I was blessed to be born, musically at least, in 1954, the year Elvis Presley went into Sun Studio and rock’n’roll went large in our culture. The revelatory, inspiring and bliss-inducing music that I heard as I came to consciousness in that decade and in the one that followed – plus all the treasures I continue to find from that time – have been like manna from the heavens for me. And the finest of it all continues to bring me sustenance and surprise and so much more here in my senior years.
Much to my delight, two of the very best musical artists who first made their indelible mark as masters in that era, yet still remain active, vital and creative recently delivered landmarks into the streaming TV mode: Bob Dylan with “Shadow Kingdom,” and (Paul) “McCartney 3-2-1” on Netflix. Any serious fan of either or both should see them and revel in what they offer; more casual music lovers will also find them quite entertaining, satisfying and maybe even revelatory.
Alas, “Shadow Kingdom,” the $25 online stream of Dylan delivering 13 “early” songs, as it is billed, was only (initially?) available for the better part of a week. It’s both a consummate concert with the Nobel Prize laureate singing and playing guitar and harmonica at the peak of his powers plus informed by six decades of onstage performing, and also a very artful and compelling film of him doing so.
In black and white, with a noir atmosphere, it’s skillfully shot and lit, with Dylan performing backed by a superb combo of musicians (not his current touring band) in a small-cafe setting. There’s lots of witty if also contradictory touches. The band wears face masks as is the smart and healthy thing to do at this specific time. Yet at the same time a number of the audience members smoke cigarettes, which these days is the height of not all that smart as well as unhealthy. To me, these contradictory elements are the wittiest element of what is a cool mini-movie rich with cunning visual treats.
The performances, however, are deadly serious and musically superb. Yes, Dylan does what he’s been doing since he began his “Never Ending Tour” in the late 1980s and reinterprets his songs in new ways that help the listener not just hear them anew but as well differently. Given all the man can pack into a song, this is to be savored. He sings brilliantly and performs with a laser-like focus and intensity.
It’s all but fated that “Shadow Kingdom” will resurface at some point in the no-too-far-future. Don’t miss it; it’s almost too cool for words.
“McCartney 1,2,3” is akin to the English TV series “Classic Albums” seen on many PBS stations and the network’s website as well as Amazon Prime. In this show, Macca and über-producer Rick Rubin zero in on aspects of his Beatles and solo recordings well-worth spotlighting. It’s like a Masters degree-level look into the elements that can make and/or enhance some of the finest rock music recordings ever made.
Rubin is an ideal interview/foil for this task. He knows the art of recording music and artists inside out, proven by the incomparable coda on the incomparable career of Johnny Cash that his near-end-of-life sessions with the musical giant provided.
His Buddha-like vibe is a perfect counterpoint to McCartney’s gentlemanly eagerness and still quite passionate love for music. This show is also filmed artfully, with the two of them in low-light beside a rather simple mixing console to isolate and spotlight the special and magical touches that marked the recordings by The Beatles. It brings us into this music of such great eternal appeal and significance in ways that enhance our appreciation of music that some of us have heard countless times, much as “Shadow Kingdom” does for Dylan. Both are can’t miss viewing for anyone interested in some of the most special music of the last century or so.
Populist Picks
Music Albums: “All Things Must Pass” by George Harrison – I’m going to break the usual recommendation form of this column feature here, and instead issue a warning. I’ll thank keyboard player Bobby Whitlock, who was a primary player on the recordings that made up the original three-disc album in 1970, for calling my attention to this. He’s, sadly, dead right in his criticisms of the 50th Anniversary remixes featured on seven different packages with varying extra tracks, demos and related goodies. He’s not really overstating the case when he calls the new mixes “the worst sounding s**t I have heard in my life … f***ing awful.” They do muddy up the drums and obscure the punch of the bottom end and all-but bury lots of wonderful playing, to state the most obvious flaws. All it takes is an A/B comparison to hear how the old was far better than the new. More sadly, the media coverage of the 50th rework was largely rapturous, which says to me that people who write about music these days need to listen more closely. However, to mark the anniversary, go back and savor the masterful original album, arguably the finest overall solo release by any of the four Beatles, rich with wonderful and magical moments.
Rob Patterson is a music and entertainment writer in Austin, Texas. Email orca@prismnet.com.
From The Progressive Populist, October 1, 2021
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