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Patti Smith
Twelve
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AMG Review of Twelve
Thom Jurek
All Music GuideAccording to her brief liner notes, Patti Smith indulged the idea of a covers album, considering songs as far back as 1978 on the back pages of Jean Genet's Thief's Journal when she was still assembling her groundbreaking early catalog; it's evident she feels that covers have been part and parcel of her recording experience from the outset. Her debut, Horses, has her own apocalyptic version of Van Morrison's "Gloria" as well as a healthy portion of Chris Kenner's "Land of a Thousand Dances" inside "Land." On 1979's Wave she covered the Byrds "So You Want to Be (A Rock and Roll Star)," and scored with the single. Her intuitive reading of Bob Dylan's "Wicked Messenger" was a beautiful aspect of Gone Again in 1996, and she paid tribute to Allen Ginsberg by using one of his poems in "Spell," on 1997's Peace and Noise. And who can forget her reading of Pete Townshend's "My Generation" issued on the 30th Anniversary edition of Horses?
While it's a popular notion these days to consider a covers album a stop-gap between albums, the truth is that Smith has never been in a hurry when it comes to recording, though she has been very productive over the last decade. She has always paid tribute in one form or another to her heroes, however disparate. This collection is a wondrous sampling of pop hits, hard rock, allads, and soul done in Smith's inimitable way of interpreting songs -- by getting inside them and breathing their meaning, and often uncovering new shades of meaning -- from within. She begins with a newer, more spiritual reading of Jimi Hendrix's "Are You Experienced?" letting her fine band -- Jay Dee Daugherty, Lenny Kaye and Tony Shanahan -- pulse the tune's changes and vibe while she comes across as a shaman leading the way down into the underworld. Her taking on Tears for Fears' smash hit "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" may come as a surprise, but in her open-throated take, the tune brims with the wisdom of a prophetess proclaiming the folly of humankind's need for power and greed. And while her version of Neil Young's "Helpless" may come across as a bit too reverent, the seed of memory is what infuses her take on this beautiful ballad. Loss and remembrance become a memento mori, an effigy to those who who've traveled on from this plane of existence. "Gimme Shelter" is a natural, and it carries all the foreboding of an apocalypse out the original nearly 40 years later as if to say that Jagger and Richard were right all along. The tune becomes a plea for shelter, rather than a demand. George Harrison's "Within You Without You" is the complete blending of spiritual longing, with droning acoustic guitars, skittering snares and open chord drones from Kaye's electric and fleshly experience. Smith's read of Dylan's "Changing of the Guard" is ambitious. Where the original was drenched in mariachi horns and a female backing chorus, she overturns those trappings and accents Dylan's last expressionistic lyric. She sings as if everything is at stake in this clash between the forces of light and darkness, where Melville, Dumas, Joan of Arc, the myth of Orpheus and the tales of Ovid are informed by both biblical prophecy and the tarot. The meld of acoustic guitars, brushed drums and muted kickdrum wind around her. The piano and Kaye's muted electric guitars fill the space where most of the backing vocals and horns once were -- except where Smith's daughter Jesse Paris Smith harmonizes -- and seduce the emotion out of the nearly surreal narrative of renunciation.
Perhaps no tune moves here like Smith's reading of "Smells Like Teen Spirit," with help from Sam Shepherd and John Cohen on banjo, Peter Stampfel on fiddle, and Kaye and Duncan Webster on guitar in a strange dreamscape driven by a standup bass. Smith digs into the lyric and then offers a poem that is as much an early American folk song elegy to the environment Kurt Cobain grew up in as it is to what's happening to America itself, but with current touches. Her poet's heart not only complements the original but makes the song timeless and brings Cobain's mature spirit to flesh once more. It is the most moving track on the set and the most visionary. Smith closes her set with a true outlaws campfire song in Gregg Allman's "Midnight Rider," and a darker than written, sparsely textured, elegiac cover of Stevie Wonder's "Pastime Paradise," with a truly haunting piano by Luis Resto. Her small notes annotating each track are welcome and revealing in and of themselves. If this is truly the covers album Smith has always wanted to record, she's succeeded on a level with the best of her studio recordings and a welcome addition to her catalog. Each song has her imprint without sacrificing the intent or spirit of the original. Full of slow burning passion and emotion, Twelve is magnificent.
Patti Smith @ Roundhouse, Camden, London, UK
S,U,T,C, -- Patti Smith "Are You Experienced?"
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Heres a nice version of Patti doing the Jimi Hendrix classic. From the disc "Twelve"
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TWELVE-- PATTI SMITH'S ALBUM OF COVERS
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Track:Gimmie Shelter
Tomorrow Patti Smith is being inducted into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame. I used to be on the Hall of Fame nominating committee and every year Patti would get the highest number of votes on the committee but would never get in. One of the honchos there told me she wasn't really rock'n'roll so I stopped going to the meetings. Maybe he was sleeping this year when one of the most powerful influenc...
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I am a traveler of both time and space, to be where I have been
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Inductee Patti Smith sings during Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony+Reuters+ - "more photos":http://search.us.reuters.com/news/search.aspx?site=USPHOTOS&blob=rock%20and%20roll%20hall%20of%20fame%20&blob=rock%20and%20roll%20hall%20of%20fameIf you saw the ceremony - nuff said!!!GR8 video recapGR8 introduction by +Zach de la Rocha+!GR8 emotional speech from PattiFollowed by performance...
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New Patti Smith Video For "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
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This is a superb video for Patti Smith's cover of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit."Thanks to Glorious Noise (http://www.gloriousnoise.com) for hipping me to this. You folks are great!
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Patti Smith's "Gimmie Shelter"
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Track:Gimmie Shelter
Check out this version of "Gimmie Shelter," off Patti Smith's upcoming album of covers, Twelve, which will be released on April 24. Smith has been a Rolling Stones fan since she was a teenager.
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LONG POST ALERT!!! Advice please ... and a also bit of noise because I've been quiet for a while...
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Track:Past time paradise
Hello I've been a bit quiet for a bit. I have been reading and listening and reflecting on stuff I've seen on Mog, but not very interactive. Perhaps the disconnection of my Lithuanain music service provider has had an impact. But also a lot of the Mog chums who I used to rely on for pointers to new discoveries have been a bit quiet too. (Good to see Mr Spume back with a vengeance.) So anyway, h...
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Patti Smith US Tour Dates
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In the midst of her European tour, Patti Smith has added US dates in support of her recent release of Twelve. It kicks off in the states on July 31 in Philly. You can listen to "Gimme Shelter" on her music space page. Twelve features 12 covers of classics and hits, all done by Patti Smith. For more info about the album and Smith's band, including special guests like Italian cellist Giovanni...
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TWELVE-- PATTI SMITH'S ALBUM OF COVERS
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Track:Gimmie Shelter
Tomorrow Patti Smith is being inducted into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame. I used to be on the Hall of Fame nominating committee and every year Patti would get the highest number of votes on the committee but would never get in. One of the honchos there told me she wasn't really rock'n'roll so I stopped going to the meetings. Maybe he was sleeping this year when one of the most powerful influenc...
More >
S,U,T,C, -- Patti Smith "Are You Experienced?"
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Heres a nice version of Patti doing the Jimi Hendrix classic. From the disc "Twelve"
More >
Patti Smith @ Roundhouse, Camden, London, UK
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Alignment.
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I picture giant, three-dimensional scissors. I watch them cut cut cut.I see the effect my hair has on people.Sharply dressed, perfectly coiffed. My eyes.My fingers.I can tell when they don't want to discuss it, but feel they must. Over hair.Over eyes. Over fingers.The knowledge I accumulate makes me adult.It makes me adult because I feel adult.For the first time in my life, I feel sexy. I've lo...
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Free Patti Smith Show
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Living punk rock legend Patti Smith is offering fans a chance to see her perform for free in Los Angeles on August 16, according to NME.The event is part of the Santa Monica Pier's Twilight Dance series, which features a free, festival-style concert on the pier every Thursday night during the summer.A raffle at the show will benefit Heal The Bay, a charity dedicated to making Southern Californi...
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I am a traveler of both time and space, to be where I have been
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Inductee Patti Smith sings during Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony+Reuters+ - "more photos":http://search.us.reuters.com/news/search.aspx?site=USPHOTOS&blob=rock%20and%20roll%20hall%20of%20fame%20&blob=rock%20and%20roll%20hall%20of%20fameIf you saw the ceremony - nuff said!!!GR8 video recapGR8 introduction by +Zach de la Rocha+!GR8 emotional speech from PattiFollowed by performance...
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Lady Sings the Blues
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"Photos by Rockndog":http://www.rockndog.us/PattiSmith/index.htmHere's one of those tracks collectors search-out - from the multi-artist compilation benefit CD in 1995:Don't Smoke In Bed
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 "Twelve")
