If Patti Smith [ tickets ] had decided to call it quits after releasing only one record, 1975's "Horses," she'd still qualify as one of the most important artists in rock history.

Thankfully, she didn't throw in the towel at that point and instead went on to release the late-'70s classics "Easter" and "Wave," as well as the recent masterworks "Trampin'" and "Gung Ho."

"Horses," however, was the album that truly changed the course of rock 'n' roll. It blended the graceful wordplay of Allen Ginsberg and other Beat poets with the three-chord passion of New York City's soon-to-erupt punk scene in a way that has continued to influence and shape popular music ever since.

To mark the 30th anniversary of the milestone recording, Smith and her long-time collaborator, guitarist Lenny Kaye, have embarked on a short tour. During a stop on Monday (11/14) at San Francisco's gorgeous Great American Music Hall, the duo firmly reminded a capacity crowd (which, really, didn't need reminding) why "Horses" is rightfully considered one of the greatest debuts of all time.

After reading a pair of original poems to start the show, the vocalist kicked off the musical portion of the evening in the present and began to work her way back through time. Although everyone in attendance was salivating over the prospect of hearing the "Horses" material, the newer songs--especially "Gandhi" and "My Blakean Year," both of which hail from 2004's "Trampin'"--were anything but letdowns.

Smith first rode into "Horses" territory with a solid version of "Kimberly," which was served up with a mix of doo-wop and '60s surf-rock flavors. The crowd cheered its approval as the duo continued with a sunny rendition of "Redondo Beach" and then took flight with a escalating take on the mighty "Birdland."

The vocalist sounded stronger than I've heard her in years, maybe stretching back to 2000, but she was also a bit distracted on stage. She messed up the lyrics on a few songs and, in general, seemed to be a little unsure of where she was headed with this show. Some of her breaks between songs went on far longer than was necessary.

"I was buying time because I didn't want to sing the next song," Smith explained to the crowd during one uncomfortably lengthy hiatus between numbers. "Then I realized I'd already sung it."

Fortunately, most of these songs were good enough to have warranted hearing twice. The crowd could have certainly handled repeat performances of both Smith's moving cover of Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" and the intense version of "Dancing Barefoot" (from 1979's "Wave").

Smith, as usual, rose to the occasion for the anthem "People Have the Power," which her late husband, MC5's Fred "Sonic" Smith, wrote for 1988's "Dream of Life." She then brought the main set to an uproarious finish with the best-known "Horses" track, "Gloria." The ensuing encore featured a stinging version of the "Easter" classic "Rock N Roll N----," which, oddly enough, is a track that U2 is covering on some dates of its current tour.

In other related news, Arista/Columbia/Legacy Recordings released a two-disc special edition of Smith's debut earlier this month. The set, entitled "Horses/Horses," features a remastered version of the original album, as well as a live performance of the complete work that was recorded earlier this year at the Royal Festival Hall in London.

Smith and Kaye will next perform tonight (11/15) in Los Angeles, before joining the rest of the Patti Smith [ tickets ] Group to open two nights (11/21-22) for U2 at Madison Square Garden in New York.