# Easter (Patti Smith Group album)

Easter is the third studio album by American musician Patti Smith, and the second release where her backing band Patti Smith Group is billed. It was released in March 1978 by Arista Records. Produced by Jimmy Iovine, the album is regarded as the group's commercial breakthrough, owing to the success of the rock single "Because the Night" (co-written by Bruce Springsteen and Smith), which reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number five on the UK Singles Chart.

## History

The first album released since Smith had suffered a neck injury while touring for Radio Ethiopia, Easter has been called the most commercially accessible of the Patti Smith Group's catalogue. Unlike its two predecessors, Easter incorporated a diversity of musical styles, including straightforward rock ("Because the Night"), classic rock and roll ("25th Floor/High on Rebellion", "Rock N Roll Nigger"), folk ("Ghost Dance") and spoken word ("Babelogue"). Easter is the only 1970s album of Smith's that does not feature Richard Sohl as part of the Patti Smith Group; in one interview at the time, Smith stated that Sohl was sick and this prevented him from participating in recording the album. Bruce Brody is credited as the keyboard player, though Sohl makes a guest appearance contributing keyboards to "Space Monkey", along with Blue Öyster Cult keyboardist Allen Lanier. The cover photograph is by Lynn Goldsmith and the liner notes photography by Cindy Black and Robert Mapplethorpe.

## Religious imagery

In addition to the religious allusion of its title, the album is replete with biblical and specifically Christian imagery. "Privilege (Set Me Free)" is taken from the British fame- and authoritarianism-satirizing film Privilege; its lyrics are adapted from Psalm 23. The LP insert reproduces a First Communion portrait of Frederic and Arthur Rimbaud, and Smith's notes for the song "Easter" invoke Catholic imagery of baptism, communion and the blood of Christ. A solitary hand-drawn cross is placed below the group member credits on the sleeve insert, and the last sentence of the liner notes is a quote from Second Epistle to Timothy 4:7 -- "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course ..."
Beyond Christian themes, the song "Ghost Dance" references the Ghost Dance Native American religious revival of the late 19th century.

## Critical reception

Retrospective professional ratings :
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Chicago Tribune | |
| Christgau's Record Guide | A− |
| Los Angeles Times | |
| Mojo | |
| Pitchfork | 8.8/10 |
| Q | |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
| Spin | |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 6/10 |
Easter was highly acclaimed upon its release. Rolling Stone critic Dave Marsh called it "transcendent and fulfilled", while Sandy Robertson proclaimed that "the rock 'n' roll resurrection is upon us" in his review of the album for Sounds. In Creem, Nick Tosches deemed Easter to be Smith's best work, "truer and surer and less uneven than her previous albums". Robert Christgau of The Village Voice felt that the music "is as basic as ever in its instrumentation and rhythmic thrust, but grander, more martial", and that "most of these songs are rousing in the way they're meant to be." Lester Bangs, however, began his review of the album in Phonograph Record, "Dear Patti, start the revolution without me", and contended that while Horses had changed his life, Easter "is just a very good album". The Globe and Mail called the album "as terse and sculpted a rock 'n' roll statement as the band had made to that point." Easter placed at number 14 in The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics' poll of the best albums of 1978, while NME ranked it the 46th best album of the year.

## Personnel

Patti Smith Group
* Patti Smith – vocals, Duo-Sonic guitar
* Lenny Kaye – Stratocaster guitar, bass guitar, vocals
* Jay Dee Daugherty – drums, percussion
* Ivan Král – bass guitar, vocals, Les Paul guitar
* Bruce Brody – keyboards, synthesizer
Additional personnel
* Richard Sohl – keyboards on "Space Monkey"
* Allen Lanier – keyboards on "Space Monkey"
* John Paul Fetta – bass guitar on "Till Victory" and "Privilege"
* Andi Ostrowe – percussion on "Ghost Dance"
* Jimmy Maxwell – bagpipes on "Easter"
* Tom Verlaine – arrangement on "We Three" (in 1974)
* Todd Smith – head of crew
Technical
* Jimmy Iovine – production, mixing
* Shelly Yakus – mixing
* Greg Calbi – mastering
* Thom Panunzio – engineering
* Gray Russell – engineering
* Charlie Conrad – engineering
* Joe Intile – engineering
Design
* Lynn Goldsmith – cover photography
* Robert Mapplethorpe – insert photography
* Cindy Black – insert photography
* John Roberts – insert photography
* Maude Gilman – insert design

## Liner notes

In the insert with the original LP release (reproduced in the 1996 reissue), Smith's self-penned liner notes refer, among other things, to:
* Arthur Rimbaud – 19th century French poet, sometime companion of Paul Verlaine. Lived in Ethiopia for the last 11 years of his life.
* Frédéric Rimbaud – Arthur's brother.
* 42nd Street and Ninth Avenue, New York – 1970s crime-ridden zone.
* Privilege – 1967 British movie.
* Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones – A concert movie released in 1974.
* Alain Delon – French actor.
* Pier Paolo Pasolini – 1960s Italian poet and film director.
* Bernardo Bertolucci – 1960s Italian writer and film director.
* Jean-Luc Godard – 1960s Franco-Swiss filmmaker.
* August 16, 1977 (1977-08-16) – date of Elvis Presley's death.
* Ghost Dance – 19th century religious movement among some Native American tribes.
* r.e.f.m. – Radio Ethiopia Field Marshal.
* Jean Shrimpton – 1960s British model and actress.
* Paul Jones – 1960s British musician and actor.
* Charles Baudelaire – 19th century French poet.
* CBGB – New York music club.
* Little Richard – 20th century American singer-songwriter.
* New Jersey.
* The UN's declaration of 1979 as International Year of the Child.

## Charts

| Chart (1978) | Peak position |
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) | 80 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) | 43 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) | 20 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) | 10 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) | 34 |
| UK Albums (OCC) | 16 |
| US Billboard 200 | 20 |
| Chart (2019) | Peak position |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) | 194 |

## Certifications and sales

| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| France (SNEP) | Gold | 100,000$^*$ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | Silver | 60,000$^^$ |
| $^*$ Sales figures based on certification alone. $^^$ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |||

## Release history

| Date | Label | Format | Catalog no. |
| March 1978 | Arista Records | LP | 4171 |
| 1996 | Arista Records | CD | |
| 2007 | Sony BMG | CD | 37929 |
| 2008 | Sony BMG | "Original Album Classics" CD box set | 88697313832 |