Gung Ho

About

Patti Smith has compared 2000’s <i>Gung Ho</i>—the singer’s eighth album—to her landmark 1978 hit, <i>Easter</i>. Both albums were the result of a tight, highly focused musical connection between Smith and her bandmate. “We’ve struggled together, we’ve toured together,” she told Charlie Rose shortly after <i>Gung Ho</i>’s release. It’s not that Smith and the band are on any kind of autopilot on <i>Gung Ho</i>. But they’ve definitely settled into a firm groove. And many of the musicians on this album have long been part of Smith’s orbit. Guitarist Lenny Kaye’s songwriting is all over “Lo and Beholden,” which brings in reggae and Arab influence, while drummer Jay Dee Daugherty co-wrote “One Voice.” There are also contributions from such Smith collaborators as Tony Shanahan and Oliver Ray, while both guitarist Tom Verlaine and Michael Stipe—the latter of whom recruited Smith for R.E.M.’s single “E-Bow the Letter”—show up on the Grammy-nominated “Glitter in Their Eye.” The arrangements on <i>Gung Ho</i> are lighter and full of strategic flourishe, like the little Farfisa organ riff on “Persuasion,” the echo on Smith’s vocals on the chorus of “Glitter in Their Eye,” or the helicopters in the title track. Gil Norton, famous for his work with the Pixie, produced the album, and he brings a more modern tone, as well as more context, to the guitar. .

via Apple Music

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