For 41 år siden skrev Lester Bangs dette om en sangerinde, der var ved slå igenne i amerikansk rock:

Her sound is as new-old as her look. You hear the Shangri-Las and other early Sixties girl groups, as well as Jim Morrison, Lotte Lenya, Anisette of Savage Rose, Velvet Underground, beatniks and Arabs. Meanwhile, the minimalism of the band forces her sound out front along with the poetry, and that sound stands. This is not a “spoken-word” album, it’s a rock’n’roll album, and even if you couldn’t understand a word of English you couldn’t miss the emotional force of Patti’s music.

Det er en cadeau til den formodentlig største danske rocksangerinde nogensinde, at en amerikansk rockkritiker bruger hende i sit forsøg på at forklare Patti Smith og hendes musik og fremtoning. Og ret beset ikke så underligt endda, her efter alle årene.