Patti Smith: Complete lyrics, reflections, and notes for the future (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Patti Smith, pioneering punk diva, has always worshipped at the altar of the word, and she opens this book with a quote from her mentor and friend, the late Allen Ginsberg: "The typewriter is holy the poem is holy the voice is holy the hearers are holy the ecstasy is holy." If that is true, then this volume serves as Smith's Book of Common Prayer, containing all the lyrics from her past seven albums, and spanning two and a half decades. She picks out both salient and arcane compositions and annotates them with an unstinting eye for detail and history, allowing us to stand a moment in her flat-heeled karate shoes and see what inspired her to pen these songs. Who among us suspected that 1971's "Redondo Beach," with its grizzly images of loss and suicide, was written about an argument Smith had with her sister? In addition to the thumbnail sketches and the unexpurgated journal entries, Smith has collected more than 150 photographs (some never before published) by the likes of Annie Liebovitz, Robert Mapplethorpe, Michael Stipe, and Linda McCartney. There is one particularly disturbing image of the singer during her painful recovery from a broken back, which she suffered as a result of a stage fall in 1977, proving that there is little that the singer has held back in her effort to communicate who she is to her fans.

Why did she go to all the trouble? According to Smith, her fans had been clamoring for her to publish her lyrics for years, but until recently she didn't feel she had a substantial enough body of work. Besides, she claims that she was tired of everyone else deconstructing her songs and publishing what they thought she meant. "And they were always inaccurate," she writes. So, now, Patti Smith is finally able to set the record straight. --Jaan Uhelszki

Review

"The first great rock'n'roll collection to be published since Dylan's Lyrics: 1962-1985." --Salon

"Her influence in music today is undeniable. There's not anybody I know in a band anywhere who does not revere the records she put out. There was a rawness and energy to Horses that I had not heard in any other music. From then on, my life was changed." --Michael Stipe, R.E.M.

"Patti Smith is not only a great performer, she is a shaman--that is, someone in touch with other levels of reality." --William S. Burroughs -- Review --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1st edition (October 20, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385490798
• ISBN-13: 978-0385490795
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,005,007 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Patti Smith Gives Us Another Gift, December 10, 1998

By A Customer

Patti Smith has put together an impecable collection of her lyrics. Yet unlike the majority of lyric books these days (they mostly look like text books that publishers just throw togehter) you can tell Patti was present and an integral part of each pages' layout. The lyrics scan like the poems they are. Each of the 150 mostly unpublised photographs are reproduced beautifully. This is a fine example of an artisit transcending one of their forms and creating an entirely new work. Thank you Patti

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE LYRICS AT LAST!, September 8, 2000

By	Pieter "Toypom" (Johannesburg) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Patti Smith Complete: Lyrics, Reflections, and Notes for the Future (Paperback)

Through the years I have always been frustrated by the lack of a lyric sheet with Patti Smith's albums. I thought her marriage of poetry and rock deserved better. And there were many parts of her songs that I just couldn't make out, what with her broad NY drawl, so this book came as a godsend. And yes, I was invariably wrong in my guessing! So to the book: excellent photographs, insightful annotations and those wonderful songs that work equally well on the printed page but really come alive with her music. Excellent design, typography, layout; highly recommended.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Patti Smith's lyrics & insight from the artist, January 18, 1999

By A Customer

The definitive collection of lyrics from the 70's punk rocker, recently reborn in the 90's. Insight into her turbulent life from her perspective. The photos are stunning, however more of her stories to go with the lyrics would have made this book a 5. A must have for any PSG fan.