Dylan in Shadows.

• Author: Doherty, Brian
• Position: Briefly Noted - Bob Dylan's 'Shadows in the Night' - Brief article

Bob Dylan debuted two major works in February: Shadows in the Night, 10 torch songs previously recorded by Frank Sinatra, and his acceptance speech at the MusiCares Awards, in which he gave a detailed account of how his songwriting arose from the folk songs he sang as a young man. Fie also griped about critics of his unconventional singing.

Dylan led a generation in overthrowing the classic American songbook for a wild, more personal style, forcing reviewers of Shadows to note that in it Dylan is doing something he's always done: "confounding expectations." Yet in his MusiCares speech, he...