Twelve<\/i> is Patti Smith\u2019s most recent studio album and of her ten proper solo albums, it is one of her most pleasing offerings.\u00a0 Smith has often been lauded for her interpretive abilities when covering other artists\u2019 work, either in the studio or onstage, so it was no real surprise to me when this record turned up a few years ago.\u00a0 What was a surprise to me, however, was how easily Smith made these songs fit her style of delivery and how quickly I forgot who the original artist that recorded some of these songs was. <\/p>\n
It goes (almost) without saying that Twelve<\/i> consists of twelve songs by some of Smith\u2019s favorite writers and a couple of what at first seem random selections (a faithful rendition of \u201cEverybody Wants To Rule The World\u201d is the most surprising inclusion here) but have much in common both in theme and feeling of the rest of the material here.\u00a0 Smith was determined to choose these songs predominately by their lyrical content, and it\u2019s here that a common thread appears, linking these gems together seamlessly.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Supported brilliantly by her road band, Smith tackles these songs with vigor and soul.\u00a0 Her take on The Stones\u2019 classic \u201cGimme Shelter\u201d is a prime example of that, featuring one of her more stirring performances on the record.\u00a0 Equally effective but more relaxed is her reading of The Doors\u2019 \u201cSoul Kitchen,\u201d in which Patti finds room to breathe new life into.\u00a0 Smith changes pace again for a beautifully melancholic delivery of Neil Young\u2019s \u201cHelpless\u201d that is easily the record\u2019s most tender moment, and a much needed one at that.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Smith\u2019s versatility as a singer is so prominent through this album that it still rewards this listener after countless plays of her simmering take on Hendrix\u2019 \u201cAre You Experienced?\u201d and her down-and-out drawl on The Allman Brothers\u2019 \u201cMidnight Rider.\u201d\u00a0 Smith then offers an enchanting but poignant delivery of Stevie Wonder\u2019s \u201cPastime Paradise\u201d that is more stripped back and focused than Wonder\u2019s grand original.\u00a0 Another odd selection is Jefferson Airplane\u2019s \u201cWhite Rabbit\u201d, but Patti\u2019s spaced-out performance is on a par with Grace Slick\u2019s and although I will always prefer the original (as with most songs here), it still offers a new twist to an old gem.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Not afraid to tackle the big guns, Smith gives The Beatles\u2019 \u201cWithin You Without You\u201d a superb reading as the band finds a comfortable fit without ever imitating their idols; it\u2019s a fine line to walk, but they pull it off very well indeed.\u00a0 Possibly Smith\u2019s biggest idol is of course Bob Dylan, whose work Patti became enchanted with in the \u201860s.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
So while it certainly was not a surprise to see Smith had covered a Dylan song here, it was a curious choice in my mind.\u00a0 \u201cChanging Of The Guards\u201d (from Dylan\u2019s polarizing Street Legal<\/i>) is not the easiest fit for Smith, or any singer for that matter.\u00a0 Dylan\u2019s original is a long, rambling noisy affair that he sneers and howls his way over.\u00a0 Again, though, Twelve<\/i> was lyrically driven and it is a perfect fit in that sense, but it is the one song on the record that I wish wasn\u2019t here because it just isn\u2019t in the same class as its companions.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Faring much better is a straightforward romp through Paul Simon\u2019s \u201cThe Boy In The Bubble,\u201d which for some reason is one of two covers here that I actually prefer to the originals.\u00a0 The other one of these may sound a little strange, but then again I was never fan of Nirvana or grunge in general.\u00a0 Yep, by far the best and most radically reworked song on Twelve<\/i> is the glorious \u201cSmells Like Teen Spirit.\u201d\u00a0 The arrangement is dark and slightly haunting, as is Patti\u2019s remarkable delivery.\u00a0 Not only does Smith tap into the song\u2019s psyche with an unnerving ease, but she somehow makes it a more macabre experience than it already was.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
It really is stunning.\u00a0 Along with 2004\u2019s Trampin\u2019, Twelve <\/i>represents the best of Smith\u2019s work from the last twenty-odd years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":30539,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[5805],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-42206","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-patti-smith","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/42206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/42206\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=42206"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=42206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}