Bob Dylan Shadow Kingdom 2LP

Shadow Kingdom presents Bob Dylan performing revelatory 21st century versions of songs from his storied back catalog - including fan favorites like "Forever Young" and "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," and deep catalog gems like "Queen Jane Approximately" and "Wicked Messenger."

Originally reinterpreted for an exclusive streaming film event, which aired in July 2021, Shadow Kingdom is now available on vinyl, CD, and streaming platforms for the first time. The album's setlist includes 13 original songs handpicked by Dylan for his Shadow Kingdom performance plus the closing instrumental, "Sierra's Theme."

Dylan re-imagines the songs to better fit the present quaver of his voice and a percussion-free ensemble that's heavy on the accordion and the sometimes harsh brush strokes of acoustic guitar. The effect of hearing a song as deeply embedded in the pop consciousness as 'It's All Over Now Baby Blue' turned into a billowing mood piece or the barroom blues of 'Forever Young' becoming a candlelit slow dance is breathtaking. One of the more pleasant surprises of the year to date.

The key to Shadow Kingdom is that he's not performing any of these songs like he did at the time they were written. They're given inventive arrangements that are right in the vein of the pan-American roadhouse music he's been making since the dawn of the 21st century: they're blues and rockabilly, they're soul and country, they're standards meant to be crooned in a saloon. Dylan plays with his vocal phrasing, relying on all the tricks he learned cutting record after record of tunes associated with Frank Sinatra. The result is surprising and singular, revealing new twists in songs that seemed to be set in stone decades ago.