Bob Dylan: Shadows In The Night ALBUM REVIEW

So, I assume that you, a listener of music, know who Bob freakin' Dylan is. If not, go listen to Blonde on Blonde, Times They Are a'Changin' and my personal favorite, Nashville Skyline. These albums are only my favorites and they hardly scratch the surface of this man's 50 plus year music career. In fact, I have yet to meet anyone who doesn't at least know who Bob Dylan is.

That being said, in the 30 plus albums that Mr Dylan has put out, Shadows In The Night presents a brand new concept for the folk legend; jazz covers. More specifically, Frank Sinatra covers. But what's surprising to me about this album is not so much the songs, but how good Bob sounds singing them.

For instance, the opener "I'm A Fool To Want You" is dripping with melancholy, and Bob's voice, as cracked and old as it sounds, settles in a soft croon that I actually kind of love. Which is good because every single track on this album settles for roughly the same sound, tempo, and mood as this opening track, sometimes leading to parts of Shadows In The Night feeling a little samey samey.

Fortunately, I think that despite this album being a little bit of a one trick pony, Bob makes that trick seem pretty darn impressive for the 35 minutes it lasts. I just can't help but love songs like "Stay With Me" or "That Lucky Old Sun" not just for the songs themselves, because they are good songs no matter who sings them, but for the way Bob seems to own them, and as is the case for a track like "Why Try To Change Me Now" frame them with his own experiences and expectations. It's as if Bob is acknowledging the fact that he's too old and set in his ways to produce something that is radically different than what he's already done, which is what most music critics get hung up on when they mention his later LPs.

I'm no Bob Dylan die hard, but I have to admit I got a little emotional during moments like the one mentioned above. It's just beautiful and oddly heartwarming to see a man as well known and respected as Bob sing a song that wasn't his and in fact do just that. This is definitely worth checking out if you're a Dylan fan, but I'd say you'd enjoy it if you're just looking for some somber, low key crooning as well.

7.5/10