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10.0
72739
10.0 |
The Guardian
Works as an unalloyed pleasure, rather than a research project. It may be the most straightforwardly enjoyable album Dylan’s made since Time Out of Mind
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10.0
72839
10.0 |
The Arts Desk
This is no tribute album, neither is it a piece of opportunism. Subscription required
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10.0
72888
10.0 |
Mojo
He glides with the melodies and relaxes into them, enjoying the ride that these gems provide. Print edition only
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10.0
72905
10.0 |
The Irish Times
Those who complain that Dylan can’t sing are treated to a masterclass in timing, phrasing, nuance and interpretation. Even the cracks in his voice leave a poignant trail
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9.0
73019
9.0 |
No Ripcord
The artistry on Shadows In The Night is as sharp as ever, which is a welcome reminder of how Dylan’s songwriting is only half the story
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9.0
73449
9.0 |
The Music
Dylan’s voice is the focal point and it’s never sounded this intimate and richly toned
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9.0
72843
9.0 |
Paste Magazine
The light that shines out of Shadows In The Night is blinding. When Dylan flexes and fires on all cylinders like this, nobody else has a chance
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9.0
72769
9.0 |
Uncut
It is as sincere as any of Dylan's many forays into traditional American roots idioms. Print edition only
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8.3
72872
8.3 |
A.V. Club
Listeners can spend a lifetime attempting to keep Dylan confined to a series of preconceived notions, but Shadows In The Night is just an example of how he’ll continue to defy them
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8.0
72808
8.0 |
All Music
These slow, winding arrangements are why Shadows in the Night feels unexpectedly resonant: it's a testament to how deeply Dylan sees himself in these old songs
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8.0
72822
8.0 |
PopMatters
There’s no sarcasm, cynicism or irony on this disc; no hipster coolness, not vocal embellishments. Shadows in the Night is clearly an act of love and honor
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8.0
72830
8.0 |
Tiny Mix Tapes
These songs are now, again, the basic totems of the 20th century’s repressed occult psyche
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8.0
72831
8.0 |
Rolling Stone
Dylan's focus and his diction, after years of drowning in sandpaper, evoke his late-Sixties poise and clarity on John Wesley Harding and Nashville Skyline
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8.0
72753
8.0 |
The FT
Neither too reverential nor too ironic, the nostalgia strikes exactly the right note, a fond fantasy of the past
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8.0
72737
8.0 |
The Independent
The results have a lingering, languid charm, which does, as he suggests, help to liberate the material from the rusting manacles of big-band and cabaret mannerisms
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8.0
72738
8.0 |
The Observer
These are laudably ascetic treatments, recorded with no studio buffing, and marvellously devoid of the insulin spike of period orchestration
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8.0
73729
8.0 |
God Is In The TV
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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8.0
73032
8.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
A welcome reminder that for all his understandable plaudits as a poet and songwriter, the latter-day Dylan is primarily a protector and reviver of arcane American music traditions - and, above all, a genuine vocal stylist
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8.0
73002
8.0 |
State
He has put his heart and soul into revivifying these songs, his sincere love for them is made more apparent with every croaky twang of his larynx, and that is what makes the record work so well
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8.0
72874
8.0 |
NOW
The music means the world to him, and it's wonderful
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7.5
72837
7.5 |
Pretty Much Amazing
A timbre that’s sandpaper smooth. But, oh, the execution, so worn and battered,lifts the finest of these reinterpretations above wistfulness into pathos
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7.0
72792
7.0 |
Slant Magazine
Deepens the innate sorrow of these old tunes by establishing them on a long, irregular continuum, possessing the same inherent mutability as the folk songs of Dylan's early days
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7.0
72978
7.0 |
Spin
He projects an understanding and sympathy for his narrators that allows him to excavate phrases Sinatra let be
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6.7
73096
6.7 |
Consequence Of Sound
His vocals, less ragged than usual, fit the mood of this record better than expected, lending an everyman quality to these sentiments
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6.5
73077
6.5 |
Beardfood
His most sincere and heartfelt since Time Out Of Mind
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6.2
72791
6.2 |
Pitchfork
Shadows in the Night may pose some compelling questions for the Bobophiles who scrutinize every line and every word of every Dylan song, but for the more casual, less obsessive listener, it can be a bit of a snooze
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6.0
72731
6.0 |
Evening Standard
No one song stands out — it’s uniformly sleepy and muted, and rather dull
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6.0
72770
6.0 |
Q
He mostly rises to the occasion. What the vocals lack in beauty, they make up in expressiveness. Print edition only
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6.0
72873
6.0 |
NME
It's all wildly self-indulgent, but pleasant enough
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6.0
72860
6.0 |
Drowned In Sound
Maybe we just know cynical old Bob too well, but where Frank lived these songs, Dylan merely acts them, albeit with tremendous skill
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