For an artist's songs to be covered by another artist is typically a badge of honor, a sign that they've written something worth the attention of others. If the cover is better it can breathe new life into the track, and if the artist is more renowned it means more fame for the original artist. So what does it mean when the covers are inferior to the original or the artist is already famous enough that a cover gives them nothing new?
These questions are what hang over Twelve, Patti Smith's latest studio album. Smith, a member of Rolling Stone's ""immortals"" and a recent inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, has put together an album covering some of the most accomplished musical acts in the last 50 years. It might be an honor for each of the artists featured, but it's a disappointing move for someone hailed as the poet laureate of punk rock.
Smith has frequently adapted other artists' material—covers of Van Morrison, the Who and Prince have all been some of her top songs, and she celebrated her entrance into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Rolling Stones' ""Gimme Shelter"" (also appearing on Twelve). Her creating an album like this is not a surprise, especially as she has been absent from recording since 2004's Trampin'.
The problem is many of the tracks she has selected are so iconic that her voice, dark and mysterious as it is, seems weak in comparison to the originals. Try as she might, she can't match Jimi Hendrix's soul in ""Are You Experienced?,"" the near-orgasmic intensity of Grace Slick on ""White Rabbit"" or the deep sincerity of George Harrison's ""Within You, Without You."" She weaves in some haunted whispering and sonic tweaking at the ends of each track, but those are too few to make the cover extraordinary.
Fortunately, Smith is a talented enough musician to make some of these covers worth listening toA-—though mainly the less famous ones. ""Everybody Wants To Rule The World,"" by British pop band Tears for Fears, has an excellent swing reminiscent of late 1970's punk rock. ""Changing of the Guards,"" a lesser-known Bob Dylan track from 1978, is covered acoustically and harkens back to the days when a solo guitar performance was the norm for Dylan.
The exception to the album's rule of weakly covering famous songs is Nirvana's infamous ""Smells Like Teen Spirit."" Smith not only re-invents the song with a bluegrass set-up of banjo plucking, but actually sings a version with comprehensible lyrics. It's a surprising rendition of an old classic, and probably the most innovative track on the album.
Twelve is not a bad album, but it is a wholly unremarkable one—these songs have all been heard before, and half of them have already been covered by far less qualified musicians. With her literate mind, history of political engagement and still-potent voice, Smith would be better served creating new material.
