Can a girl from South Jersey who once sported a Rod Stewart haircut, ripped t-shirt, blackleather skintight pants and spit out angry rock and roll poems find happiness as a torch singer crooning "I Get A Kick Out Of You" in black and white satin in some of New York City's finer gay boites? Well. . . more than merely riding on the bandwagon of a new elegance, or chasing in On the camp nostalgia bit, Patti Smith seems honestly determined to expand her range. Or perhaps reach more people by incorporating some influences that have been with her all along. Maybe she even wants — at last — to have a Real Career, with a capital C.

I mean how long could she go on performing for free at the Judson Memorial Church? Granted^ there's always been that outlaw image associated with Patti's art — her lifestyle, her looks; but now it would seem that she's settled into something a little more — I think the word is accessible. .. She tried out some of the new stuff at Le Jardin over a month ago and people were skeptical. There's been talk of doing the Continental Baths, and a few weeks ago Patti performed for one night only at Reno Sweeney's — a club previously noted for presenting the talents of all the exffarlettes.