Outside Society

Hard to believe this is Smith’s first one-disc compilation album. (A 2-CD package, “Land” (2002), added outtakes and demos.) One hopes this introduces the punk pioneer and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer to a new audience. A chronological sampling of 10 studio albums, rather than a “best of” per se, results in some head-scratcher choices: No “Redondo Beach”?!

FCC: stay away from track #6

1 *** G.L.O.R.I.A. Starts slow; builds to furious velocity and emotion. Rework of Van Morrison hit, filled with hipster ennui, blasphemy, sexual desire & badass rebellion. (5:53)

2 *** Starts slow, shifts to fast, then super fast. Youthful optimism: we don’t have money, but we’ve got each other. Sheer genius on rhythm guitar. (3:50)

3 **** Mid tempo. Guitar transcends; drums shred. Primitive & animistic, like a tribal fertility dance till she’s possessed by spirits. If Stravinsky wrote a rock song. (6:35)

4 **** Slow. Starts with just piano and voice. Add organ, drums, male voice. Then add blistering lead guitar. Stays slow but builds in power and intensity. If Mahler wrote a rock song. (4:51)

5 ** Mid tempo. Her most radio-friendly song, co-written w Springsteen, is very well known and has been covered by others. Classic rock rather than punk with more polished singing. (3:23)

6 FCC: fuck, whore, nigger. Equal parts beat-poetry reading, punk-rock onslaught, and nuclear explosion. This might be **** but you can’t play it. (4:52)

7 *** Mid tempo. Love song: obsessive, intense, mystical, desperate. She sings in a low, trancelike voice. In a second vox track, she recites poetry over the singing. (4:17)

8 *** Mid tempo. Love letter to future husband. Almost pop w hummable melody, sung in higher, more attractive register. Guitars take a breather to let keyboards carry load. (3:02)

9 * Garage-band cover of Byrd’s hit. Sung slower & lower than McGuinn. In fact the pace drags a bit. Guitar solo is faithful to the original. Drummer bangs awfully hard. (4:19)

10 *** Fast. A loud, inspiring, clenched-fist-in-the-air political anthem, with rhythm guitar, wall-of-sound organ, an avalanche of drumming, and terrific singing. (5:07)

11 *** Fast. Loud. Cryptic lyrics include religious symbolism, references to Warhol & Mondrian. More lead guitar than in most tracks. Powerful singing; angry at times. (4:49)

12 * Mid-tempo. Sort of folk-rock feel. Odd, disquieting travelogue lyrics. (4:35)

13 Mid-tempo. Very strange song. Combines Dylan-esque story telling with B-52s goofiness. In the end, it comes across as a silly novelty song. (4:09)

14 ** Mid fast. Political folk-rock about 1959 Tibetan uprising. Instrumental bridge with several guitars is quite good. (3:58)

15 *** Fast. Loud. Protest against corporate greed and power, with references to the 1999 WTO demonstrations in Seattle. Returns almost to the power of the early stuff. (3:03)

16 * Mid tempo. Seduction in some exotic place, long ago. Interesting and unusual. (4:19)

17 Mid slow. Unplugged, countrified (banjo, fiddle) remake of Nirvana song. Yawn. (5:49)

18 Slow. Vox accompanied only by piano. An old “Sweet Chariot”-style spiritual. The effort and intent are laudable, but her voice just doesn’t suit this. (2:52)