Gung Ho

1	One Voice 4:04
2	Lo and Beholden 4:43
3	Boy Cried Wolf 4:51
4	Persuasion 4:33
5	Gone Pie 4:04
6	China Bird 4:07
7	Glitter in Their Eyes 3:03
8	Strange Messengers 8:02
9	Grateful 4:29
10	Upright Come 2:58
11	New Party 4:30
12	Libbie's Song 3:26
13	Gung Ho 11:41

Barnes & Noble

Age certainly hasn't mellowed this first-wave punk revolutionary, in either spirit or sound, as evidenced by this bracing collection of fierce individualist declarations. The passionate rocker keeps one foot in mystical territory (which yields songs like "Strange Messengers" and "China Bird") and uses the other to kick up sociopolitical dust on tunes like the opening "One Voice" (an animated entreaty for human unity). Musically, GUNG HO is, well, a bit less gungho than much of Smith's work -- and better for it. Not that there aren't big guitars -- powerful riffs abound. But delicate textures and hooky guitar interplay between longtime collaborator Lenny Kaye and Oliver Ray make this one of her most melodic efforts ever. When things lock in, as on the angular pop rock of "Glitter in Their Eyes," which features cameos by Michael Stipe and fellow '70s stalwart Tom Verlaine, Smith actually sounds radio-ready. Still, the singer can't shed her iconoclast edge. GUNG HO's cover bears a World War II-era photo of her late father in full army regalia and a song dedicated to Vietnamese communist leader Ho Chi Minh. And while that's a scope broad enough to spin heads even in these postmodern times, the music is very focused. For fans that yearn for the Patti of yore, this is the album you've been awaiting. David Sprague

All Music Guide

Patti Smith's late-'90s comeback was devoted to reflective, intensely emotional music that explored her life in seclusion and the losses that forced her to reconnect with the larger world. They were acclaimed, ambitious, successful records, but they steered away from Smith's angry, activist muse, plus her penchant for visceral music. She rediscovers both on Gung Ho, her most immediate album in years. "Immediate" doesn't necessarily mean rock & roll, though. At times, she does reconnect with garage punk, notably on the Farifisa-fueled "Persuasion" and "Glitter in Their Eyes," which is graced by the guitar of Tom Verlaine, but her remarkable band -- featuring guitarists Lenny Kaye and Oliver Ray, bassist Tony Shanahan, and drummer Jay Dee Daugherty -- sounds direct and forceful even on the mid-tempo cuts that dominate the album. Smith doesn't shy away from the personal -- after all, the cover shot features her father, Grant, and the title track appears to deal with his war experiences -- but she works on a broader plane throughout the album, concentrating on larger, social messages even in the more intimate moments. The result may not be as haunting as Gone Again, but it's superficially nervier, reminiscent of a subdued, mature version of Easter. In other words, it's another handsome, shaded, and satisfying work from an artist who has reconnected with her muse. Stephen Thomas Erlewine