Karaoke Patti

Thinking of how to describe Patti Smith's new album of covers, Twelve, I thought of Tina Turner's spoken introduction to Ike & Tina's version of "Proud Mary." "We never, ever do nothing nice and easy...we do it...nice and rough." Well, Twelve is nice and easy. It's not as if Patti can't handle covers; her version of Van Morrison's "Gloria" is one of the great recordings in rock history. She handled Dylan's "Wicked Messenger" with aplomb on Gone Again, and her version of Bruce Springsteen's "Because the Night" (technically not a cover, since her recording was the original) is arguably the definitive version.

Twelve is not a terrible album by any stretch of the imagination, but it's hard to fathom the reason for its existence. Based on her liner notes, some of these songs have played a huge role in Patti's life, which makes the lack of passion and urgency in her voice all the more curious. On "Gloria," you could hear Smith fighting to take the song away from Van Morrison. But with "Gimme Shelter," she seems content to nod her head and bow to Mick and Keith. Her take on Stevie Wonder's "Pastime Paradise" is intriguing and minimalist (piano, bass and drums), but it doesn't come close to the drama and excitement of Stevie's original. And next to Tears for Fears' luminous version of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World," Smith's just sounds dull and passionless.

Smith is more successful with "White Rabbit," Paul Simon's "The Boy In The Bubble," and the Allman Brothers' "Midnight Rider." And her version of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is interesting. But if you're going to cover "Smells Like Teen Spirit," you'd better make it more than interesting.

There's no question that Smith deserves the spot she was recently granted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, there's little on Twelve that would make a new listener believe that she belongs there.