Audio Mixer: Emery Dobyns.

Recording information: Effigy Studios, Ferndale, MI; Electric Lady Studios, New York, NY; Loho Studios, New York, NY.

Photographer: Steven Sebring.

Ever since Patti Smith arrived on the New York scene in the mid-'70s, heralding the first flowering of punk, she's been all about confounding people's expectations. Over the years, the iconoclastic poet-turned-punk-icon moved from raging rock to contemplative balladry and back again without ever worrying about anyone's preconceptions. On the heels of her induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame comes another sonic curve ball from Smith, an album full of classic-rock covers (among other things).

TWELVE finds Smith interpreting well-known tunes by artists who've seemingly influenced her (Jefferson Airplane, Beatles, Stones, Neil Young, et al.) as well as those she undoubtedly influenced (see the twangy, banjo-based cover of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit"). Amidst some of the more radical reinventions accomplished here, one might wonder about the faithful reproduction of Tears for Fears' "Everybody Wants To Rule the World," but why should Smith cease trafficking in the unexpected now?