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Shadow Kingdom

For the related film, see Shadow Kingdom: The Early Songs of Bob Dylan.

Shadow Kingdom is the 40th studio album and second soundtrack album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on June 2, 2023, through Columbia Records. It is Dylan's first album of new studio recordings since his 2020 album Rough and Rowdy Ways. The songs were recorded at Village Recorder in West Los Angeles in early 2021 to accompany Alma Har'el's film Shadow Kingdom: The Early Songs of Bob Dylan, which was shot later.[1] Although no musicians are listed in the credits, various sources have identified the session players as consisting of veterans such as T Bone Burnett and Don Was.[2][3][4][5] It is the first album in which Dylan plays with a band that features no drums or percussion.[6]

Shadow Kingdom
A black-and-white photo of Dylan playing harmonica into a microphone
Studio album by
Bob Dylan
ReleasedJune 2, 2023 (2023-06-02)
Recorded2021
StudioVillage Recorder (West Los Angeles)
Length54:00
LabelColumbia
Bob Dylan chronology
The Bootleg Series Vol. 17: Fragments – Time Out of Mind Sessions (1996–1997)
(2023) 		Shadow Kingdom
(2023) 		The Complete Budokan 1978
(2023)
Singles from Shadow Kingdom
  1. "Watching the River Flow"
    Released: April 13, 2023

Shadow Kingdom consists of new recordings of 13 songs from the first half of Dylan's career plus a new instrumental song titled "Sierra's Theme". The album was preceded by a single for "Watching the River Flow", which was released on streaming platforms and as a YouTube video on April 13, 2023.[7] The performance of "Forever Young" from Har'el's film was released as a standalone video on June 2, 2023.[8] The album received universal praise from critics.[9][10]

Packaging

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The album's cover photograph is a black-and-white still image of Bob Dylan playing the harmonica taken from the film Shadow Kingdom: The Early Songs of Bob Dylan, directed by Alma Har'el and shot by Lol Crawley. The graphic design is credited to Geoff Gans.[11]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic84/100[12]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [13]
American Songwriter     [14]
Clash Music          [15]
The Daily Telegraph     [16]
Exclaim!          [17]
Far Out     [18]
The Line of Best Fit          [19]
Mojo     [20]
The Spill Magazine          [21]
Uncut     [9]

Shadow Kingdom was released to widespread critical acclaim, receiving an average score of 84 on review aggregator Metacritic.[22]

A Rolling Stone review by Michaelangelo Matos named Shadow Kingdom one of the "Hear This" recommended albums for the month of June 2023, claiming that Dylan makes his classic songs "seem stunningly brand new".[23]

A review by Scott Bauer of the Associated Press praised the arrangements, noting how the "heavy dose of accordion and no drums" make the songs "sound fresh again". Bauer also claimed that the album "stands as a good retort for all the naysayers who have argued, seemingly from day one, that Dylan can't sing. The subdued arrangements are perfect for Dylan's well-weathered, unfairly maligned voice".[24]

The Daily Telegraph's Neil McCormick gave the album a five out of five star rating and wrote: "[...] what an absolute joy it is, in which the grand old man of songcraft flips through his own back pages with genuine relish, a man in his 80s revisiting the words of his firebrand youth and finding entirely new meanings there."[25]

Writing in Uncut, Richard Williams rated the album four out of five stars, arguing that its sound seemingly grew out of Dylan's previous album Rough and Rowdy Ways. Williams called the music a "loose, fluid instrumental mesh" and described how "slow swells of accordion, acoustic guitars and bowed string bass" underline "the carefully articulated front-and-centre vocal".[9]

Mojo's John Mulvey likewise gave the album four out of five stars, calling it "an extremely useful addition to the Dylan catalogue" and highlighted the performance of "What Was It You Wanted" as "particularly impressive" for its "gravitas".[10]

Tim Cumming, writing at The Arts Desk, noted that the "best song performances – "Queen Jane Approximately", "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" and "Tombstone Blues" from Highway 61, a poignant "Forever Young" and a killer version of "What Was It You Wanted", one I may never hear bettered – make this required listening when it comes to later-period Bob, a rare look back in studio conditions, and from a high point in his career".[26]

Paul Sinclair, writing at the Super Deluxe Edition website, called it "a record for Dylan diehards to treasure – the latest of several releases by him that are essential purchases".[27]

Reviewing the album for Hot Press, Pat Carty praised the way "Monumental song writing achievements have the patina of familiarity and reverence blown off them and are allowed to be heard anew. This arrangement of 'Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues' – to offer just one example – transports the song forwards (and backwards) in time from the wild, hipper-than-anyone-has-ever-been, frazzled Godhead of Highway 61 Revisited to the calmer when-you're-lost-in-the-rain-in-Juarez environs of the Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid soundtrack".[28]

Singer/songwriter Elliott Murphy cited Dylan's performance of "Most Likely You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine" on this album as one of his top 10 songs of the 21st century in an article for Poetic Justice Magazine.[29]

Accolades

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Accolades for Shadow Kingdom
Publication Accolade Rank
Forbes 2023 Archival Releases So Far[30] N/A
Metacritic Best Albums of 2023[31] 74
Rolling Stone The Best Albums of 2023 So Far[32] N/A
Ultimate Classic Rock Top 10 Reissues of 2023[33] 10

Commercial performance

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Shadow Kingdom debuted at number 71 on the Billboard 200 but was the seventh best-selling album in the US during its first week of release based on pure album sales.[34] The album charted in at least 19 countries and reached the top 10 in Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Scotland and Switzerland.

Track listing

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CD edition

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All tracks are written by Bob Dylan

Shadow Kingdom track listing
No.TitleLength
1."When I Paint My Masterpiece"4:25
2."Most Likely You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine"3:32
3."Queen Jane Approximately"5:14
4."I'll Be Your Baby Tonight"3:04
5."Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues"4:26
6."Tombstone Blues"5:00
7."To Be Alone with You"3:10
8."What Was It You Wanted"5:03
9."Forever Young"3:15
10."Pledging My Time"3:50
11."The Wicked Messenger"2:56
12."Watching the River Flow"3:00
13."It's All Over Now, Baby Blue"2:49
14."Sierra's Theme"4:23
Total length:54:00

Vinyl edition

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Side A
No.TitleLength
1."When I Paint My Masterpiece"4:25
2."Most Likely You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine"3:32
3."Queen Jane Approximately"5:14
4."I'll Be Your Baby Tonight"3:04
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues"4:26
2."Tombstone Blues"5:00
3."To Be Alone with You"3:10
4."What Was It You Wanted"5:03
Side C
No.TitleLength
1."Forever Young"3:15
2."Pledging My Time"3:50
3."The Wicked Messenger"2:56
4."Watching the River Flow"3:00
5."It's All Over Now, Baby Blue"2:49
6."Sierra's Theme"4:23

Personnel

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  • Bob Dylan – vocals, guitar, 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[35]

Charts

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Chart performance for Shadow Kingdom
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[36] 56
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[37] 4
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[38] 10
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[39] 37
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[40] 34
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[41] 13
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[42] 10
French Albums (SNEP)[43] 82
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[44] 10
Irish Albums (OCC)[45] 21
Italian Albums (FIMI)[46] 70
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[47] 18
Japanese Combined Albums (Oricon)[48] 38
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[49] 21
Japanese Rock Albums (Oricon)[50] 3
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[51] 19
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[52] 40
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[53] 24
Scottish Albums (OCC)[54] 3
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[55] 27
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[56] 22
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[57] 3
UK Albums (OCC)[58] 14
US Billboard 200[59] 71

References

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  1. ^ johnnyborganblogg (May 25, 2023). "What You See Is Not What You Get. About "Shadow Kingdom", Bob Dylan, 2023". Johnny B. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  2. ^ Bals, Fred (May 2, 2022). "Return to Bob Dylan's Shadow Kingdom".
  3. ^ Wise, Brian (May 22, 2023). "Dylan's Shadow Kingdom Out In All Formats On June 2". Rhythms Music Magazine. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  4. ^ "My DREAM Became REAL. Tracking LIVE With Bob Dylan". Retrieved May 28, 2023 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ "Ira Ingber Interview on The Paul Leslie Hour". Retrieved May 28, 2023 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ Carty, Pat. "Album Review: Shadow Kingdom – The Early Songs Of Bob Dylan". Hot Press. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  7. ^ "Watching the River Flow". Retrieved May 27, 2023 – via YouTube.
  8. ^ "Bob Dylan – Forever Young (From Shadow Kingdom)". Retrieved June 2, 2023 – via YouTube.
  9. ^ a b c Williams, Richard (May 18, 2023). "Bob Dylan – Shadow Kingdom". Uncut. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  10. ^ a b "Bob Dylan's Shadow Kingdom Reviewed". Mojo. 2023. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  11. ^ Har'el, Alma (May 24, 2023). "Instagram post". Retrieved May 26, 2023 – via Instagram.
  12. ^ "Shadow Kingdom by Bob Dylan Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  13. ^ Erlewine, Stephen (June 2, 2023). "Shadow Kingdom Review". AllMusic. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  14. ^ Zimmerman, Lee (June 5, 2023). "Dylan Does Dylan, With a Mellower Mindset". American Songwriter. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  15. ^ Murray, Robin (June 1, 2023). "Bob Dylan - Shadow Kingdom". Clash Music. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  16. ^ McCormick, Neil (June 2, 2023). "Best Albums of the Week". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  17. ^ Khanna, Vish (June 1, 2023). "Bob Dylan Illuminates New Corners of His Music on Shadow Kingdom". Exclaim!. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  18. ^ Taylor, Tom (June 1, 2023). "Bob Dylan - Shadow Kingdom album review". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  19. ^ Oinen, Janne (June 2, 2023). "Bob Dylan Shadow Kingdom". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  20. ^ Mulvey, John (May 19, 2023). "Bob Dylan's Shadow Kingdom Reviewed". Mojo. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  21. ^ Kennard, Dan (June 9, 2023). "Bob Dylan - Shadow Kingdom". The Spill Magazine. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  22. ^ "Shadow Kingdom by Bob Dylan". Metacritic. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  23. ^ Matos, Michaelangelo (June 1, 2023). "Bob Dylan Makes His Classic Songs Seem Stunningly Brand-New on 'Shadow Kingdom'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  24. ^ "Music Review: Bob Dylan's 'Shadow Kingdom' reimagines well-known, obscure songs". AP News. May 31, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  25. ^ McCormick, Neil; Platt, Poppie (June 2, 2023). "Noel Gallagher lacks spark, Bob Dylan is spine-tingling – the week's best albums". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  26. ^ "Album: Bob Dylan – Shadow Kingdom". The Arts Desk. May 27, 2023. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  27. ^ "Bob Dylan's Shadow Kingdom reviewed". SuperDeluxeEdition. May 30, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  28. ^ "Album Review: Shadow Kingdom – The Early Songs Of Bob Dylan". June 4, 2023. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  29. ^ Editor, Poetic Justice (December 5, 2023). "Elliott Murphy's Top 10 Bob Dylan Tracks – 21st Century". Poetic Justice. Retrieved December 7, 2023. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  30. ^ Chiu, David (July 4, 2023). "2023 Archival Music Releases So Far". Forbes.
  31. ^ "Metacritic's Best Albums of 2023". Metacritic. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  32. ^ Matos, Michaelangelo. "The Best Albums of 2023 So Far". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  33. ^ "Top 10 Reissues of 2023". Ultimate Classic Rock.
  34. ^ "Enhypen Lands Fifth Top 10 on Album Sales Chart With Dark Blood". Yahoo! Entertainment. June 12, 2023. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  35. ^ Williams, Richard (May 18, 2023). "Bob Dylan – Shadow Kingdom". Uncut. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  36. ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 12 June 2023". The ARIA Report. No. 1736. Australian Recording Industry Association. June 12, 2023. p. 6.
  37. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Bob Dylan – Shadow Kingdom" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  38. ^ "Ultratop.be – Bob Dylan – Shadow Kingdom" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  39. ^ "Ultratop.be – Bob Dylan – Shadow Kingdom" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  40. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Bob Dylan – Shadow Kingdom". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  41. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Bob Dylan – Shadow Kingdom" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  42. ^ "Bob Dylan: Shadow Kingdom" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  43. ^ "Top Albums (Week 23, 2023)". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  44. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Bob Dylan – Shadow Kingdom" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  45. ^ "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  46. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Bob Dylan – Shadow Kingdom". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  47. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2023-06-12/p/2" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  48. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Combined Albums: 2023-06-12" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  49. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums: Week of June 7, 2023". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  50. ^ "Weekly ROCK Album Ranking". Oricon. June 6, 2023. Archived from the original on June 9, 2023. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  51. ^ "Charts.nz – Bob Dylan – Shadow Kingdom". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  52. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Bob Dylan – Shadow Kingdom". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  53. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Bob Dylan – Shadow Kingdom". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  54. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  55. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Bob Dylan – Shadow Kingdom". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  56. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Bob Dylan – Shadow Kingdom". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  57. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Bob Dylan – Shadow Kingdom". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  58. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  59. ^ "Bob Dylan Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
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