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Dream of Life is not an ambitious comeback album in the way that Gone Again is. This is Patti Smith peaking out of her house, waving hello and saying that she’s still here. I think that this could have been a great record, if someone didn’t go into the studio and polish everything within an inch of its life. Smith always sounds at her best and most exciting when she’s got at least a little bit of dirt on the track. She started life as one of the many punks at CBGB’s, give her that edge.
That’s not to say that there are no great moments on the record. There are, they’re just few and far between. “People Have the Power” is a cliché, but a cliché can have a tremendous amount of power when given the right amount of fury and passion behind it. Patti Smith obviously believes in what she is saying. The music is a little bland, but her delivery and lyrics elevate the song behind it’s too polished production and into one of her classic tracks. “Looking for You (I Was)” is a nice rocker. Nothing too crazy, it does sound a little like a Pretenders song too often though. That’s a problem throughout the entire album, Smith sounds too much like her spiritual daughters (Chrissie Hynde being the most obvious example), instead of leading the pack and charging ahead holding the white flag.
It’s alright though, a bad Patti Smith album is still better than most albums of the era. Or any era, really. While this might be a slight effort, she came charging back with passion, emotion, purpose and ambition with Gone Again. Dream of Life just serves as a reminder that Smith was still kicking around some ideas and still had some drive as an artist, just needed to let go of the MOR sound. DOWNLOAD: "People Have the Power"
