Patti Smith: Covers

It takes a special kind of singer to elevate cover songs to something approaching ownership. Nina Simone was one such song stylist, and so is punk high priestess Patti Smith. This playlist shows Smith adding wild yearnings and haunting moments to great songs by Neil Young, R.E.M., Them and others. Her career-making co-write with Bruce Springsteen yielded a melancholic rock song with a pounding heart like none heard before.