Review Summary: Prepare for a folk feast of boredom and emotionlessness!
No one speaks about Bob Dylan's recent release. It may be his most overlooked album ever. "Shadow Kingdom" is the soundtrack of a 2021 Netflix Concert Documentary (almost in the vein of the sublime "Live At Alexandra Palace") that surprises Bob Dylan reinterpreting his classic songs with his age's specific wisdom. The concept could have been a hit if the album had been released along with the movie and if the interpretations were significantly different from the originals. Instead, all we receive is a soulless collection of covers of signature tracks, delivered with an insipid acoustic arrangement.
For the first time in his discography, Bob Dylan sounds like he doesn’t perceive the music and its essence. Consequently, the repertoire feels like a late-night concert given by an old singer who’s way past his bedtime. With this approach, Bob Dylan introduces the listener to his most forgettable effort and, also, his most impersonal one. "Shadow Kingdom" affirms like an album made by the shadow of a long-gone musical genius. So, the title is appropriate to the context of a pale work that will enchant just the folks that prefer the melodic line over substance and expressive power.
The project's most significant flaw is his overall self-indulgence. "Shadow Kingdom" presents an old musician who indulges in recreating a palette of essential songs from vague colors and inexpressive nuances. From the beginning represented by an uninspired take on "When I Paint My Masterpiece", the album lacks any feeling. The original sounds great, and the Band’s cover has a unique suite of emotions, but this version is void of any sensibility. Bob Dylan sounds like he had already painted his masterpiece (which of course he did) and proudly addresses the listener from the highest peak of musical genius. Here lies the album’s self-indulgence. Dylan is conscious of his praiseworthy achievements and feels that if he delivers another set of classics, the fans will respect him just the same, praising him for a new approach. In fact, the only original aspect of this approach remains only the weak interpretation.
The next moments will follow the pattern established so clearly in the introduction. Even if they’re stylistically different, "Queen Jane Approximately" and "Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues" benefit from the same feelingless interpretation. The sounds are beautiful in their construction, but the entire music refuses to work as an emotional vehicle. "Forever Young" marks a pretty good cover, finally delivering an original approach, but the rest of the album doesn't preserve its uniqueness and the following songs will form a parade of wasted moments, devoid of any artistic sensibility.
The repetitive instrumental "Sierra’s Theme" closes the album with a motif inspired by "All Along The Watchtower". It consists of a boring exercise in musical futility, being very strange from Dylan's stylistic notions.
In the end, we are left with an insipid work by an old artist that gives too few moments to be remembered. This trait constitutes the origin of the wave of ignorance surrounding the record. The available reviews are choosing between two equally inutile approaches: the unworthy praise due to Dylan’s undisputable masterworks and total silence ("If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all."). At a careful listen, the album is nothing short of boring, repetitive due to its inexpressive arrangements, and vastly immemorable, marking an all-time low in Dylan’s career.
"Shadow Kingdom" remains a musical wasteland without any stable creative pillar, which is conducted by an almost unbearable self-indulgence. Without any trace of sensitiveness or emotion, the release remains inferior even to Sinatra-inspired efforts "Shadows In The Night", "Fallen Angel," and "Triplicate," which are essentially uninspired albums touched by a saving interpretative feel. "Shadow Kingdom" ultimately proves to be the most inessential Bob Dylan album, a later-day release that will probably be infrequently mentioned just as an insignificant soundtrack to a Netflix movie.
