Probably one of the first women to mix punk, bizarre poetry and hard rock, PattiSmith returns with "Gung Ho," her first album of new materialin nearly three years. Here, instead of swearing like a mad woman andgrowling like a true punkster, Smith focuses on the range of herdistinctive voice and the rhythm of her band.

"GungHo" could be Smith's most highly-acclaimed album to date. It'sloaded with wonderful harmonies and ranges from her punk roots to heroriginal gritty ballads. No one can call Smith a sellout or a popstar.

Smith is one of the most uncompromised female rock artistsin history. She made four ground-breaking records in the late ྂs andwas one of the very first artists signed to Arista Records - now one ofAmerica's biggest record companies. Smith had only one top 20 hit,"Because the Night," but she remains a legend and hasinfluenced many rock groups, including Hole, Nirvana, REM andGarbage.

Smith's songwriting ability fuels her music. She is ableto go where most songwriters only dream. "Gung Ho" is a bitmore refined than most of her other records and not as dark and creepy,but nearly all her albums retain the trail of gritty rock she leftbehind in the ྂs. In other words, I like Patti Smith.