Shadow Kingdom – Bob Dylan
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In May 2021, not able to tour due to the pandemic, Bob Dylan offered a pay for view “concert” titled Shadow Kingdom: The Early Songs of Bob Dylan. It was directed by Alma Har’el and billed as a live, pay-per-view concert. Set in a fictitious Marseilles bar called the Bon Bon Club, the event was actually a performance of a studio recording, with musicians – Alex Burke, Buck Meek, Joshua Crumbly (guitars), Shahzad Ismaily (accordion) and Janie Cowan (upright bass) – playing the roles of the actual personnel who recorded the original music with Dylan.
The new Shadow Kingdom album features thirteen songs from the film and an instrumental piece called ‘Sierra’s Theme,’ which played over the film’s closing credits. The personnel on the album are – Dylan (vocals, harmonica), Jeff Taylor (accordion), Greg Leisz (pedal steel guitar, mandolin), Tim Pierce, T-Bone Burnett, Ira Ingber (guitars) and Don Was (upright bass). There are no drums or piano.
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- More of this review and a review of Live from Red Rocks by Mac Powell
- Music News
- Song of the Week Lyrics ~ God of Every Grace by Keith & Kristyn Getty, Matt Boswell, and Matt Papa
The songs included (see below) span from 1965 to 1989. The earliest is “It’s All Over, Baby Blue” from Bringing It All Back Home, and the most recent track is “What Was It You Wanted” from Oh Mercy. Dylan’s voice sounds great, better than it has in years, as he reinvents these songs, both musically and at times lyrically, not unlike what U2 did recently on Songs of Surrender. The songs included are both well-known (“Forever Young”), and obscure (“To Be Alone With You”). “Tombstone Blues” is slowed down, reminding me of his vocal on “Murder Most Foul,” while “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” begins as a rocker and then slows down as a blues song. The band backing Dylan is excellent. The production is clear. I thoroughly enjoyed this new release.
The songs included on the project are:
When I Paint My Masterpiece
Most Likely You Go Your Way (and I’ll Go Mine)
Queen Jane Approximately
I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight
Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues
Tombstone Blues
To Be Alone With You
What Was It You Wanted
Forever Young
Pledging My Time
The Wicked Messenger
Watching the River Flow
It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue
Sierra’s Theme (instrumental)
Live from Red Rocks – Mac Powell
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This six-song (plus an acoustic request segment) EP from Mac Powell features two Third Day songs (“Soul on Fire”, “God of Wonders”), two songs from Powell’s New Creation album (“New Creation”, “River of Life”), one song from Mac Powell and the Family Reunion’s album Back Again (“Flood Waters”), and a cover of “Don’t Stop” by Fleetwood Mac. The project was recorded at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado in August 2022 during the K-Love Presents Live at Red Rocks.
I saw Third Day live three times as well as Powell with the Family Reunion once. He has always been excellent in a live setting, and this new project is no exception. Clocking in at just 30 minutes, Live from Red Rocks leaves you wanting more.
- Paper Horses. Paper Horses is the new foursome that features the combined talents of Sandra McCracken, Leslie Jordan (formerly of All Sons & Daughters), and Mission House’s Jess Ray and Taylor Leonhardt. Their first song is “Have Mercy.”
God of Every Grace by Keith & Kristyn Getty, Matt Boswell, and Matt Papa
This week’s song of the week is “God of Every Grace” by Keith & Kristyn Getty, Matt Boswell, and Matt Papa. The song was written by Matt Boswell, Bryan Fowler, and Keith & Kristyn Getty. You can listen to the song here.
O let not this world of sorrows
Steal my only hope away
For the power of Your gospel
Shines within this jar of clay
In affliction You bring wisdom
That my comforts can displace
How my true and greatest treasure
Is in You the God of grace
Now to the God of every grace
Who counts my tears, who holds my days
I sing through sorrows, sing with faith
O praise the God of every grace
Weary with the weight I carry
Give me wings of faith to rise
For You know each grief that lingers
Through the watches of the night
Surely You have borne our sufferings
At the cross took up our pain
And You lead us on to glory
As we trust You, God of grace
Now to the God of every grace
Who counts my tears, who holds my days
I sing through sorrows, sing with faith
O praise the God of every grace
There’s a dawning hope before us
That I know is soon to break
As I wait upon Your mercy
Which will swallow every ache
Cries of joy and songs of victory
When we enter heaven’s gates
All Your children home together
All with You the God of grace
Now to the God of every grace
Who counts my tears, who holds my days
I sing through sorrows, sing with faith
O praise the God of every grace
Now to the God of every grace
Who counts my tears, who holds my days
I sing through sorrows, sing with faith
O praise the God of every grace
O praise the God of every grace
O praise the God of every grace
