Patti Smith Gung Ho CD

"Glitter In Their Eyes" was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.

Patti Smith was working through grief when she returned from her eight-year recording hiatus to cut GONE AGAIN (1996) and PEACE & NOISE (1997). She was dealing with the deaths of a number of close friends and family members--including husband Fred "Sonic" Smith--within a short time. Having achieved a degree of musical catharsis, Smith teamed with Pixies/Catherine Wheel producer Gil Norton for 2000's sonically gorgeous GUNG HO.

Smith reaches beyond her punk roots, incorporating pennywhistle and mandolin into her folk-flavored song about Custer's wife ("Libbie's Song"). Longtime band member Lenny Kaye includes Middle Eastern-sounding nuances in his co-written tale of Salome ("Lo and Beholden"). Among the more stirring numbers are "Strange Messengers," written from the chilling viewpoint of a slavery victim, and "Glitter in Their Eyes," a chirpy, new wave-y anthem decrying today's rampant materialism. GUNG HO's 10-minute-plus title track/centerpiece lauds North Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh, portraying him as a patriot in love with our Constitution. "Gung Ho" will no doubt rankle a few Vietnam vets. A revitalized and inspired Smith avoids the trap of dry, didactic historical regurgitation, serving up another reminder of why she is rightly considered a downtown doyenne.

Recorded at Sear Sound, New York, New York.

Personnel: Patti Smith (vocals, acoustic guitar); Lenny Kaye, Oliver Ray (acoustic & electric guitars); Jackson Smith, Tom Verlaine (guitar); Kimberly Smith (mandolin); Rebecca Weiner (violin); Skaila Kanga (harp); Ben E. Franklin (penny whistle); Grant Hart (piano, Farfisa organ); Tony Shanahan (keyboards, bass); Jay Dee Daugherty (drums); Michael Stipe, Wade Raley (background vocals).

Rolling Stone (1/4/01, p.116) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Top 50 Albums of 2000".
Rolling Stone (3/30/00, p.62) - 4.5 stars out of 5 - "...Smith is simply inspired....she's back to life, taking on the whole world. She belts manifestoes, plunges headlong into love, offers benedictions and hurls herself into history and myth....all done with a revitalized band..."
Entertainment Weekly (12/29/00, p.138) - Ranked #5 in EW's Top 10 Albums of 2000.
Entertainment Weekly (3/31/00, pp.67-8) - "...a collection of hypnotic, human rock & roll that extols such seemingly antiquated virtues as moral fiber, history, and love as spirituality..." - Rating: A
Magnet (6-7/00, p.91) - "...Contains all the hallmarks that make the Patti Smith Group formidable flag-bearers....GUNG HO is pure PSG....heir to the group's initial '79 swan song WAVE..."
The Wire (4/00, p.52) - "...The trademark Smith sound...has always been thrilling and it's no less here....[Her] strong point has always been her delivery...and it's easy to be seduced by her voice alone....unfailingly demonstrates that you're in the presence of something extraordinary..."
CMJ (3/20/00, p.3) - "...Smith rocks with a conviction as powerful as anything since her '88 comeback album, DREAM OF LIFE....the tracks gather strength from unity and rememberance..."
Mojo (Publisher) (5/00, p.105) - "...Once Patti hits her stride that yearning, passionate vibrato and lyric flashbacks...suggest there's life in the original Righteous Babe yet."
NME (Magazine) (3/18/00, p.34) - 6 out of 10 - "...[She] fixes her wild eyes on more overtly political themes....there's music here that's full of the febrile commitment and unashamed passion that marked her as a valid icon in 1975..."