Bob Dylan – Melancholy Mood Review

Bob Dylan has made a massive effort over the last twenty years to overhaul his image. No longer is he the man strapped for ideas in a period which wanted little to do with the Blonde on Blonde innovator. He is now a cut of dependable cloth, crooning his way across the globe with covers of the American Songbook under his belt. Latter-day originals feel heavily inspired by this period and it should be no surprise the mood of the Rough and Rowdy Ways tour matches the Fallen Angels style. Standard jazz nods and the occasional sway of shock cover performances, predominantly classics but a few Grateful Dead numbers mixed in for good measure. Melancholy Mood then is styled much like the giveaway title, those throes of standards and shuffling the deck of classics filter through.  

Adapting to the new vocal range of Dylan was not a move everyone could make. He is far and away from the heady days of his early works – and those who stuck around should find some love for the throaty, crackling voice now present. It has spots of classic appeal and where it begins to wane in spots, particularly on title track Melancholy Mood, the instrumental cover is more than sufficient. A clear and romanticised EP package preceding the Fallen Angels release. Longstanding guitarist Charlie Sexton makes for a crucial addition here, as he always does on these studio recordings. This elusive Japanese four-track release seems more like a physical want of collectors than a promotion of the album itself. Does Dylan truly need to promote his material? He is of good standing and will likely remain in such high regard long after he stops releasing new material, covers of Johnny Mercer and Jack Lawrence in this case. 

They settle neatly and serve a great purpose. That Old Black Magic still crops up on the live tour, a staple piece of wonder and the clear highlight of Fallen Angels on its release eight years ago. Melancholy Mood as a four-piece test provides the best materials worked over by Dylan and his long-serving session musicians. Beyond this is a sense of further appreciation for the technical merits of his work. Under the Jack Frost pseudonym, Dylan is free to learn the craft through songs he feels comfortable with already. Like it or not these cover pieces were more to come to terms with production and sound quality than they ever were about a love for the songs of the time. Said love is clear, but Melancholy Mood does well to showcase this is not a fixation on quality covers but on making them swinging, impressive studio works.  

Criticism may wade through then for Dylan whose more recent years are littered with cover material. It is no problem when exceptional efforts like Come Rain or Come Shine and All or Nothing at All come through. Short and sweet movements are graced by a respect for the times and a capturing of the instrumental pensiveness which made these songs so memorable. Tender experiences nonetheless and the four tracks pieced together for this moody release are as delightful extracted from Fallen Angels as they are in the latter stages of a seemingly forgotten, raw release from Dylan. Use Melancholy Mood as the gateway to enjoy and appreciate his array of covers – they lead to avenues of real surprise almost all the time.