18 illinoisentertainer . com november 2023 inspiring the collection ’ s name .
So , what is Pin Ups not ? In Bowie ’ s body of work , it is among the small number of entries that could be described as not essential . It isn ’ t a critical marvel or a bleedingedge breakthrough that furthers Bowie ’ s reputation as a fearless artist and innovator . However , it ’ s not throwaway work , even as an interim effort . Any fan will want the album . It ’ s interesting . It ’ s revealing . It ’ s ambitious in its construction and made with affection and spirit . Most importantly , it ’ s fun .
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– Jeff Elbel
BOB DYLAN Shadow Kingdom
( Columbia / Legacy )
The pandemic lockdown finally brought Bob Dylan ’ s Never Ending Tour to a halt in 2020 after 31 years on the road . A few short months before resuming band travel in late 2021 , the Bard gathered a stripped-down ensemble of trusted players for a streamed concert in July as a way to reboot . The performances are now available as a soundtrack album to Alma Har ' el ' s surrealist-noir film Shadow Kingdom : The Early Songs of Bob Dylan , with formats including a 2xLP vinyl set . Most of these songs are drawn from albums between 1965 ’ s Bringing it All Back Home and 1974 ’ s Planet Waves , with a weighty and anxious interpretation of “ What Was it You Wanted ” as an outlier from 1989 ’ s Daniel Lanois production Oh Mercy . Singles with mass appeal like “ Subterranean Homesick Blues ” or “ Like a Rolling Stone ” are avoided , but most any of these adventurous selections would have been considered a welcome surprise on recent tours supporting albums including Tempest , standards set Triplicate , or 2020 ’ s Rough and Rowdy Ways . Only five Shadow Kingdom tracks were performed when Dylan and his band performed at the Auditorium Theatre on November 3 , 2021 . The set ’ s less-traveled songs , such as “ Queen Jane Approximately ,” are often the most captivating . As is typical for Dylan ’ s live outings , the arrangements are tailored to the players with little need for connection to the durable songs ’ familiar studio counterparts . “ The Wicked Messenger ” is recast from its John Wesley Harding version with a twist on the song ’ s twanging Telecaster line and Dylan ’ s harmonica fills . “ Forever Young ,” “ It ’ s All Over Now , Baby Blue ,” and “ When I Paint My Masterpiece ” are arguably the best-known songs on Shadow Kingdom . The material is presented with a feel blending ageless country folk , pop , and cabaret that aligns with the film ’ s speakeasy setting in the dusky and fictional Bon Bon Club . The music is grounded by reedy accordion , acoustic guitar , and double bass . Mandolin and the aforementioned harmonica add additional colors . Understated electric guitar provides Bakersfield twang on “ Most Likely You Go Your Way , and I ' ll Go Mine ” and “ Just Like Tom Thumb ’ s Blues .” “ Pledging My Time ” intensifies the lyric ’ s uncertainty with a deeper and lonelier blues than heard on Blonde on Blonde . There ’ s no percussionist in the lineup , but Dylan and his cohort raise a rowdy rockabilly ramble for “ Watching the River Flow ” and borrow from Roy Head ’ s soul-pop classic “ Treat Her Right ” during “ I ’ ll Be Your Baby Tonight .” The players , by the way , go uncredited and are masked in the film . The ensemble has been reported to include producers Don Was and T Bone Burnett , pedal steel player Greg Leisz , and Oingo Boingo guitarist Steve Bartek and his bassist bandmate John Avila . At the other end of the spectrum , the Vietnam War protest “ Tombstone Blues ” is altered from the rollicking Highway 61 Revisited rocker with suitably grim and bare-bones accompaniment as Dylan speak-sings his descriptions of desperate characters . One new song , a wary and evocative new instrumental called “ Sierra ’ s Theme ,” concludes the performance .
Shadow Kingdom offers the listener a front-row seat to an intimate living-room concert , zeroing into Dylan ’ s unmatched lyricism and timeworn voice . Naysayers be damned , Dylan ’ s a very fine and well-seasoned interpretive singer , as heard here . He ’ s likely to rock a bit harder when appearing at Cadillac Palace with his longtime road band for three nights in October , playing fresher material from Rough and Rowdy Ways . Both experiences will give credence to the acclaim Dylan has earned for the depth of his catalog and rarefied experience while speaking to generations of popular music fans .
– Jeff Elbel
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