Fallen Angels is another cover album by Bob Dylan dedicated to the evergreen American music and big Frank Sinatra. Last year, Dylan released Shadows in the Night, a collection of American standards that could easily be related with Frank Sinatra. Fallen Angels is a substantial continuation, but it is also different than its predecessor.
Although both albums have been recorded at the same time and share jazz approach adapted to Dylan’s style, those songs that ended up on Shadows in the Nights were filtered by the atmosphere of sadness, melancholy, loneliness and loss. On the other hand, twelve songs of Fallen Angels are just ordinary collection of good old tunes known to almost every person in the United States. They are joyful, prosaic and hypnotic. Truth to be told – Dylan is not a first class singer in a technical sense, but he compensates the lack of passion with the sagacity. This wise man decided to sing while walking down the memory lane of sonic history.
Fallen Angels reveals how Dylan sees American music. Still, even the great album as this can not hide the fact that Dylan has a creative block. Only two albums he released in the past ten years are not cover albums. Tempest was a good record that he created with the help of Robert Hunter. Once he needs collaborators, you know that the Dylan is in the incubation phase.
It is yet to be seen whether Shadows in the Night and Fallen Angels are farewell records or preparation for the grand encore.
