Patti Smith released some good albums, but any serious fan of hers will tell you that she performed most of her material better live. There are a number of fine Patti Smith bootlegs, but this one — taken from a January 1976 show at the Roxy in Los Angeles, with near-perfect fidelity — is both her best and her best-known. Besides incendiary versions of several songs from her first few LPs, it features covers of "Louie Louie," "My Generation" (with John Cale guesting), and The Velvet Underground's "We're Gonna Have a Good Time Together" and "Pale Blue Eyes," as well as entertaining between-song raps and even a brief cameo by Iggy Pop. It's no exaggeration to claim that this may be her best album, and one of the best '70s punk/new wave albums of all.