* * * * * (5 stars = exceptional)
Patti Smith, the original riot grrrl and High Priestess of Punk Rock, has
returned with an album of such emotional proportions that it's hard to
imagine eight years have passed without a record from her. Gone Again
isn't a comeback; it's a continuation of a unique force and vision in
music that has few, if any, comparisons. Songs like "Beneath the Southern
Cross," "About a Boy" and the title track carry lyrical emotional weight
equal to the punch of the music. Still as mesmerizing as the days when
you first heard her sing "Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine" on
her debut album, Horses, in 1975, Gone Again symbolizes the
power and
passion that has come to define the most important rock and roll.
Copyright © Bruce Warren 1996