Perhaps no tune moves here like Patti 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. Patti 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. From the album of cover versions titled Twelve an album by Patti Smith, released April 17th, 2007 on Columbia Records. As the title suggests, the album contains twelve tracks, all of which are cover versions. It debuted on USA Billboard charts 200 at number 60, with 11,000 copies sold in its first week. A promotional EP entitled Two More was also released, featuring two tracks that are not on the album: “Perfect Day” by Lou Reed and “Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect” by The Decemberists.
The Fat Angel Sings 