Rough and Rowdy Ways

Rough and Rowdy Ways is the 39th studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on June 19, 2020, through Columbia Records. It is Dylan's first album of original songs since his 2012 album Tempest, following a trio of albums that covered traditional pop standards.

Rough and Rowdy Ways
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 19, 2020 (2020-06-19)
Genre
Length70:33
LabelColumbia
Bob Dylan chronology
Bob Dylan – The Rolling Thunder Revue: The 1975 Live Recordings
(2019)
Rough and Rowdy Ways
(2020)
Singles from Rough and Rowdy Ways
  1. "Murder Most Foul"
    Released: March 27, 2020
  2. "I Contain Multitudes"
    Released: April 17, 2020
  3. "False Prophet"
    Released: May 8, 2020

The album was preceded by the singles "Murder Most Foul", "I Contain Multitudes", and "False Prophet". Rough and Rowdy Ways was released as a double album,[4] with the entirety of the second disc being dedicated to "Murder Most Foul". It features contributions from Fiona Apple and Blake Mills.[5]

Release

On March 27, 2020, the single "Murder Most Foul" was released unannounced.[6] It was Dylan's first original song since 2012.[7][8] On April 17, 2020, "I Contain Multitudes", a second single, was released.[9][10][11][12]

Rough and Rowdy Ways was officially announced on May 8, 2020.[13] The album's third single, "False Prophet", was released on the same day.[14] On June 11, 2020, Bob Dylan's YouTube channel revealed the full tracklist.[15]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Album of the Year89/100[16]
AnyDecentMusic?8.9/10[17]
Metacritic95/100[18]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[19]
BBC[20]
Consequence of SoundB–[21]
The Daily Telegraph[22]
The Guardian[3]
The Independent[23]
Mojo[24]
NME[25]
Pitchfork9.0/10[2]
Rolling Stone[26]

Initial reviews were overwhelmingly positive, earning a 95/100 rating from Metacritic based on 22 reviews.[18] Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph awarded the album five stars out of five.[22] Anne Margaret Daniel, reviewing for Hot Press, said "Rough and Rowdy Ways is a record we need right now, and it will endure."[27] Mikael Wood, in the Los Angeles Times, said the album "rolls out one marvel after another."[28] Writing for Slate, Carl Wilson called the release Dylan's best in "many years, maybe decades" for the breadth of its cultural references and the depth of Dylan's lyrics and songwriting.[29] Jon Pareles, chief music critic for The New York Times, labeled the album a "Critic's Pick," describing its songs as "equal parts death-haunted and cantankerous," rivaling he "the grim, gallows-humored conviction of his albums Time Out of Mind (1997) and Love and Theft (2001)."[30] Writing for The Telegraph India, Jaimin Rajani said this release brings respite and diversity.[31]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 2 on the US Billboard 200 with 53,000 units, Dylan's highest-charting album in more than a decade. It marked his seventh consecutive decade of charting top 40 albums.[32]

Accolades

Accolades for Rough and Rowdy Ways
Publication Accolade Rank
Rolling Stone Rolling Stone's 50 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year[33]
7
Stereogum Stereogum's 50 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year[34]
22

Track listing

All tracks are written by Bob Dylan.

No.TitleLength
1."I Contain Multitudes"4:36
2."False Prophet"6:00
3."My Own Version of You"6:41
4."I've Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You"6:32
5."Black Rider"4:12
6."Goodbye Jimmy Reed"4:13
7."Mother of Muses"4:29
8."Crossing the Rubicon"7:22
9."Key West (Philosopher Pirate)"9:34
10."Murder Most Foul"16:54
Total length:70:33

Personnel

Charts

Chart performance for Rough and Rowdy Ways
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[35] 2
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[36] 2
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[37] 5
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[38] 7
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[39] 1
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[40] 14
French Albums (SNEP)[41] 4
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[42] 1
Irish Albums (OCC)[43] 1
Italian Albums (FIMI)[44] 4
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[45] 1
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[46] 1
Scottish Albums (OCC)[47] 1
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[48] 3
UK Albums (OCC)[49] 1
US Billboard 200[50]
[32]
2

References

  1. Kornhaber, Spencer (June 19, 2020). "What Bob Dylan Knows About This Moment". The Atlantic. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  2. Sodomsky, Sam (June 18, 2020). "Bob Dylan – 'Rough And Rowdy Ways' review: arguably his grandest poetic statement yet". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  3. Petridis, Alexis (June 13, 2020). "Bob Dylan: Rough and Rowdy Ways review – a testament to his eternal greatness". The Guardian. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  4. Wood, Mikael (May 7, 2020). "Bob Dylan announces new double album, 'Rough and Rowdy Ways'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  5. Yoo, Noah. "Fiona Apple and Blake Mills Are on Bob Dylan's New Album Rough and Rowdy Ways". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  6. Hughes, William (March 27, 2020). "Bob Dylan Just Surprise-Released a 17-Minute Song About JFK, America, and also Freddy Krueger". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  7. Willman, Chris (March 26, 2020). "Bob Dylan Releases 17-Minute Song About JFK Assassination". Variety. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  8. Sparey, Sara (March 27, 2020). "Bob Dylan has released a song about the Kennedy assassination – and it's 17 minutes long". CNN. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  9. Hiatt, Brian (April 17, 2020). "Hear Bob Dylan's Daring New Song, 'I Contain Multitudes'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  10. Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (April 17, 2020). "'I'm just like Anne Frank, like Indiana Jones': Bob Dylan continues return to new songs". The Guardian. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  11. "'I Contain Multitudes', Bob Dylan's reflective new song – the NME review". NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM. 2020-04-17. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  12. Ali, Rasha. "Listen to Bob Dylan's second surprise song in a month: 'I Contain Multitudes'". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  13. "Bob Dylan Announces New Album Rough and Rowdy Ways, Shares New Song: Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  14. Hiatt, Brian (May 8, 2020). "Bob Dylan Previews New Album 'Rough and Rowdy Ways' with 'False Prophet'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  15. "Bob Dylan – Rough And Rowdy Ways (Tracklist Reveal)". YouTube. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  16. "Bob Dylan – Rough and Rowdy Ways – Reviews". Album of the Year. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  17. "Rough and Rowdy Ways by Bob Dylan reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  18. "Rough and Rowdy Ways by Bob Dylan Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  19. Jurek, Thom. "Rough and Rowdy Ways – Bob Dylan". AllMusic. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  20. Gompertz, Will (June 20, 2020). "Bob Dylan: Will Gompertz reviews his first album of new songs in eight years". BBC. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  21. Melis, Matt (June 18, 2020). "Bob Dylan's Rough and Rowdy Ways Plays It Too Tame: Review". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  22. McCormick, Neil (June 13, 2020). "Bob Dylan, Rough and Rowdy Ways, review: one long, magnificent riddle for his most loyal fans". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  23. Brown, Helen (June 17, 2020). "Bob Dylan review, Rough and Rowdy Ways: There's real consolation in Dylan's easy-going embrace of his contradictions". The Independent. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  24. Simmons, Michael (June 13, 2020). "Bob Dylan: Rough And Rowdy Ways [Review]". Mojo. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  25. Beaumont, Mark (June 15, 2020). "Bob Dylan – 'Rough And Rowdy Ways' review: arguably his grandest poetic statement yet". NME. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  26. Sheffield, Rob (June 15, 2020). "Bob Dylan Has Given Us One of His Most Timely Albums Ever With 'Rough and Rowdy Ways'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  27. Daniel, Anne Margaret. "The Verdict on Rough and Rowdy Ways by Bob Dylan: A Record We Need Right Now". Hotpress. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
  28. "Review: Bob Dylan's 'Rough and Rowdy Ways' is a savage pulp-noir masterpiece". Los Angeles Times. 2020-06-13. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
  29. Wilson, Carl (June 18, 2020). "Bob Dylan's New Album Is His Best in Many Years, Maybe Decades". Slate. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  30. Pareles, Jon (2020-06-18). "Bob Dylan Still Bristles on 'Rough and Rowdy Ways'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  31. Rajani, Jaimin (2020-06-19). "Bob Dylan's new album, Rough and Rowdy Ways, brings respite and diversity". The Telegraph (Kolkata). Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  32. Caulfield, Keith (June 28, 2020). "Lil Baby's 'My Turn' Clocks in a Fourth Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  33. Schwartz, Danny (June 17, 2020). "50 Best Albums of 2020 – So Far". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  34. "Best Albums of 2020 So Far". Stereogum. June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  35. "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. June 29, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  36. "Ultratop.be – Bob Dylan – Rough and Rowdy Ways" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  37. "Ultratop.be – Bob Dylan – Rough and Rowdy Ways" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  38. "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 202026 on the field besides the word "Zobrazit", and then click over the word to retrieve the correct chart data. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  39. "Dutchcharts.nl – Bob Dylan – Rough and Rowdy Ways" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  40. "Albumit 26/2020". IFPI Finland. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  41. "Top Albums (Week 26, 2020)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  42. "Offiziellecharts.de – Bob Dylan – Rough and Rowdy Ways" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  43. "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  44. "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 26 (dal 19.06.2020 al 25.06.2020)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  45. "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. June 29, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  46. "VG-lista – Topp 40 Album uke 26, 2020". VG-lista. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  47. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  48. "Veckolista Album, vecka 26". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  49. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  50. "Bob Dylan Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
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