Bob Dylan’s Fallen Angels is a 12-track collection of Great American Songbook standards, released in 2016. It follows 2015’s Shadows in the Night as his second straight album of classic pop and jazz tunes. Dylan takes these old songs and treats them as living material for his weathered voice, backed by his own live band. The sound is warm, restrained, and distinctly country-tinged. This is not a nostalgia trip. It is a working singer finding new angles in old songs.
The Country Mood of the Band
The sound of Fallen Angels is set from the first notes. The restrained picking and creamy pedal-steel guitar of his live band imposes a smooth but demotic country mood behind Dylan’s elegant, world-weary croon. That is the whole record in a sentence. The arrangements are sparse, the tempos are slow, and Dylan’s voice — rougher and deeper than it was even a decade ago — sits right on top of the mix. He does not swing hard. He leans into the words, letting the melodies bend around his phrasing.
This approach has a clear ancestor in Shadows in the Night. Dylan has always had a knack for putting a lyric across, and here he inhabits classic lines by songwriters like Johnny Mercer with weathered ease. These tracks are less iconic than the ones on its predecessor, which gives Dylan room to make them his own. He mostly does.
Young at Heart Opens Strong
The album opens with “Young at Heart,” a song most people know from the classic version. Dylan slows it down and strips it back. The result is less jaunty, more reflective, and it works. The vocal is cracked but committed, and the pedal steel gives the familiar melody a new, lonesome color. It is one of the strongest tracks here.
“Maybe You’ll Be There” follows with a similar mood. It is a ballad about longing, and Dylan plays it straight. The arrangement is minimal — piano, bass, light drums — and the vocal carries the weight. It is fine, but it does not quite lift off. “Polka Dots and Moonbeams” is lighter and more playful, and Dylan’s phrasing on the title line is nimble enough to sell it. “All the Way” is a demanding melody, and Dylan meets it without strain.
Skylark and the Middle Stretch
“Skylark” is a highlight. The song is one of the great American ballads, and Dylan’s reading is patient and tender. He lets the lyric breathe. “Nevertheless” is a smaller song, and it passes pleasantly without leaving much of a mark. “All or Nothing at All” picks the tempo up slightly, and Dylan sounds more engaged. The swing is modest, but the confidence shows.
“On a Little Street in Singapore” is the oddity of the record. At just over two minutes it is the shortest track here. Dylan and the band play it as a jaunty country shuffle, and it is charming in a way the longer ballads are not. It is also the clearest sign that Dylan is having fun.
“It Had to Be You” is a standard so familiar it is almost a cliché, but Dylan’s version is slow and deliberate, and he makes the familiar lines sound newly considered. “Melancholy Mood” is exactly what its title promises — a dark, minor-key ballad that suits Dylan’s voice better than almost anything else on the record.
That Old Black Magic and the Close
“That Old Black Magic” gets a mid-tempo treatment, and it is one of the more rhythmic tracks here. The band locks in, and Dylan leans into the song’s slyness. The closer, “Come Rain or Come Shine,” is another highlight. It is a big, declarative love song, and Dylan delivers it with a worn-in authority that makes the promise feel real. It ends the album on a strong, warm note.
Not everything earns its place. “Maybe You’ll Be There,” “Nevertheless,” and “All or Nothing at All” are pleasant but unremarkable. They do not embarrass themselves, but they also do not add much to the record. They fill space between the stronger cuts, and in a 37-minute album, that space is noticeable. “Melancholy Mood” and “That Old Black Magic” are better, but they still sit a notch below the best material here.
The record could have been stronger with a tighter track list. The best songs — “Young at Heart,” “Skylark,” “On a Little Street in Singapore,” “Come Rain or Come Shine” — are genuinely good. The rest is competent but routine. That is the main criticism of Fallen Angels, and it is fair.
A Solid, Satisfying Record
Fallen Angels is a good record, not a great one. It is warm, well-played, and sung with real character. Dylan’s voice is the instrument, and he uses it with skill. The band is excellent throughout, and the production is clean without being sterile. But the material is uneven, and the overall effect is a little safe.
It is less essential than Shadows in the Night, and it does not break new ground. What it does do, it does well. For fans of Dylan’s late-period vocal style, it is an easy listen. For newcomers, it is a fine introduction to this side of his catalog. It is not a masterpiece, but it is a solid, satisfying record.
Album Facts
- Artist: Bob Dylan
- Album: Fallen Angels
- Release year: 2016
- Total running time: 37 minutes
- Metacritic score: 77/100
Tracks Worth Your Time
- “Young at Heart”
- “Skylark”
- “On a Little Street in Singapore”
- “Come Rain or Come Shine”
- Young at Heart2:59
- Maybe You'll Be There2:56
- Polka Dots and Moonbeams3:35
- All the Way4:01
- Skylark2:56
- Nevertheless3:27
- All or Nothing at All3:04
- On a Little Street in Singapore2:16
- It Had to Be You4:02
- Melancholy Mood2:53
- That Old Black Magic3:02
- Come Rain or Come Shine2:39
