Patti Smith Group Wave (Vinyl, Arista, 1979) *** Patti Smith Dream Of Life (Vinyl, Arista, 1988) *** Genre: Alternative rock Places I remember: Marbecks Records (the record cover has the sticker to prove it!) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Frederick Gear costume: Looking For You (I Was); Dream Of Life; Dancing Barefoot; Citizen Ship. Active compensatory factors: These two albums were much appreciated by me at the time, but, in hindsight, they are somewhat spotty mid period albums. Both tried out more mainstream rock sounds and so I've grouped them together here. Wave is the last album by the Patti Smith Group and when she returned to music nine years later it was without the brilliant Lenny Kaye on guitar (he was replaced on Dream Of Life by her husband - Fred Sonic Smith). Fred was probably a better guitarist technically, but Lenny is the perfect foil for Patti and I missed his presence. Stylistically Dream of Life is more consistently successful than Wave, but Wave has more peaks (no apologies for the pun), and more connections to the firey PSG of old. Still, it's Patti and she is yet to put out a bad record y'all! Where do they all belong? When Patti's next album, Gone Again, came after Dreams, it was another 8 years later and Lenny was back. What's 16 years between friends?