stuff of legend.  An intense affair with controversial photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. A residence at the Chelsea Hotel (where else?). Performance art on the streets of Paris.  A play co-written with notorious “bad boy” Sam Shepard.  Gigs at CBGB’s.  A singer, musician, poet, artist, writer and activist, Patti Smith can’t be boxed into one category.  But a great place to start exploring the many sides of Smith just might be the upcoming release of Outside Society from Legacy Recordings.   This 18-track anthology (available in 1-CD or 2-LP configurations) is the first single-disc compilation to explore the entirety of Smith’s recording career on both Arista and Columbia Records, from 1975’s debut Horses through 2007’s Twelve.  (A previous collection, Land, was a two-disc affair current as of 2002.)

Chronologically, Smith’s career begins and ends with pure rock.  The first track on Outside Society (and first on 1975's Horses) is her cover of Van Morrison’s “Gloria,” maybe the quintessential garage anthem.  2007's Twelve revisited more songs influential to Smith, and Outside Society picks its reinvention of Kurt Cobain’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” underlining the lasting power of primal primitivism in music.  Along the way, Outside Society collects highlights from all ten of Smith’s studio albums which feature her singular mix of rock, jazz, poetry and improvisation.  (The singer has always defied easy classification despite those hanging “art rock” or “punk” tags on her albums.)  She hasn’t been particularly prolific as a recording artist, but her influence has been immense.  One song included is Smith’s take (from 1979’s Todd Rundgren-produced Wave) on Roger McGuinn’s withering “So You Want To Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star?”  Whether or not she intended to become one, Patti Smith certainly did.

The compilation features the contributions of her bandmates, with original Nuggets creator Lenny Kaye (guitar) and Jay Dee Daugherty (drums) the longest-serving members.  Kaye, Daugherty, Richard Sohl (keyboard/piano) and Ivan Kral (bass) formed the Patti Smith Group, which hit its commercial peak in 1978 with Easter and “Because the Night.”  Smith contributes track-by-track liner notes for the new release, and says this of her enduring hit: “Bruce Springsteen gave me a great gift in allowing me to lend verses to his beautifully constructed anthem.  My contribution was written for my future husband, Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith. Though we have performed it hundreds of times, the strong response it draws always makes it fresh and exciting to sing.”  Springsteen finally released his original take on “Because the Night” on 2010’s The Promise, and Natalie Merchant’s 10,000 Maniacs, of course, took it back up the charts in 1993.  But for many, it remains Patti Smith’s song.

Hit the jump for more, including the complete track listing with discographical annotation and pre-order link!

The release of Outside Society precedes the awarding of the prestigious Polar Music Prize to Smith on August 30, at which time she’ll be welcomed into illustrious, eclectic company including Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Burt Bacharach, Isaac Stern, Pierre Boulez and Springsteen.  Recent acclaim has also come for Smith thanks to the publication of the gripping Just Kids, her best-selling 2010 memoir reflecting on the struggle to create art in the tumultuous 1970s.

Greg Calbi and Tony Shanahan of Smith’s current band have remastered every track on Outside Society.  It’s in stores on August 30 from Columbia, Arista and Legacy, and we’ve got a pre-order link below!

Patti Smith, Outside Society (Columbia/Arista/Legacy 88697 94315-2) 

  1. Gloria
  2. Free Money
  3. Ain’t It Strange
  4. Pissing in a River
  5. Because the Night
  6. Rock ‘n’ Roll Nigger
  7. Dancing Barefoot
  8. Frederick
  9. So You Wanna Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star
  10. People Have the Power
  11. Up There Down There
  12. Beneath the Southern Cross
  13. Summer Cannibals
  14. 1959
  15. Glitter in Their Eyes
  16. Lo and Beholden (Radio Edit)
  17. Smells Like Teen Spirit
  18. Trampin’

Tracks 1-2 from Horses (Arista AL 4066, 1975)
Tracks 3-4 from Radio Ethopia (Arista AL 4097, 1976)
Tracks 5-6 from Easter (Arista AB 4171, 1978)
Tracks 7-9 from Wave (Arista AB 4221, 1979)
Tracks 10-11 from Dream of Life (Arista AL 8453, 1988)
Tracks 12-13 from Gone Again (Arista ARCD 8747, 1996)
Track 14 from Peace and Noise (Arista 07822 18986-2, 1997)
Track 15 from Gung Ho (Arista 07822-14618-2, 2000)
Track 16 from Lo and Beholden (Arista promo CD ARPCD-3855, 2000)
Track 17 from Twelve (Columbia 82876 87251-2, 2007)
Track 18 from Trampin’ (Columbia CK 90330, 2004)

Categories: News Tags: Patti Smith

Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

Connect With Joe: FacebookTwitter

You Might Also Like

  • Hughes box packshotAs You Walk on By: New Box Celebrates the Music of John Hughes Films
  • record store day logo5The Second Disc's Guide to Record Store Day 2022: Our Essential Picks and More!
  • Studio Wizardry of Todd RundgrenOpen My Eyes: Ace Celebrates Todd Rundgren and Gus Dudgeon in Label's Producers Series
  • Lou Reed Im So FreePrince, Miles Davis, Patti Smith, Lou Reed, Mariah Carey, More Featured on Legacy's Record Store Day Slate

Comments

  1. ed s says

    July 1, 2011 at 9:36 pm

    One can always quibble about anthologies, but this is the second time that 'Ask The Angels' has failed to make the cut, having been passed over for the Land collection. Kind of surprised. It was one of her best rock n roll songs, in my opinion, anyway. oh well....

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Upcoming Releases

  • Jimi Jamison Rock Hard
    Rock Hard
    Jimi Jamison
    August 12, 2022
  • Micky Dolenz Demoiselle
    Demoiselle
    Micky Dolenz
    August 12, 2022
  • Finally Enough Love LP
    Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones
    Madonna
    August 19, 2022
See Full Calendar

Connect

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 4,485 other subscribers

Popular

  • Olivia Newton John Making a Good Thing Better
    In Memoriam: Olivia Newton-John (1948-2022) posted on August 8, 2022 | under News
  • Neil Young Noise And Flowers
    Release Round-Up: Week of August 5 posted on August 5, 2022 | under Release Round-Up
  • Hughes box packshot
    As You Walk on By: New Box Celebrates the Music of John Hughes Films posted on August 4, 2022 | under News

Comments

  • small faces here come the nice2
    Return To Itchycoo Park: Small Faces' "Here Come The Nice" Deluxe Box Set Arrives In January [UPDATED 12/3] 84 comments | by Joe Marchese | posted on December 3, 2013 | under News
  • the beatles u s albums box2
    British Invasion! The Beatles Unveil "The U.S. Albums" Box Set in January 69 comments | by Joe Marchese | posted on December 12, 2013 | under News
  • Rolling Stones in Mono
    Out of Their Heads: Stones Plan Mono Box Set 47 comments | by Mike Duquette | posted on August 10, 2016 | under News

Music Resources

  • Addicted to Vinyl
  • Crap from the Past
  • Discogs
  • Film Score Monthly
  • IMWAN Forum – From the Vaults
  • MusicTAP
  • Musoscribe
  • Pause & Play
  • Popblerd
  • Popdose
  • Record Racks
  • Slicing Up Eyeballs
  • Steve Hoffman Music Forums
  • Ultimate Classic Rock
  • Vintage Vinyl News
  • Viva La Mainstream
  • Wolfgang's Vault

Labels of Note

  • Ace Records
  • Analog Spark
  • Bear Family
  • BGO Records
  • Big Break Records
  • Blixa Sounds
  • Cherry Red Label Group
  • Craft Recordings
  • Demon Music Group
  • Friday Music
  • Funky Town Grooves
  • Iconoclassic Records
  • Intervention Records
  • Intrada
  • Kritzerland
  • La La Land Records
  • Legacy Recordings
  • Light in the Attic
  • Masterworks Broadway
  • Now Sounds
  • Omnivore Recordings
  • Real Gone Music
  • Resonance Records
  • Rhino Entertainment
  • Rock Candy Records
  • SoulMusic Records
  • Sunset Blvd. Records
  • Supermegabot
  • Varese Sarabande
  • Vinyl Me, Please
  • Wounded Bird
Copyright © 2022 The Second Disc. All rights reserved. · Site by Metaglyphics

The Second Disc is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk.

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy