Although this album has more musical and melodic variety than 1997's Peace And Noise, it's not on a par with her best 70s work or later masterpieces like Gone Again. The one brilliant moment is the bluegrass number, Libbie's Song, a very moving and personal ode to General Custer after his death at Little Big Horn, through the words of his widow: "If it wasn't for your golden hair/would not be alone/I longed for you, I longed to die/The pillows bare by my side/Yet I shall abide." It's worth the price of the album hearing Patti go bluegrass on such a lovely composition. Gone Pie is passable but nothing special. New Party sort of gets there but not quite. There is none of the passion that characterizes her best work. A lot of the songs are plodding, uninspired affairs, lacking melody and direction. There's nothing anthemic about any of them and very few tunes that stick in the mind afterwards. Then again, it's not a bad album by any other standards than Patti Smith's own. Get it just for Libbie's Song which is a timeless masterpiece.