Outside Society: Looking Back 1975-2007
by Patti Smith
  • Record Label: Columbia
  • Release Date: Aug 23, 2011
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
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  1. Blurt Magazine
    Sep 9, 2011
    90
    Outside Society serves as an excellent primer for the young person looking to delve into the genius of Patti Smith for the first time as well as an essential addition to the record shelf of any seasoned fan well versed in the catalog of this high priestess of rock 'n' roll.
  2. Q Magazine
    Sep 22, 2011
    80
    Poetess-godmother of punk compiles own Best Of. And she's still sustaining. [Oct 2011, p.137]
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  3. PopMatters
    Sep 9, 2011
    80
    All hail Patti Smith, the postmodern beat queen who looks back at what she's done and finds a pattern; where excess in all things is fine if succeeded by its opposite.
  5. Uncut
    Sep 8, 2011
    80
    This linear, orderly chronicle i s a faithful overview of the studio career nevertheless. [Sep 2011, p.100]
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  6. BBC Music
    Aug 30, 2011
    80
    A fine place to sample much of Smith's considerable oeuvre.
  7. Consequence
    Aug 29, 2011
    80
    She is an artist that defines edge, pulsing with an energy that no other musician could duplicate, delivering images and lines that no one else would have imagined.
  8. Rolling Stone
    Aug 26, 2011
    80
    It flows better than 2002's double-disc anthology, Land. It also does a better job contextualizing her later stuff as personal and pop-culture history
  9. NOW Magazine
    Aug 25, 2011
    80
    Because The Night, a Bruce Springsteen co-write whose lyrics she penned for Fred Smith before they were married, still holds special power, especially this remastered version.
  10. Slant Magazine
    Aug 24, 2011
    80
    For most of its runtime, Outside Society captures a time when Smith's music was as naïve, romantic, and unforced as her memoir, even if, by the end, the labored intensity of her poetry has prevailed.
  11. AllMusic
    Aug 23, 2011
    80
    While Smith fans no doubt have everything contained here -- of the 18 tracks collected , each album is represented -- this disc serves as an excellent introduction to Smith's ever evolving, non-compromising art which combines high-stakes poetry with rock & roll.
  12. The Boston Phoenix
    Aug 24, 2011
    75
    Indeed, although she's best known for those late-'70s Hotel Chelsea/CBGB-era fringe-punk albums, Outside Society illuminates some of Smith's underrated pop-minded phases.
  13. Clash Music
    Sep 6, 2011
    70
    There's nothing here for the existing fan base but enough to entice new arrivals and strong enough to furnish a fresh interest from them.
  14. American Songwriter
    Aug 24, 2011
    70
    Outside Society is necessarily uneven, but it's persuasive nevertheless, if only because it tells a clear story of an artist who fought to define and redefine herself constantly.
  15. Pitchfork
    Aug 30, 2011
    59
    For Smith's first four albums, Outside Society is an abridgement that doesn't really do her justice.

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User Score
8.8

Universal acclaim- based on 8 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. 8-bit-waffle
    May 10, 2016
    6
    I thought the album was good and worth the buy for those who like this kind of music but for me it was just ok and worth a pass. I've seenI thought the album was good and worth the buy for those who like this kind of music but for me it was just ok and worth a pass. I've seen better by Patti Smith and this album dosn't show improvment.… Full Review »
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