"horses" was the first horse to reach the finish line of the great 70's new york "punk" groups. patti smith is not so much a great poet as a heavenly weaver of words and sound -- using spontaneity, improvisation, passion and rimbaud to create the greatest lyrical experience in rock since dylan's "blonde on blonde." "gloria" and "free money" are arguably the only "punk" things on here. but "birdland" and "land" defy and slip out of any clothed categorization, winning us all over with aethereal contingency. smith's imagistic shaman doo-wop in these tracks is matched with some very atmospheric music, particularly great guitar from lenny kaye and great keyboards by richard sohl. "break it up" features the swansong guitar debut of tom verlaine. bonus -- for purchasing this masterwork you get a free robert mapplethorpe print!