New Morning
It must be tough being Bob Dylan, with a legion of fans hoping everything you do is a masterpiece and a legion of detractors hoping it isn’t. As he has been very prolific over the past sixty years or so, the opposing legions have plenty of scope for argument. Bob seems to float above it, doing what he wants.
New Morning isn’t one of the big albums; it’s not a Blonde on Blonde or a Blood On The Tracks and, never having heard it, I approached it with some hesitation. I shouldn’t have worried: the more I listened, the more I got into it. On first impression, it might not be one of the great albums, but it’s a pretty decent one, and there’s also a sly humour running through it.
On a second listen, I reckon it’s one I need to spend more time with, though probably on Spotify where I listened to it.
***
Shades of Rock
Released on the same day, Shades of Rock by the Shadows is something of a curiosity. The band here comprises Hank Marvin, Brian Bennett and Alan Hawkshaw, with a revolving cast of session bass players, including the ubiquitous Herbie Flowers.
The album consists in the lads playing a selection of popular songs as instrumentals. The arrangements are decent, the playing faultless, the production is good. Unfortunately, it all feels a bit tasteful and pointless, and certainly doesn’t deliver on the promise of the album cover.
Recent Comments