Axl's Catch Groove

My record collection: CDs on the left, vinyl in the center, and playback equipment (AKA stereo) on the right.

I am having an existential crisis: as a musichead*, is my record collecting a cool hobby or a fetish? A few things got me thinking about this:

• The recent box set from the Replacements – Tim (Let It Bleed Edition) – more about that in a minute
• A tour of Copycats vinyl pressing plant
• Contemplating NFTs and owning digital assets
• Having two homes – my record collection is too big to be transporting across the country twice a year
• Being closer to death than birth (I turn 65 in January) and leaving my hoard of records behind for my heirs to deal with (inheritance or hassle?)
• Streaming, especially high-resolution streaming, is my preferred listening format

*A musichead is someone obsessed with listening to music and being knowledgeable about the music they listen to. In general, they are constantly discovering new music. Although they have a broad taste, they have a handful of artists they obsess about (see every show, listen to every recording, collect every recording, follow every spin-off, know every lyric, know all the gossip, etc.).

For most of my life being a musichead was synonymous with being a record collector. There were only two ways to listen to recorded music: on the radio and on records (vinyl, tape, or CD). Radio is not enough for a musichead, you need to buy physical media to satisfy your need: play what you want when you want, play artists that are not on the radio, etc.

Streaming allows you to be a musichead without owning physical media. My kids, who are in their 30s, are musicheads and they are not record collectors (they do have some LPs and legitimate turntables). Streaming makes it easier to be a musichead: it is portable and provides convenient access to an extensive catalog and immediate access to new releases. The downside of streaming is that most artists don’t get properly compensated, but most artists have never been compensated properly. At least the friction to get music in the ears of their fans is gone. I love streaming – especially high-resolution streaming – it is my primary way of listening to music.

When I toured Copycats, which is a new vinyl pressing plant outside of Minneapolis, I was struck by the fact that the decade-and-a-half vinyl renaissance is real enough that serious capital is being invested to meet the demand. Vinyl does not appear to be a fad. I personally contribute to this renaissance in that I mostly stopped buying CDs about 10 years ago and almost exclusively buy vinyl. However, 50% of LPs are sold to people who don’t even have access to the equipment to play them. Even a musichead and audiophile like me barely listens to vinyl.

When I saw that The Replacements were releasing a box set of their classic album Tim (one vinyl record and four CDs), I immediately started obsessing about acquiring it. I have original releases of Tim on CD and vinyl. I was super intrigued by the fact that there was an Ed Stasium remix of the album as the remix of Don’t Tell a Soul was so revelatory – I had to hear this new remix! New releases come out on Fridays at midnight Eastern time on streaming services. I listened to it as soon as it was available on Tidal Thursday at 11:00 PM (thus a high-resolution stream) and holy shit it is amazing! Now I had to own it!

I would legitimately listen to a vinyl edition of the Ed Stasium remix of Tim and I am sure it would sound amazing on my audiophile gear. However, I don’t need a CD of a new remaster of the original mix and I only need to hear the bonus material once or twice so I don’t need those CDs either. Do I need to pay $90 to possess a vinyl edition of the Ed Stassium Tim remix when 90% of the time I listen to it on streaming?

I am fascinated there is a market for various digital art (visual, music, etc.) where ownership is managed on the blockchain (non-fungible tokens – NFTs). I am starting to feel like my record collection is like a primitive NFT. Instead of my ownership being documented on the blockchain, it is “documented” by vinyl or a CD sitting on my shelf. Granted I can play those physical albums on my stereo – but I rarely do.

I am starting to feel like owning physical media is more of a fetish – I am obsessed with owning the physical object (e.g. the vinyl record) and yet I don’t need that object to listen to it. I mock people who spend money on digital assets like NFTs, but am I any better? I mock people who buy LPs and don’t have a turntable and buy the LP as a souvenir, but am I any better?

I can try to use the argument that buying physical is supporting the band, but bands don’t make that much off their recordings and I support other ways like concerts and merch. Plus I have a long history of supporting my artists (I have spent a small fortune on The Replacements for example).

Many people say that vinyl is the best way to appreciate music – it sounds the best. I would agree that with the right gear and a good pressing vinyl is the best. I have a nice audiophile setup to enjoy listening to vinyl. But that same setup is also optimized for high-resolution streaming. I would argue that high-resolution streaming rivals vinyl and – especially when the artists are recording and mastering in digital – thus the vinyl record is sourced from digital. So I am hard-pressed to argue that my audiophile taste demands that I listen to vinyl.

Most box set reissues are well done. The music is reinvigorated, great visual art and packaging, well-articulated liner notes, etc. In general, they are pricey, but there is value. They are nice collectibles, but they mostly just sit on the shelf.

I was recently reading an article in the New York Times by Denise LuWant with the headline: Enjoy Music More? Stop Streaming It. In the article, she says “I don’t like how streaming feels — like I’m only borrowing something for a while, rather than having a handpicked library of albums (digital or physical) that I’ve vetted and can keep forever.” I don’t feel the same way. So I return to the original question: is my record collecting a cool hobby or a fetish? Most days I choose not to think about it and just enjoy the grooves. I don’t like the possession obsession I get for recorded albums – it doesn’t seem healthy and has nothing to do with my love of music.

I have not come to a conclusion on record collecting: cool hobby vs. obsessive fetish. But I often come back to something my old general practitioner physician used to say to me: “If you love something, do less of it.” I take that to mean if you are obsessive about something, you don’t have to quit it, just back off a bit. So concerning vinyl, I am not going to commit to not buying anymore, but instead, I will cut back. For example, I am not going to buy the $90 Tim box. If someday it shows up as a single vinyl LP on Record Store Day, I will buy it. Buying the box at this point would be just a fetish. But buying an LP of an artist that I love and want to support, well that is a cool hobby.

My introduction to Charles Earland was his album Black Talk! (1969). In the fall of 2012 I was reading Michael Chabon’s Telegraph Avenue. Around that time Chabon had an essay in Rolling Stone where he talked about what he calls “backbeat jazz,” also known as soul and acid jazz. The essay totally validated my musical taste. He listed what he considers classics of the genre and Black Talk! was on his list. Since then I have purchased every Earland record I have found crate digging.

Soul Story is a collection of Earland originals and covers. Earland is an organ player who leans toward sophisticated yet funky arrangements. He has some beautiful sidemen on the album – the guitar and woodwinds are particularly tasty.

His cover of the schmaltzy movie theme “Love Story” is an excellent example of the Earland approach. He starts with a slow intro with Jimmy Vass’ flute vaguely stating the melody under a spooky vocal by Earland. It then slowly transitions to a guitar and organ vamp. Finally, the melody arrives with an entire band arrangement. The melody is then toyed with by various soloists. All the while Earland provides a funky foundation. He gives his own mighty solo too. The end result is a fancy and funky stew.

I dig Earland’s elaborate take on the 60s organ trio concept by expanding it with horns and percussion. This is a solid entry in the soul/acid jazz canon. Unfortunately, this album is not on streaming services

Tracklist
A1 Betty’s Dilemma 8:12
A2 Love Story 10:10
B1 One For Scotty 6:55
B2 My Scorpio Lady 2:20
B3 I Was Made For Love Her 2:50
B3 Happy Medium 4:10

Charles Earland – organ, vocals
Gary Chandler (tracks A1 & A2), Virgil Jones (tracks 3–6) – trumpet
Clifford Adams Jr. – trombone (tracks B1-3)
Jimmy Vass – flute, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone (tracks A1 & A2)
Arthur Grant – tenor saxophone, flute (tracks B1-3)
Houston Person – tenor saxophone (tracks A1 & A2)
Maynard Parker – guitar
Jesse Kilpatrick Jr. (tracks A1 & A2) and Billy “Kentucky” Wilson (tracks B1-3) – drums
Buddy Caldwell – congas, tambourine (tracks A1 & A2)
Arthur Jenkins – congas (tracks B1-3)

I enjoy crate digging. Crate digging is a term record collectors use to refer to record shopping in search of rare finds. Most of the time, I go to a record store to buy a record; I know they have in stock – typically a new release – that is not crate digging – that is just buying a record. That is satisfying, but not as satisfying as looking through a stack of records with nothing specific in mind and discovering something that catches your eye. It might be a thrift shop, a garage sale, the used record bins at a record store, or literally crates at a record show. A record show is an event where one or more record collectors and record vendors sell records, typically used records, at a specific location on a specific date.

One of my favorite record shows is the RockNRoll Music Sale – an occasional vinyl and CD garage sale that collector Jeffery Larson hosts in his garage and yard in Maple Grove, MN (a suburb of Minneapolis). Jeffery’s sale is particularly fun because he has a diverse inventory that is fairly priced. The recent popularity of vinyl has resulted in some absurdly high prices (gouging). Jeffery has many inexpensive records (including $1 records), but he also has true collectibles. The collectibles are costly, but fairly priced.

I recently found Chick Corea’s Sundance at the RockNRoll Music Sale for $3. I was not familiar with this LP but was attracted by some of the side men listed on the back, including Jack De Johnette (drums), Dave Holland (bass), Hubert Laws (flute, piccolo), Bennie Maupin (tenor saxophone – who was actually not listed but has a prominent role), and Woody Shaw (trumpet). The album (both the cover and the wax) was in decent condition. Per Discogs, the album is worth at least twice what I paid – if not more.

Once I got the record home, I learned it was originally recorded in 1969 but not released until 1972 on Groove Merchant (GM 2202). My LP is a 1974 re-release, also on Groove Merchant (GM 530), but with a different cover from the original.

It has an impressive lineup (as mentioned above and see personnel below), some of who, including Corea, was moonlighting from the Miles Davis band.

Per my internet research, the album comes from the same sessions that produced Is (1969 on Solid State). The album Is is free jazz, whereas Sundance is more traditional jazz, although it has free jazz moments. Blue Note reissued Is and Sundance as the Complete Is Sessions in 2002 as a double CD. It also includes alternate takes from the original recording sessions.

Chick Corea is one of the most important jazz-keyboardist and composers of his generation. Is and Sundance is early in his career when he was helping Miles Davis create his electric jazz fusion and developing his more acoustic sound (although Chick plays some electric piano on Is and Sundance, he is not playing fusion). These are two parallel paths (electric and acoustic). Chick would pursue the rest of his career. I particularly enjoy the “freer” styles here as this was not typical in his catalog, and frankly, he was good at it.

Another hallmark of Chick’s career was attracting great musicians – both famous and unknown. The star of this show, besides Chick, of course, is saxophonist Bennie Maupin, who is not even listed on the album credits. My guy Woody Shaw does not get much space here despite being credited. He only gets to strut his stuff on “Converge” and “Sundance,” but even there, it is in an ensemble role vs. a soloist. Laws is a major soloist on “Song Of Wind.” Dave Holland has a nice intro on “Sundance.”

As far as a $3 record, it is “crate digger’s gold.” The album is in excellent shape, the cover is good (except for the cut-out drill hole), and it is worth more than I paid. My next mission is to find its companion, If.

Personnel: Chick Corea (piano), Horace Arnold (drums), Jack De Johnette (drums), Dave Holland (bass), Hubert Laws (flute, piccolo), Bennie Maupin (tenor saxophone), Woody Shaw (trumpet). Produced by Sonny Lester; recording engineered by Malcolm Addey.

Sundance and Is are not on streaming; however, the compilation Complete Is Sessions is.

This is a live album from Dylan’s 1978 world tour (recorded February 28 & March 1 at Nippon Budokan, Tokyo). The album is his greatest hits, however, the performances are radically rearranged from the originals. I was reminded of Dylan’s habit of rearranging his songs while listening to the recent Shadow Kingdom LP. Budokan was an early lesson that tinkering is part of who Dylan is.

The Budokan LP was much maligned at the time and it was suggested it was Dylan as a Vegas show band. It was glitzy and over the top. Robert Christsau, self-proclaimed “Dean of American Rock Critics,” gave it a generous C+, but mockingly wrote:

I believe this double LP was made available so our hero could boast of being outclassed by Cheap Trick, who had the self-control to release but a single disc from this location

https://www.robertchristgau.com

I was a fairly new Dylan fan when I bought this album when it came out in the spring of 1979. I loved this album from day one for several reasons:

• It was a greatest hits (important given my meager record collection at the time)
• I liked the Springsteenish big band arrangements (I was a new Bruce fan at the time too)
• Dylan’s vocals are urgent and clear, the record sleeves had lyrics (although my copy had redundant sleeves of LP number one)
• It had a cool fold up poster that was on my various apartment walls for years (amazingly I slipped it back into the LP jacket back in the day and it is in decent shape).
• I love Dylan’s rock star look for this album: gaudy 70s clothes and eyeliner.

1978’s Street-Legal was recorded about a month after Budokan was recorded. The arrangements on Street-Legal were clearly influenced by the 1978 tour. Dylan has backup singers and a woodwind player on Budokan and there is similar instrumentation on Street-Legal.

The arrangements on Budokan foreshadow Dylan’s Christian period in that they have a gospel feel – especially the backup vocalists. In many cases, there is a drama in the performances that is atypical of Dylan. This is the Vegas feel that probably turned off some people to the album. I found it all breathtaking and exciting. Dylan engages in more stage banter than I have ever experienced in the many times I have seen him. I assume that Dylan felt compelled to compete against his label mate Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band on Budokan. There are grand arrangements similar to what the Boss was doing at the time including epic sax solos.

Here is a weird feature of the album: in the inside of the gatefold album cover, Dylan engages in some rare schmaltz:

The more I think about it, the more I realize what I left behind in Japan – my soul, my music and that sweet girl in the geisha house – I wonder does she remenber me? If the people of Japan wish to know about me, they can hear this record- also they can hear my heart still beating in Kyoto at the Zen Rock Garden – Someday I will be back to reclaim it.

Copyright @ 1978 Bob Dylan

Budokan is wonderfully outrageous and it prepared me well for the twists and turns that Dylan would continue to perform the rest of his career.

Budokan core band:

Tracklist

A1 Mr. Tambourine Man 4:53
A2 Shelter From The Storm 4:29
A3 Love Minus Zero/No Limit 3:53
A4 Ballad Of A Thin Man 4:44
A5 Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right 5:02
B1 Maggie’s Farm 5:02
B2 One More Cup Of Coffee (Valley Below) 3:18
B3 Like A Rolling Stone 6:30
B4 I Shall Be Released 4:04
B5 Is Your Love In Vain? 3:57
B6 Going, Going, Gone 3:55
C1 Blowin’ In The Wind 4:28
C2 Just Like A Woman 5:03
C3 Oh, Sister 4:43
C4 Simple Twist Of Fate 4:03
C5 All Along The Watchtower 3:18
C6 I Want You 2:34
D1 All I Really Want To Do 3:41
D2 Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door 4:01
D3 It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding) 6:03
D4 Forever Young 5:27
D5 The Times They Are A-Changin’ 4:46

Ryan Adams is on tour with a new version of The Cardinals. He has released a live album (MP3 download) of highlights from the first leg (June 2023) free to fans (go to Pax Am for details). Typically, these Ryan Adams free albums have shown up on streaming services a couple of months later after the fan release if you don’t want to deal with the hassle of a download. However, this is an outstanding release worth the hassle of signing up, downloading to your computer, importing to iTunes, and syncing to your phone just to enjoy for a couple of months before the unwashed masses.

This version of The Cardinals is:

• Ryan Adams
• Brad Pemberton (longtime drummer with Ryan and Cardinals)
• Chris Stills (Stephen’s son – guitarist – and singer-songwriter in his own right and long-time collaborator of Ryan’s)
• Daniel Clarke (keys)
• Don Was (bass – record producer, music director, film composer, documentary filmmaker, radio host and since 2011, president of Blue Note Records – also a mentor of Ryan).

The Cardinals are Ryan Adams’ jam band persona. A latter iteration of the original band had guitarist Neal Casal (also in Chris Robinson Brotherhood and founder of Circles Around The Sun) who I thought was brilliant and irreplaceable. Unfortunately, he passed a few years ago. But this new iteration really works. This band captures the spirit of the original Cardinals: melodic, jammy without being tedious, and wonderful tunes.

No new tunes here, just a nice cross-section from several of the Cardinals’ albums. “Alive – Volume I” tracklist:

1. Cold Roses (from The Cardinals’ album of the same name)
2. Beautiful Sorta (from Cold Roses)
3. Dear Candy (from III/IV)
4. Kisses Start Wars (from III/IV)
5. Peaceful Valley (from Jacksonville City Nights)
6. Dear John (from Jacksonville City Nights)
7. Fix It (from Cardinology)
8. Games (from Jacksonville City Nights)
9. Magnolia Mountain (from Cold Roses)
10. A Kiss Before I Go (from Jacksonville City Nights)
11. Let It Ride (from Cold Roses)

This is a fantastic gift from Ryan and so great to hear him in this band format and in energetic live performances. As much as I love Ryan’s solo concerts, I love the band format even more. Highly recommended and the only downside is Ryan’s inane between-song banter, but that has always been part of the deal with Ryan.

I am a longtime fan of Jenny Lewis and her band Rilo Kiley, but her 2014 album The Voyager really caught my attention. It was my favorite album of that year. At the time I said referring to The Voyager:

“Great pop music is a combination of slick and subversive – it sucks you in like a Siren’s call. The Voyager is pure ear candy, yet there is a bitter pill is hiding under honey – this is a great pop album that will appeal to both young and old ears.”

Lewis has perfected that combination of slick and subversive in her latest Joy’All. This is brilliant adult pop/rock. Musically it is catchy and lyrically it has adult themes. The album title and lyrics imply that joy can be found everywhere in little and big things. Like her musical hero John Prine, Lewis tackles serious topics with a wink and a grin. This is a delightful album.

The album was produced by Dave Cobb in Nashville. There are country elements, but mostly this is pop-rock. In interviews, Lewis has suggested that she was inspired by Skeeter Davis (“The End of the World”) and Lewis is wearing a Davis stage costume on the cover. Overall this is not a deviation from Lewis’ catalog, just continued perfection with a dash of Nashville.

Pat Metheny is one of my favorite recording artists. I first got hooked on Metheny in 1978 with the Pat Metheny Group album on ECM. I then went through the ECM Metheny back catalog, including Metheny’s time with Gary Burton, and became a super fan. Since 1978 I have tried to collect every album by Metheny both as a leader and as a side man. In many cases, I have titles in multiple formats (LP and CD) and several duplicates (now part of the Desert Sessions). I have made a point to see him live whenever I can. I was stoked for this new album as it is solo electric guitar and is a sample of how he composes. Per Pat’s website (and liner notes):

“Dream Box is an unusual recording for me; a compilation of solo tracks recorded across a few years that I discovered while listening on tour. I often make quick recordings of things; a new tune, a new (or old) guitar, a standard tune, or just to try something out… I have a spot in my laptop where I stash these things. And truthfully; often never to be heard again.”

“These nine tracks were my favorites and added up to something unique for me. I never played any of these initial tracks included here more than that once. These are really moments in time, and in fact, I have almost no memory of having recorded most of them. They just kind of showed up.”

“The focus here is on electric guitar, but maybe more to the point; quiet electric guitar. It is an area of particular interest for me.”

“Regarding the title, box is musician slang for a hollow-body electric guitar. Using that vernacular, there are some super cool Dream Box instruments represented on this recording, including the prototype of new instrument I have been working with Ibanez on that reflects my interest in pre-war Charlie Christian style pick-ups.”

PatMetheny.com

This music can be used as background music, and when you are in the mood, it is complex enough to be actively listened to. It is absolutely beautiful noodling. Per Pat: “I hope folks might find some dreams of their own in this music.”

This is a real treat – a peek inside Pat’s e-notebooks to see the foundation of his composition process and performance. We get Metheny with all his skills: composer, soloist, arranger, performer and the electric guitarist with my favorite tone and expression. It is presented simply and beautifully – first sketches. Despite these recordings being first take “bedroom recordings,” it sounds like it was recorded in a decent studio. These are not demo quality, but rather high-fidelity recordings. I guess from an improvisational musician of Metheny’s stature, I shouldn’t be surprised that his first drafts are complete ideas and polished performances.

I started listening via a Tidal Master/MQA stream and it sounds fantastic. I could probably get away with just the digital stream, but this is Pat Metheny and I have almost everything he has ever recorded on vinyl or CD. I assume the original recordings are digital, but Metheny has a track record of pressing great vinyl even if the source is digital. Dream Box is no exception. The vinyl is quiet and the mix/master is wonderfully analog. It has warmer and a more intimate feel than the high resolution digital stream. It immediately brought me back to the ECM days, this is a gorgeous sounding LP.

Ultimately this is a headphone album that is best consumed with minimal distractions. 50 years into his career Metheny remains at the top of his game.

I was late to the Jason Isbell party, given his Americana pedigree, I should have been a fan years ago. I saw him live in the summer of 2019 in Minneapolis. It was a double bill of Isbell and Father John Misty – I was there to see Father John Misty. Isbell won me over that night: he had great songs, was a hot guitarist, had a tight band (the 400 Unit), and was an engaging performer. I then fell in love with the next studio album, 2020’s Reunions. Since then, I have become a Drive-By Trucker fan (Isbell was in that band for six years, from 2001 to 2007), explored some of the Isbell solo catalog, and saw him live again at the legendary Minneapolis rock club: First Avenue (celebrating his star on the wall). He is one of the giants of alt-country/Americana, and I am now all in as a fan (although I have more of his solo catalog to explore).

Weathervanes is his ninth studio album and the sixth, accompanied by his backing band, the 400 Unit. Isbell has been on a positive trajectory for a decade now, and this release continues the trend. This is another solid album in the catalog and specifically shines a light on the brilliance of the 400 Unit as a band – previous albums focused more on Isbell as a singer/songwriter.

Isbell reminds me of Springsteen: songs about real people with real problems, a tight band with its own personality that is not overshadowed by the star, and an engaging performance personality that, despite the star power, comes off as down to earth. He is Mr. Americana, but he is a rocker and this album rocks!

I am not familiar enough with Isbell’s catalog to call this his best, but it sure appeals to me – until I learn more, I will call this his best. A guy on Twitter said Isbell “Falls victim to his FM Rock tendencies. Leaves me cold.” I agree Isbell clearly has 70s classic rock influences front and center here (I hear: Neil Young, Skynyrd, Springsteen, the Allmans, the Stones, Petty, The Faces, The Who, etc.), but I am more than okay with that. He makes it his own and executes it flawlessly. Unlike Twitter Guy, it leaves me on fire!

Lyrically this is a heavy album: school shootings, the opioid crisis, working-class exhaustion, separation, letting down a friend, emotional abandonment of one’s family, etc., but it is not depressing. Here is another way he is like Springsteen: somehow, all these downer stories are uplifting.

This is an excellent album with no stinkers, but I want to focus on the last two songs: “This Ain’t It” and “Miles.” There are so many great ones here, but I will focus on these two. Closing an album is a skill, and Isbell and the band win with a walk-off.

“This Ain’t It” is a cross between early 70s Stones and the Allman Brothers. It has a sexy guitar mid-song interlude à la the Stones’ “Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’.” “This Ain’t It” kicks ass. This song could be a Black Crowes song – I say that as a total compliment. Lyrically, Isbell tells the story of a woman the song’s narrator abandoned and his disappointment in her choice to be with a wealthy man.

“Miles” starts out as vintage Neil Young with Crazy Horse. But it doesn’t stay there – it transitions into a Beatlesque jam – specifically George Harrison. Lyrically it deals with a very adult theme: being physically present yet emotionally distant from your family. There is no infidelity, but there is still damage: “There’s miles between us” and “In the name of forgiveness, we get bored.”

Again, like Springsteen, Isbell does not write dumb rock songs but deep adult morality tales. Amazingly, it is done in a completely entertaining way. It is quite the magic trick.

I have not listened to every Isbell track over his career, but I have a decent familiarity with his vocals. On Weathervanes, his vocals have a richness that has him at a new level. The 400 Unit’s drummer, Chad Gamble, says Isbell dug back into his roots as a singer on Weathervanes. “He’s got some growl in there that we haven’t heard in a while, you know? I think his voice is in as good shape as it’s ever been, and he’s gotten a little more playful with his vocals on this record.”

Again, I am not an expert on the catalog, but based on what I have listened to, Isbell albums have had a strong singer-songwriter vibe. This one has a rock vibe – more emphasis on arrangements and the sound of a rock band. That sonic decision elevates the lyrics. When rock works, it is transcendent, and on Weathervanes, it is totally working. I love rock n’ roll! The best summary of this album is on the LP’s hype sticker: “LIFE AND DEATH SONGS PLAYED FOR AND BY GROWN ASS PEOPLE.” Damn!

I recall when Shadow Kingdom was marketed as a pay-per-view livestream concert* during the Covid lockdown, I was wary and passed. I felt validated passing after the airing, when I learned it was not a live concert but a stylized black-and-white art film featuring the songs in pre-recorded set pieces. I missed the part where critics raved about Dylan’s creative re-arrangements of his early songs. Now comes the LP version of Shadow Kingdom, and it is WOW!

Shadow Kingdom is late period Bob reflecting on some of his songs from the 60s (with one oddball from 1989 and a new song of incidental music used on the movie end-credits). His method is to dramatically rearrange the songs. The arrangements are daring but completely in the context of what he has been doing live the last decade or so. The song selections are very cool – deep cuts – not the obvious “greatest hits. It is a brilliantly inspired playlist. Here is the tracklist:

When I Paint My Masterpiece
Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine)
Queen Jane Approximately
I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight
Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues
Tombstone Blues
To Be Alone with You
What Was It You Wanted
Forever Young
Pledging My Time
The Wicked Messenger
Watching the River Flow
It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue
Sierra’s Theme (a new song that is an instrumental that was used for end credits in the concert film)

Dylan comes across as playful and is known for reinventing his songs in concert, So it is not shocking to hear rearrangements here. In concerts those rearrangements can sound tossed off, here they come across as loving reconsiderations.

Vocally, Dylan sounds great. Dylan rehabbed his voice and tweaked his phrasing during the Sinatra trilogy (2015-2017). Shadow Kingdom is a direct beneficiary of that detour (as is Rough And Rowdy Ways and his current installment of the Never Ending Tour). The arrangements on Shadow Kingdom are generally slowed down, using the bluesy Americana of his late period and intriguingly without drums.

Sonically, this is an outstanding recording and Dylan’s voice is front and center. There is a nice clean separation so every instrument can be clearly heard. The accordion takes a prominent place in the arrangements. Overall this is a great-sounding album.

Personnel:

Bob Dylan – vocals, harmonica
Jeff Taylor – accordion
Greg Leisz – guitar, pedal steel guitar, mandolin
Tim Pierce – guitar
T-Bone Burnett – guitar
Ira Ingber – guitar
Don Was – upright bass
John Avila – electric bass
Doug Lacy – accordion
Steve Bartek – additional acoustic guitar

*2021 concert film featuring American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Directed by Israeli-American filmmaker Alma Har’el, it was shot on a soundstage in Santa Monica, California, over seven days in 2021 while Dylan was sidelined from his Never Ending Tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic.