Bob Dylan -‘Shadows In The Night’ (Columbia/Sony)

Shadows In The Night is Bob Dylan’s 36th studio album. Whilst it might seem strange that the man often regarded as the songwriter’s songwriter would release an album completely consisting of cover versions, it’s not the first time that his albums have been either mostly comprised (Bob Dylan, Self-Portrait) or even completely comprised (Good As I Been To You, World Gone Wrong, Christmas In The Heart), of cover versions, or if you want to be specific, traditional songs.

This time round, the theme is songs popularised by Frank Sinatra in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Reportedly 23 songs were recorded – so we can either expect another studio album to reveal more, or another of his fantastic Bootleg series. And as a whole album, it hangs together really, really well. The sleeve suggests the classic smoky late night atmosphere of Sinatra’s studio albums or jazz albums of the period. These are songs that require a croon – which he does well. Whilst it falters a little on ‘Stay With Me’ the vocal style is midway between Sinatra and Dylan at his more gruff.

Indeed some of these covers are genuinely moving – the South Pacific song ‘Some Enchanted Evening’ and though brief, ‘Autumn Leaves’ is this scribe’s favourite. It’s a gorgeous album overall, with a fantastic melancholy that makes it something to treasure. Covers albums can be hit or miss, but overall this is a fine example of one that works, and shows us that six decades in, Dylan is still capable of surprises.

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Shadows In The Night is out now on Columbia/Sony

Yup, just a couple of years after the rather great actually Modern Times, Bob Dylan has made the opening track on his new album Together Through Life available for just twenty-four hours. It’s called

So, what does it sound like? Well, I rate Dylan and if he dipped in the eighties (an accusation that was also levelled at Neil Young and David Bowie, amongst others), he’s certainly still continued to produce great stuff as the years have gone by. He may be of pensionable age, but his talent sure as heck isn’t.

A friend said they thought this sounded like ‘Black Magic Woman’ by Santana, but ‘in a good way.’ I hear an element of this. It’s certainly got quite…well, not a European feel per se , but certainly not just American. According to Uncut’s Allan Jones, “Dylan had been asked by the French film director Olivier Dahan, who made the Edith Piaf biopic, La Vie En Rose…to write some songs for his new movie, My Own Love Song. Dylan duly came up with a ballad called “Life Is Hard”, and was so inspired the next thing anyone knew he’d written nine more new songs and not long after that – bingo! – here’s Together Through Life in all its rowdy glory.”

Oh yeah…

so see what you think of this.

Bob Dylan -‘Beyond Here Lies Nothin.’ mp3

Together Through Life is out on April 27.