For a lot of people under the age of, let’s say 45, Bob Dylan is a distant character of the past, but the truth is that still there are only few sounds around that can grab the attention quite like Dylan’s unique sense of phrasing. You know, stretching syllables and everything. And he still has some fire left. He’s the living proof that if you stay for something, you won’t fall for anything. There’s this concept flying around for some years now that Dylan is one of the greatest songwriters, but his works are best performed by others. The essential thing here is that if his voice was smooth and silky, then who’s going to believe his lyrics?

As weird as it is, Bob Dylan has always been criminally overlooked in this country, so it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if this album goes under the radar of general public again, but still it is really one of Dylan’s greatest records. And he has many, you know? Why is that? Well, first of all, his voice has changed a bit over the years. Ragged and scorched it may be, but it also opens the door of imagination and vivid moods that hover the whole album from beginning to the end. This is the vocal presence of the last man standing.

In truth “Shadows In The Night” is no different from any other collection of songs that Dylan has released in the past decade, but this time his vocals are more upfront and center in the mix and this makes us focus on his voice. This is a record as preoccupied with dark and mystical overtones  as was “Together Through Life”(2009) back in the day. Dylan has now the freedom to do his own art on his own terms. He continues to challenge himself, because he will never face the challenge to be a novelty again and that’s what great artists do to escape the fortune of being classified as dinosaur fossils.

At least half of the songs in this album are urban tales of ordinary American lives of heartbreak and remorse, but even “Stay With Me” which Sinatra once sang for the obscure movie “The Cardinal” from 1963 sounds smoother than many might expect from a cover version done by Dylan. But it all works. It’s Dylan. He knows what he’s doing.