Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

American standards for an American Standard

Voice of the anti-establishment pays homage to the Chairman of the Board — wtf?!

In the 1960s, Bob Dylan provided my peers and I the soundtrack of our times, chuffing famous lines like "How does it feel/ to be on your own/ no direction home/ like a rolling stone?" With his signature sound and relevant lyrics, Dylan helped shape and define the counterculture and anti-Vietnam War movement.

Bob Dylan is now 73, and with 36 studio albums to his credit, he is taking us back to another era, the soundtrack of the early 20th Century. On this new record, Dylan covers — or as he describes it, “uncovers” — ten vintage tunes written by the likes of Irving Berlin and Rodgers and Hammerstein, which were all brought to life by Frank Sinatra. Yes, it’s hard to believe, but Dylan, once the voice of the anti-establishment, here pays homage to “the chairman of the board.”

In two words: sad, dreadful. (The times they really are a-changing.) Featuring sparse production values and a five-piece band muted in the studio to sound like a single acoustic guitar, Dylan attempts to reinvent himself as a crooner. The “music” is lost in his vocals, an unlistenable display of low-key croaks and squeaks. The only thing missing from this disappointing take on American standards, such as "Autumn Leaves" and "What'll I Do," is a shabby piano-bar setting and a glass of bottom-shelf scotch. The scotch, however, couldn’t even save this set. Or as Dylan sings in his tortured version of “Some Enchanted Evening,” “Who can explain it?/ Who can tell you why?/ Fools give reasons/ Wise men never try."

Sponsored
Sponsored
  • Artist: Bob Dylan
  • Record: Shadows in the Night
  • Label: Columbia
  • Songs: (1) I'm a Fool to Want You (2) The Night We Call It a Day (3) Stay With Me (4) Autumn Leaves (5) Why Try to Change Me Now (6) Some Enchanted Evening (7) Full Moon and Empty Arms (8) Where Are you (9) What'll I Do (10) That Lucky Old Sun

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

A rope course designed to resemble the Giant Dipper at Belmont Part

Maruta Gardner Playground - a parent's playground
Next Article

When Rafael Payare met with Irwin Jacobs

The new Music Center is a heavenly hall

In the 1960s, Bob Dylan provided my peers and I the soundtrack of our times, chuffing famous lines like "How does it feel/ to be on your own/ no direction home/ like a rolling stone?" With his signature sound and relevant lyrics, Dylan helped shape and define the counterculture and anti-Vietnam War movement.

Bob Dylan is now 73, and with 36 studio albums to his credit, he is taking us back to another era, the soundtrack of the early 20th Century. On this new record, Dylan covers — or as he describes it, “uncovers” — ten vintage tunes written by the likes of Irving Berlin and Rodgers and Hammerstein, which were all brought to life by Frank Sinatra. Yes, it’s hard to believe, but Dylan, once the voice of the anti-establishment, here pays homage to “the chairman of the board.”

In two words: sad, dreadful. (The times they really are a-changing.) Featuring sparse production values and a five-piece band muted in the studio to sound like a single acoustic guitar, Dylan attempts to reinvent himself as a crooner. The “music” is lost in his vocals, an unlistenable display of low-key croaks and squeaks. The only thing missing from this disappointing take on American standards, such as "Autumn Leaves" and "What'll I Do," is a shabby piano-bar setting and a glass of bottom-shelf scotch. The scotch, however, couldn’t even save this set. Or as Dylan sings in his tortured version of “Some Enchanted Evening,” “Who can explain it?/ Who can tell you why?/ Fools give reasons/ Wise men never try."

Sponsored
Sponsored
  • Artist: Bob Dylan
  • Record: Shadows in the Night
  • Label: Columbia
  • Songs: (1) I'm a Fool to Want You (2) The Night We Call It a Day (3) Stay With Me (4) Autumn Leaves (5) Why Try to Change Me Now (6) Some Enchanted Evening (7) Full Moon and Empty Arms (8) Where Are you (9) What'll I Do (10) That Lucky Old Sun
Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The ups and downs of Cel Cerro on a bike

Best outdoors times
Next Article

Bluefin tuna, three subspecies vary greatly in size

Lobster opener – gotta go deep for rockfish
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader