History Music / Horses

* TheCoverChangesTheMeaning: "Gloria" and "Land" are both based around very radical rearrangements of other songs, Music/VanMorrison's "Gloria" and Wilson Pickett's "Land Of A Thousand Dances".

** "La Mer(de)" is, besides being a StealthPun (if you leave out the brackets it's French for "the shit"), a reference to ''La Mer'' by Music/ClaudeDebussy, of whom Smith is a fan.

* RefrainFromAssuming: "Land" isn't called "Horses".

** "Birdland"'s lyrics are based on Peter Reich's "A Book Of Dreams" (1973), a biography by Peter about his father Wilhelm Reich, inventor of the orgonon therapy. The song also references Creator/WilliamBlake and Creator/MohammedAli.

* GriefSong: "Elegie"

''Horses'' is historically important for being an enormous inspiration to the PunkRock scene that emerged in New York in the late 1970s. The record established Smith as a serious singer-songwriter, whose elegance, artistry, androgyny and strong self assuredness made her an icon to many PunkRock, AlternativeRock and even {{Pop}} artists that would follow in her footsteps, including Music/{{U2}}, Music/{{REM}}, Music/TheSmiths, Music/{{Morrissey}}, Music/{{Madonna}}, Music/CourtneyLove, and Music/SonicYouth.

In a case of FirstInstallmentWins, ''Horses'' is often called Patti's best album. It was listed at #44 in Magazine/RollingStone's [[Music/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time]]. In 2006 it was included in Magazine/TimeMagazine's [[TimeAllTime100Albums 100 essential and timeless albums]], and since 2009 it has been preserved by the UsefulNotes/NationalRecordingRegistry for being "culturally, historically and aesthetically significant". It is currently ranked at #22 on Website/AcclaimedMusic's [[UsefulNotes/AcclaimedMusicAllTimeTopAlbums compendium of various critics' greatest albums lists]].

** The Music/BlueOysterCult song "Revenge of Vera Gemini" from ''Music/AgentsOfFortune'' contains the line "No More Horses, Horses, (We're going to swim like a fish)". This is a double reference to Patti Smith's album ''Music/{{Horses}}'' and to the BOC's own song "Subhuman". Of course, Patti, co-writer of "Vera Gemini", sings co-vocals on this track...]]

[[caption-width-right:350: ''Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine. Meltin' in a pot of thieves. Wild card up my sleeve. Thick heart of stone. My sins my own, they belong to ME! ME!'']]

In a case of FirstInstallmentWins, ''Horses'' is often called Patti's best album. It was listed at #44 in Magazine/RollingStone's [[Music/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time]]. In 2006 it was included in Magazine/TimeMagazine's [[TimeAllTime100Albums 100 essential and timeless albums]], has been a mainstay of ''Literature/OneThousandAndOneAlbumsYouMustHearBeforeYouDie'' since its original 2005 release, and since 2009 it has been preserved by the UsefulNotes/NationalRecordingRegistry for being "culturally, historically and aesthetically significant".

** "Horses"
** "Land of a Thousand Dances"
** "La Mer (de)"

''Horses'' is a 1975 album by Music/PattiSmith, produced by Music/JohnCale. It's her most famous album and one of the most influential records of TheSeventies. The equally iconic cover photo was shot by her then boyfriend Creator/RobertMapplethorpe and the record itself was produced by Music/JohnCale. "Horses" scored hits with "Gloria", "Redondo Beach", "Free Money", and "Land".

"Horses" is historically important for being an enormous inspiration to the PunkRock scene that emerged in New York in the late 1970s. The record established Smith as a serious singer-songwriter, whose elegance, artistry, androgyny and strong self assuredness made her an icon to many PunkRock, AlternativeRock and even {{Pop}} artists that would follow in her footsteps, including Music/{{U2}}, Music/{{REM}}, Music/TheSmiths, Music/{{Morrissey}}, Music/{{Madonna}}, Music/CourtneyLove, and Music/SonicYouth.

In a case of FirstInstallmentWins, ''Horses'' is often called Patti's best album. It was listed at #44 in Magazine/RollingStone's [[Music/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time]]. In 2006 it was included in Magazine/TimeMagazine's [[TimeAllTime100Albums 100 essential and timeless albums]] and since 2009 it has been preserved by the UsefulNotes/NationalRecordingRegistry for being "culturally, historically and aesthetically significant".

** "La Mer (de)

''Horses'' is a 1975 album by Music/PattiSmith, produced by Music/JohnCale. It's her most famous album and one of the most influential records of TheSeventies. The equally iconic cover photo was shot by her then boyfriend Creator/RobertMapplethorpe and the record itself was produced by Music/JohnCale. "Horses" scored hits with "Gloria", "Redondo Beach" and "Land".

"Horses" is historically important for being an enormous inspiration to the PunkRock scene that emerged in New York in the late 1970s. The record established Smith as a serious singer-songwriter, whose elegance, artistry, androgyny and strong self assuredness made her an icon to many PunkRock, AlternativeRock and even {{Pop}} artists that would follow in her footsteps, including Music/{{U2}}, Music/{{REM}}, Music/TheSmiths, Music/{{Morrissey}}, Music/{{Madonna}}, Music/CourtneyLove and Music/SonicYouth.

# "Gloria" (5:57)

* BrokenRecord: "Free Money", where the title is repeated superfast near the end of the song. Also "Land", with its famous "horses, horses, horses" refrain.

* CoverVersion: "Gloria", a Music/{{Them}} cover.

* OneWordTitle: "Horses", "Gloria", "Land" and "Elegie".

* RapeAsDrama: "Land" depicts male rape

* RefrainFromAssuming: "Land" isn't called "Horses, Horses, Horses".

** Patti Smith posing with her coat on her shoulder on the cover is a shout-out to Music/FrankSinatra.
** "Horses" has a part where Patti mentions several dances, which is a reference to Music/WilsonPickett's "Land Of 1000 Dances". Johnny also "goes Rimbaud", a shoutout to French poet Creator/ArthurRimbaud.
** "Birdland"'s lyrics are based on Peter Reich's "A Book Of Dreams" (1973), a biography by Peter about his father Wilhelm Reich, inventor of the orgonon therapy. references Creator/WilliamBlake

-> '''[[Music/{{REM}} Michael Stipe]]''', who called "Horses" "just the most important thing in the world."

In a case of FirstInstallmentWins, ''Horses'' is often called Patti's best album. It was listed at #44 in Magazine/RollingStone's [[Music/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time]]. In 2006 it was included in Magazine/TimeMagazine's [[TimeAllTime100Albums 100 essential and timeless albums]] and since 2009 it is preserved by the UsefulNotes/NationalRecordingRegistry for being "culturally, historically and aesthetically significant".

!! ''Redondo Tropes'':

--> ''Horses, horses, horses,...''

In a case of FirstInstallmentWins, ''Horses'' is often called Patti's best album. It was listed at nr. #44 in Magazine/RollingStone's [[Music/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time]]. In 2006 it was included in Magazine/TimeMagazine's [[TimeAllTime100Albums 100 essential and timeless albums]] and since 2009 it is preserved by the UsefulNotes/NationalRecordingRegistry for being "culturally, historically and aesthetically significant".

''''

* LyricalDissonance: "Redondo Beach". On the face of it a summary light number about a California beach paradise, colonized by [[LesYay lesbian women]]. Listen more closely. It's a lament to Smith's younger sister Kimberley. She and Patti had a fight and Kimberley went off to sulk, and Patti later heard that a woman had been washed up on Redondo Beach, which was near where she was living at the time, and she freaked out that it might be Kimberley (because Patti Smith is a bit of a DramaQueen), but it wasn't, and when Kimberley returned home, Patti was so grateful to see her that the fight was completely forgotten.

** "Kimberley"