RECORD REVIEWS

'TWELVE'
Patti Smith (Columbia)
Grade: C
When a rock musician covers someone else's song, it's typically thought to be an act of artistic desperation, belying a lack of creative inspiration. Cover versions always pale in comparison to the original ones, anyway, so why even bother?
Such are the preconceptions that punk icon Patti Smith is fighting on her first-ever collection of cover tunes. It's certainly possible for cover albums to be engaging and successful, as proved recently by both K.D. Lang ("Hymns of the 49th Parallel") and Rickie Lee Jones ("It's Like This").
Freshly inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame just last month, Smith sounds nothing less than confident and relaxed on this outing, a pleasant but not challenging release that could have benefited greatly by having her step outside her comfort zone.
Several songs here were first done by artists who've obviously had a great influence on Smith, such as the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter," Dylan's "Changing of the Guards" and the Doors' "Soul Kitchen," with the Stones track given the most fervent, piercing treatment.
Smith also does well with Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit," an unadventurous band and song choice, but who cares when it fits her sensibility and vocal style like a glove. And her bluegrass arrangement of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is both gripping and offbeat.
A few of the more unexpected choices on "Twelve" are rather charming, such as her thoughtful take on Stevie Wonder's "Pastime Paradise" and a luminous rendition of Tears for Fears' "Everybody Wants To Rule the World."
Bogging down the proceedings are the slow attempts at the too obvious "Are You Experienced" (Hendrix) and "Helpless" (Neil Young) and the uninteresting swipes at "Midnight Rider" (Allman Brothers Band) and "Boy in the Bubble" (Paul Simon).
-- Martin Bandyke, Detroit Free Press
'CASSADAGA'
Bright Eyes (Saddle Creek)
Grade: B
Bright Eyes' leader is the frighteningly talented wunderkind Conor Oberst, who got his first band together when he was a teenager. Now a ripe old 27, the alternative rocker often sounds like a more tuneful Lou Reed leading the Band on "Cassadaga," named after an obscure spiritualist camp in central Florida.
Oberst's songs delineate a wise but embittered soul, the best examples being "Soul Singer in a Session Band" ("I was a hopeless romantic/Now I'm just turning tricks") and "Middleman" ("The dead can hide beneath the ground and the birds can fly/But the rest of us do what we must in constant compromise"). There are also a few glimpses of cautious optimism on "I Must Belong Somewhere" and "Make a Plan to Love Me," but the real joys here are found in Oberst's passionate, always intense vocals, not to mention the amazing backdrops to these songs. The skillful blending of conventional rock 'n' roll instrumentation with strings, lap steel guitar, and even oboe and clarinet will keep your ears fully engaged throughout the proceedings.
This may not quite be Bright Eyes' highest artistic achievement -- for that, seek out "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" -- but this is certainly its most listenable.
-- Martin Bandyke, Detroit Free Press
'FAVOURITE WORST NIGHTMARE'
Arctic Monkeys (Domino Records)
Grade: A
Releasing the fastest-selling debut in U.K. history would inflate any ego -- but don't let that concern you with "Favourite Worst Nightmare," the sophomore effort from Arctic Monkeys.
Sure, there's plenty of snotty arrogance here -- same as with the band's smash 2006 debut "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" -- but it's delivered with so much youthful enthusiasm and crack songwriting that it remains part of the band's infectious charm.
All the talk about post-punk revivalists aside, the band's new wave-flavored rock is still fast and relentless on "Nightmare" -- but there are a few moments of subtle growth that are wholly welcome.
The distinctly British vocals of Alex Turner mix intelligence with inanity, and his social witticisms and pop culture references -- let's add another Duran Duran homage to his r & eacute;sum & eacute; -- fly at such a rapid pace that you'll be hitting rewind just to make sure you heard it right.
The guitar punch of Turner and Jamie Cook can make the most rudimentary idea sound like gold, Matt Helders maniacal drumming and high hat work will keep your head bouncing, and Nick O'Malley has ably replaced departed bassist Andy Nicholson with tight disco-tinted bass grooves.
They kick off with driving lead single "Brianstorm," "Teddy Picker" and "D is for Dangerous" before hitting with the sure-to-be crowd pleaser and pop delight of "Fluorescent Adolescent" -- a great play on preconceived notions of sexuality.
The irresistible tracks continue piling up with "Do Me a Favour" and "This House is a Circus," along with as good a trio of disc closers as you're likely to find: the jangly "The Bad Thing," a pulsing "Old Yellow Bricks" and "505" -- a showcase for their emerging versatility.
A wildly enjoyable effort.
-- John Kosik, Associated Press
'RHINESTONED'
Pam Tillis (Stellar Cat)
Grade: A
Even at the height of her fame in the 1990s, Pam Tillis consistently chose provocative and substantial songs that challenged country music's tendency to play it safe. If anything, her latest album suggests she's grown even better at drawing on the genre's traditional strengths (good songwriting, tight but propulsive musicianship) and moving them forward with modern-day themes and contemporary production.
On "Rhinestoned," she applies familiar traits -- humor, wisdom and nerve -- to songs about relationships and aging that wink at human foibles and elevate such enduring values as forgiveness, compassion and faith. Songs like "Train Without a Whistle" and "Crazy By Myself" are rambunctious tales from the point of view of women who know all about charming, reckless heartbreakers and have learned their lessons.
"Band in the Window" and "Life Has Sure Changed Us Around," the latter a duet with John Anderson, provide first-hand reporting on living an artistic life and the mix of dedication and flexibility it requires.
The album's high point comes with "Someone, Somewhere Tonight," a sweeping epic about life in all its glory and pain that could only reach its potential through a voice this experienced, sensitive and wide-ranging.
Ten years after her last Top 10 hit, Tillis remains uncompromising yet unpretentious, and she's making the best music of her career. Considering what she's already done, that's saying something.
-- Michael McCall, Associated Press
'MI SUENO'
Ibrahim Ferrer (World Circuit/Nonesuch)
Grade: A
It is painful to listen to Ibrahim Ferrer sing the bolero. Painful in a most exquisite way.
For in the rich texture brought forth in these final recordings of Ferrer's life, it is impossible not to relive the suffering and melancholy that comes from the complexities of love.
The bolero is perhaps the most romantic form from the rich variety of Latin music. Ferrer, who gained fame late in life as part of Cuba's renowned Buena Vista Social Club, had tried as a young man to make it as a bolero singer. But with a robust, "manly" style in vogue then, his voice was considered too thin. It remained his dream, however, and in the final days of his life, he realized it by recording these 12 songs. Thus, the album's name, "Mi Sueno," or "My Dream."
The wisdom of Ferrer's years (he was 78 when he died in 2005) is evident in his delivery of lyrics that retell emotions of betrayal, passion, endurance, and of course the suffering that we embrace as part of the beauty of romance. For the listener, realizing that these boleros were to be Ferrer's last, there is an added feeling of nostalgia and loss.
Musically, the album is perfect in its simplicity. There is Ferrer's knowing voice, which seems to reach out to the listener as if that ear were the only one intended to hear it. Behind him is the bare accompaniment of Cuban greats such as Roberto Fonseca on piano, Manuel Galban on guitar, and Orlando "Cachaito" Lopez on bass.
The result is a collection that is difficult to experience. And, so deliciously so.
-- Michelle Morgante, Associated Press
'DIGNITY'
Hilary Duff (Hollywood)
Grade: C
Disney darling, 19-year-old Hilary Duff has a message for her rehab-hopping, self-absorbed, famous-for-being famous peers.
Shape up. Show some dignity.
Speculation is rife that the subject of her anger in songs like the title track and "Gypsy Woman" is none other than Nicole Richie, who may have hooked up with Duff's ex-boyfriend Joel Madden of the rock band Good Charlotte. Duff has denied Richie is the subject but the speculation is intriguing for gossipteers.
When Duff worries "Where's your dignity/I think you lost it in the Hollywood hills" it's easy to insert the names Britney, Paris or Lindsay into the equation. The unnamed source of Duff's tart tongue would "show up to the opening of an envelope," wears Jimmy Choo shoes and "enjoyed the fame bringin' down the family name."
There's a lot of sermonizing on "Dignity" which boasts a cover photo featuring a freshly scrubbed Duff ready for her Maybelline ad.
Problem is it's all at odds with the off-the-shelf electro pop she has permeating the tracks of her dance record. She wants to make an album for the clubs but then complains about what she sees there.
Duff's behavior is certainly refreshing compared to Britney, Lindsay, Paris et al. but her voice has no character or range so whether she's chastising the Hollywood bimbos or trying to show how grown up she's become -- "There's danger in your eyes/You belong to my darker side" -- it all leaves no impression, much like the semi-catchy thumping music she surrounds herself with here.
-- Howard Cohen, Miami Herald