Shadows In the Night
Bob Dylan’s decision to record an album of standards, all recorded previously by Frank Sinatra at some point, excited faithful fans who heard the advance tracks “Full Moon and Empty Arms” and “Stay With Me.” All 10 songs were cut live in Capitol Records’ legendary Studio B, with Dylan’s five-piece band and a small orchestra working together without piano to create an aura of late-night mystery. On “I’m a Fool to Want You,” Dylan’s voice conveys the weariness that none other than Billie Holiday tackled late in her career, and he brings hard-won nuance to classic songs as wise as “What’ll I Do.”
Bob Dylan's 36th studio album is a collection of old jazz crooner standards most closely associated with Frank Sinatra. While it may prompt some exasperated debates, Shadows in the Night represents a lifelong appreciation for Sinatra, and Dylan is toasting a very specific era in pop songwriting.
Releasing a record of standards covers is not a new or innovative concept. Rod Stewart pulled it off to great effect at the beginning of this century. Lady Gaga dropped her own takes from the Great American Songbook with Tony Bennett last year. Hell, even Sir Paul McCartney has taken a crack at it. Yet fans were still…
The famously craggy-voiced legend tackles the smoothly gliding melodies of the Great American Songbook: what seems a hellishly mismatched concept results in unexpected aural bliss.
If Bob Dylan had recorded Shadows In The Night, his new collection of 10 songs associated with Frank Sinatra, at any time…
Bob Dylan inhabits the spirit of Sinatra on this wistful set of standards, writes <strong>Kitty Empire</strong>
Throughout, Dylan balances out any hints of winking self-awareness by freighting his new compositions with a heavy air of wistful sadness
<strong>Alexis Petridis</strong>: It’s Bob Dylan’s turn to take on the great American songbook, as so many artists have done before – and he manages to make it utterly his own
Shadows in the Wind is the sound of an old man picking over memories and it is quite gorgeous, says Neil McCormick
Rarely has Dylan sounded so vulnerable, so revealing as in this masterclass of nuance and interpretation
Dylan paints masterpiece with songs that Sinatra made famous. CD new music review by Mark Kidel