10 More Perfect Rock Albums Of The 70s With No Bad Songs

The punk poet laureate, Patti Smith made her debut album with the help of founding member of the Velvet Underground John Cale. Their working relationship has become legendary for its volatile nature, but despite this, Smith has stated that without all the tension she wouldn't have made an album full of such impassioned takes.

This was before punk was really a thing, but she was part of a trend of musicians stripping things back with a onus placed on visceral chaos rather than highly polished hit songs. Although the album isn't as explosive as the other proto-punks of the time, the impassioned vocal performances and her strongly worded poetry conveys just as much conviction as the punk bands that would come after.

The album fluctuates between softly spoken verses and furious outcries of savage emotion. In much the same way as the Velvet Underground, the musical accompaniments set the tone for the record but the focus is very much on the words. Patti Smith isn't always the most literal of singers, paying heed to how she's expressing her lyrics is just as important as what she's actually saying. Tempo plays an equally important role on this record, at times things get very slow and reflective, and at others, there seems to be a reactive urgency to the sound.

This is an important album.