Trampin' (Remastered) Patti Smith

• 1 Jubilee 04:44
• 2 Mother Rose 04:56
• 3 Stride of the Mind 03:38
• 4 Cartwheels 06:02
• 5 Gandhi 09:20
• 6 Trespasses 05:01
• 7 My Blakean Year 05:17
• 8 Cash 04:21
• 9 Peaceable Kingdom 05:10
• 10 Radio Baghdad 12:16
• 11 Trampin' 02:56
• Total Runtime 01:03:41

Info for Trampin' (Remastered)

Like Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, and Bob Marley, there is something quintessentially pure--something musically and morally urgent-- about Patti Smith's musical personality. As a poetic powerhouse and punk phenomenon, Smith has been one of rock's most individual and influential performers since her 1975 watershed debut, "Horses", flouting convention at every turn.

"Trampin'" heralds Smith's debut on Columbia, and is at once a timely, beautifully realized document and true to her legacy as the queen of punk expression. Though not entirely devoid of revved-up rockers ("Stride of the Mind"), the album's strength is in the intricacy of tracks such as "Cartwheels" and the gently lilting "Mother Rose." The artist's spoken word narratives are also prominent here ("Gandhi," "Radio Baghdad"); these are filled with implicit commentary on history, war, and global issues. The lyrics never preach, however, and Smith's vision is ultimately an enlightened, humanitarian one, as heard most powerfully on the superb "My Blakean Year," the achingly hopeful "Peaceable Kingdom," and the haunting title track. "Trampin'" is less "punk" in the musical definition of the word than in its deeper, more significant meaning: Smith's voice is a conscience-driven cry bent on making itself heard against all odds.

"Nearly 30 years and nine albums in, Patti Smith shows no signs of giving up, or giving in, despite the fact she expected to be quietly doing her work instead of making rock & roll albums and playing in front of audiences. But then 9/11, Afghanistan, war in Iraq. Smith lives the vocation of a poet in an old-world sense of that word. Once, bards were the gadflies of society. Smith's Trampin' is a work that directly evolves from that tradition and fits squarely in her oeuvre. Trampin' is Smith's first outing for new label Columbia. She and her bandmates -- Lenny Kaye, Jay Dee Daugherty, Tony Shanahan, and Oliver Ray -- walk the tightrope between in-your-face garage rock, poetic ballads, and raucous, improvisational pieces (à la "Radio Ethiopia"). Not surprisingly, Trampin' is a largely political album, but it is far from a didactic one. Smith's voice of resistance is a human one, not an ideological one. She and her band cut much of the record live from the floor, and with the exception of the field recorded sounds of children playing in the street in "Radio Baghdad" and immediate and guttural strings added to "My Blakean Year," it comes off as both an immediate and organic record. Smith celebrates what is unique and beautiful in this America while castigating those who would abolish it in favor of homogeneity and submission. Whether it is the razored, riff-driven rock of "Stride of the Mind," the tough, anthemic pounce of "Jubilee," or the haunting midtempo countrified tunes like "Mother Rose," "Trespasses," or "Cash," the sober-eyed critical examination, the exhortation to find the truth and to celebrate life are everywhere. Likewise, in longer pieces like "Ghandi" and "Radio Baghdad," modes and grooves are locked and loaded. Poetry, both sung and spoken, engages the swirling, wavelike roars of apocalyptic power and chaos her band creates and splits the seams with the authority of her language, which claims no authority but that of the victim -- which is all the authority there is. "My Blakean Year" is an acoustic anthem, the confession of a vision that is given full fruit in the largely acoustic "Peaceable Kingdom." The title track is also the closer. A duet between Smith's daughter Jesse Lee Smith's piano and Patti's voice, it is a folk song written in the gospel tradition. One can hear the ghosts of Woody Guthrie, Cisco Houston, and Mimi Fariña in seams between the keys under Jesse's fingers and the wavering, tender grain in Smith's voice. This is timeless music. It knows no age or subgenre classification; it is American music as it has been spoken the world over; it is rock & roll done as well as it can be by anybody." (Thom Jurek, AMG)

Patti Smith, vocals, clarinet
Lenny Kaye, guitar, pedal steel
Jay Dee Daugherty, drums, percussion, guitar
Oliver Ray, guitar, farfisa,
Tony Shanahan, bass, keyboards, hammond organ, backing vocals
Additional musicians:
Jesse Smith, piano
Rebecca Wiener, violin

Recorded 2013 at Loho Studios, New York City
Produced by Patti Smith

Digitally remastered

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This album contains no booklet.