Buzz About “Fallen Angels,” The New Bob Dylan Record, Builds
Anne Margaret Daniel
Posted On March 9, 2016
On Monday, Bob Dylan announced a new album, due out on May 20th and called Fallen Angels. The announcement has been followed immediately by speculation as to what the record will be.
Current odds (via AllDylan and ExpectingRain discussions) are on a new set of old favorites, many most notably covered to date by Frank Sinatra. Dylan’s most recent studio album, Shadows In The Night (2015), featured such material. And, this morning, the official Record Store Day page indicated that among its offerings will be one from Dylan and Columbia Records. It’s a 7″ EP called Melancholy Mood. Its details are as follows: “This limited edition 7” vinyl EP was originally created for Bob Dylan’s recent Japanese tour. We were able to secure a limited quantity for Record Store Day. The EP includes 4 songs from Bob Dylan’s upcoming album, Fallen Angels, pressed on 7” red vinyl. ‘Melancholy Mood,’ ‘All or Nothing At All’ b/w ‘Come Rain Or Come Shine,’ ‘That Old Black Magic’.”
Sinatra sang all these songs. Here’s “Melancholy Mood,” with the Harry James Orchestra (1939). In introducing “All Or Nothing At All,” Sinatra told an audience in 1982 that it was “the very first song I recorded as a professional singer.” The Harold Arlen – Johnny Mercer-penned “Come Rain or Come Shine” Sinatra called “special to me” at the same live concert. And who doesn’t love the Arlen-Mercer standard “That Old Black Magic”? Glenn Miller and his orchestra made it a global hit during the year that Dylan was one year old. When John F. Kennedy was running for President, Sinatra re-recorded his 1959 smash “High Hopes” in a campaign vein — and on the eve of Kennedy’s inauguration, sang “That Old Jack Magic” at the party.
Stay tuned.
