Patti Smith has announced a 50th anniversary reissue of her landmark debut album ‘Horses’, accompanied by the release of a previously unheard track titled ‘Snowball’. The reissue is due out on October 10 and will be available in 2xLP and 2xCD editions, both featuring newly remastered audio and a collection of rare recordings.
Originally released in 1975, ‘Horses’ marked Smith’s arrival as one of rock’s most uncompromising and visionary voices. The record blended poetry with punk, channelling urgency and raw emotion into a sound that challenged the conventions of the era.
Over the decades, the album has earned widespread critical acclaim and enduring recognition. It was awarded the prestigious Charles Cros Award, inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2021, and selected for preservation in the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry.
Publications have consistently hailed its importance. NME placed ‘Horses’ at number 12 on its list of the greatest albums of all time, describing Smith as “a punk poet like no other” and praising the album as “screeching and visceral, raw with fury and full of desire […] rapturous rock n’ roll.”
The 50th anniversary edition of ‘Horses’ delves deeper into the making of the record. Alongside the remastered album, fans will gain access to alternate takes of tracks, Smith’s original 1975 audition tape for RCA, and four previously unreleased songs: ‘Distant Fingers’, ‘The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game’, ‘We Three’, and ‘Snowball’. ‘Snowball’ has been released early to give listeners a taste of the rare material unearthed for this reissue.
To further mark the milestone, Smith has announced a special European tour in October, performing ‘Horses’ in full alongside other career highlights. The tour will visit seven cities, including London, Dublin, Madrid, Bergamo, Brussels, Oslo, and Paris. London’s iconic Palladium will host Smith for two consecutive nights on October 12 and 13.
‘Horses’ is widely considered one of the most influential debut albums in modern music, noted for its combination of poetry and rock. The new edition aims to showcase not only the original recording but also previously unheard material that sheds further light on Smith’s early work.
Pre-orders for the 50th anniversary edition are now available via the link here.
In case you missed it, MXDWN’s earlier coverage of Patti Smith bringing her 50th anniversary tour to London can be read here.
