Key developments
Glide revisits Fallen Angels after ten years
Glide Magazine published Doug Collette's May 20 retrospective on Fallen Angels, revisiting Dylan's 2015 standards album a decade after release. The piece says the record was cut at Capitol Studios in Hollywood with Dylan producing as Jack Frost, Al Schmitt handling recording and mixing, Dean Parks on guitar, Donnie Herron on pedal steel, and a faint horn section. Collette argues the album sounds clearer and sunnier than Shadows in the Night and reflects Dylan's continued fascination with American songbook material.
Why it matters
It shows Dylan's standards-period albums remain active subjects of reassessment rather than settled catalog items.
Sources & driving stories
GLIDE MAGAZINE · Doug Collette
Glide Magazine coverageEssay reframes My Back Pages as a pivot
Chris Gregory's May 19 essay argues that My Back Pages captures Dylan's late-1964 break from the folk-protest role. It places Another Side of Bob Dylan against the rise of the Beatles and Motown, then reads the song's refrain, I was so much older then / I'm younger than that now, as a declaration of artistic independence and a move toward inner reflection and surreal imagery. The piece also tracks the Byrds' 1967 cover and notes that Dylan later opened 1978 tour dates with an instrumental version.
Why it matters
The analysis reinforces My Back Pages as a key marker of Dylan's mid-1960s reinvention.
Sources & driving stories
FROM THE PEN OF CHRIS GREGORY · Chris Gregory
From the Pen of Chris Gregory coverageWorth noting
WORTH NOTING
Another Side cut in one session
Gregory says the album was recorded in a single session and that Dylan reportedly drank copious red wine, which he links to the record's harsh vocal edge.
WORTH NOTING
My Back Pages gained a Byrds benchmark
The essay says Roger McGuinn's Byrds version is widely treated as the definitive recording and explains why the 1967 cover reshaped the song's reputation.
Still unclear
OPEN QUESTION
Is Dylan's standards phase being re-read as one arc?
The Glide review links Fallen Angels to Dylan's broader late-career sequence, raising whether the covers albums are becoming a more coherent part of the canon.
OPEN QUESTION
How much did the Byrds define My Back Pages?
Gregory's essay suggests the song's legacy may be as much about later reinterpretations as Dylan's original recording.