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56 of 61 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not without merit., April 26, 2007
It is almost impossible to understand what tempted the original rock poetess, an icon, a heroine to put her reputation under the microscope with this album of twelve cover versions, with tracks by Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, the Stones and the Beatles among others.
If you love the sound of her voice, it is impossible to find the album entirely without merit, and on the plus side there are laid-back, rocky versions of the Doors' "Soul Kitchen" and the Allman Brothers' "Midnight Rider".
But does the world need to hear her take on Tears for Fears' "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"?
The interpretations make Smith's distinctive delivery sound like a parody of itself. Because her essence is missing, the album feels like a waste of her considerable talent.
Patti Smith doing old chestnuts from Tears For Fears and Paul Simon holds out no promise of magic.
However, there are joyful surprises here.
"Gimme Shelter is definitive Stones, "White Rabbit" the essence of psychedelia, and "Pastime Paradise" gorgeous beyond words.
With the help of that wonderful voice, still maturing, and a set of imaginative arrangements, Smith has reinvented all three and given us versions good enough to set beside the originals.
Best of all is a banjo and fiddle-driven romp through "Smells Like Teen Spirit" which reveals the splendour of that song in a different light. Seizing the moment, the rock poetess adds some sizzling words that Kurt Cobain would have been proud to call his own.
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35 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dust off your vinyl & feed your head, May 6, 2007
Patti's always had a way with cover songs. In the early days, she'd begin her gigs with the Velvet Underground's "We're Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together." She's always had a tendency towards wacky - I've seen her cover "Tomorrow" from Annie and "You Light Up My Life" in concerts. She's always paid homage to her musical influences - the Who's "My Generation", Manfred Mann's "5,4,3,2,1". Even Prince's "When Doves Cry". Not every cover song can be deconstructed & reinvented like "Gloria." That she pulled that off at all is a feat few would dare, little less succeed at.
I was looking forward to this set of cover songs just to see what was going on in Patti's mind. Her appreciation of rock music, heroes, and history is comprehensive. With Lenny Kaye at her side, a musical encyclopedia, it proves to be quite a collection.
Most of the criticism seems to center around the fact that she doesn't take the bait and tear the songs apart to reinvent them. While that critique is correct, in my opinion, it misses the point. There is a warmth, almost a reverence, to the collection of songs. There is true affection, and a personal connection, to each of these songs that makes Twelve unique in her canon. Never has Patti & Company sounded so relaxed, confident, and warm. There is none of her trademark urgency or stridence.
Instead, her voice shows a new maturity. When did Patti learn to sing? She practically croons Everybody Wants to Rule the World. Personally, I never much cared for the song, but find myself hitting replay for her version. Soul Kitchen has the same relaxed vibe - somehow it's much, much sexier with her singing the song than Jim Morrison's version. I also like the garbage truck story in the booklet about how it came to be included.
I'm glad that the connection between Grace Slick and Patti isn't just in my head. There actually IS a connection between these two maverick queens of rock & roll, these two non-R&B chick singers that stand alone amongst all the great women vocalists of rock. Patti's take on White Rabbit is wonderful - complete with feedback, spoken word poetry, and then the crisp bass & drum bolero.
Even more telling is the unplugged retake on Smells Like Teen Spirit. Truthfully, I never had a clue what Kurt Cobain was singing lyrically. Patti enunciates the lyrics (which are formidible.) I love the banjo, dulcimer, accoustic guitars and upright bass. The bass is the only thing that ties this version to the original. Outstanding!
Partime Paradise is also performed beautifully. I hadn't thought of that song in years, maybe even a decade. There are no out & out misses here. Just a couple where it would be impossible, by anybody, to improve upon the original - Gimme Shelter, The Boy in the Bubble, Are You Experienced?, Helpless, Changing of the Guards (OK, point well taken by the reviewer who mentioned the elimination of the background singers on Street Legal. But I've always felt Dylan is the best interpreter of Dylan - despite everybody's best efforts.)
There are also a couple that were pretty mediocre to begin with - Within You Without You, and Midnight Rider. Patti puts her stamp on them, and I find them evocative, but ultimately placeholders until she gets around to another song I like better.
As befitting a poet, it's mostly about the words and their power. Patti puts the emphasis on the lyrics with ALL the songs - she bites the liness out, enunciates, emphasizes, emotes. There are unexpected musical flourishes with clarinets, dulcimers, mandolins, banjos. This is what elevates the collection for me. With only a couple of exceptions, she feels no need to add her own lyrics or poetry. Considering her own talent in this area, her omission is telling.
Take it for what it is - a bedroom slippers, glass of cognac, late night CD of memories, reminders, and mile posts of one person's life in rock & roll. Who would make up your Twelve?
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
She's Good Under the Covers, June 5, 2007
Fresh on the heels of her Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction and perplexing as ever (in her case a good thing), Patti Smith has released "Twelve," a collection of a dozen cover songs. The woman Rolling Stone dubbed "punk's priestess and poet laureate" finds a way to cite her influences, take advantage of her recent publicity and also toss listeners a bone until she releases the self-penned follow up to 2004's critically embraced "Trampin'."
In keeping with her defiantly androgynous image, Smith covers songs exclusively written by male songwriters (with the lone exception of Grace Slick's "White Rabbit"), never failing to put her own signature stamp on each. She is not the conventional singer, having gained acclaim for a performance style that lies somewhere in-between singing and shouting, but the selections she has chosen lend themselves to it extremely well.
For instance, she injects a welcome shot of momentum into the Rolling Stones' spirited "Gimme Shelter," while accenting Neil Young's "Helpless" with beauty, grace and intensity. She event tips her hat to Bob Dylan in covering his underrated "Changing of the Guards," a single from his 1978 LP "Street Legal" that failed to make the Billboard charts. Her spirited, toned down delivery invokes a whole new level of appreciation of Dylan's words while also showcasing her astute empathy of them - this is not just any old cover.
The most surprising aspect of "Twelve," though, is Smith's more contemporary choices. Her flavorful reading of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World," which hit #1 on the pop charts for Tears For Fears back in 1985, trades in the pathos of the original for a more factual delivery in which the meaning of the lyrics emerges more clearly. She even adds some of her own poetry to her understated but effective take on Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit."
Elsewhere, Jefferson Airplane's classic "White Rabbit" and "Within You, Without You" by The Beatles work fine for Smith, although different covers from those bands might have proved more interesting. Still, other covers from the likes of Paul Simon, Jimi Hendrix and The Doors are effervescent, rewarding listens. The closing duo of "Midnight Rider" (The Allman Brothers Band) and "Pastime Paradise" (Stevie Wonder) concludes the album on a high note.
It may be a stopgap release, but Smith has never been one to release music that wasn't worth a second glance, and this time is no different. With an interesting mix of substantial, lyric-driven material she can sink her teeth into, she delivers another fine record and reminds listeners why she deserves her recent accolade.
An exclusive cover of R.E.M's "Everybody Hurts" is available at Target.
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