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 | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | June 19, 2020 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 70:33 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Bob Dylan chronology | ||||
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Singles from Rough and Rowdy Ways | ||||
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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
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Album of the Year | 89/100[16] |
AnyDecentMusic? | 8.9/10[17] |
Metacritic | 95/100[18] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
BBC | |
Consequence of Sound | B–[21] |
The Daily Telegraph | |
The Guardian | |
The Independent | |
Mojo | |
NME | |
Pitchfork | 9.0/10[2] |
Rolling Stone |
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
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. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
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
Musicians
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Additional musicians
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Engineers
Artwork
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Charts
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
- Kornhaber, Spencer (June 19, 2020). "What Bob Dylan Knows About This Moment". The Atlantic. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
- Sodomsky, Sam (June 18, 2020). "Bob Dylan – 'Rough And Rowdy Ways' review: arguably his grandest poetic statement yet". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
- Petridis, Alexis (June 13, 2020). "Bob Dylan: Rough and Rowdy Ways review – a testament to his eternal greatness". The Guardian. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
- Wood, Mikael (May 7, 2020). "Bob Dylan announces new double album, 'Rough and Rowdy Ways'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
- Yoo, Noah. "Fiona Apple and Blake Mills Are on Bob Dylan's New Album Rough and Rowdy Ways". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
- 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.
- Willman, Chris (March 26, 2020). "Bob Dylan Releases 17-Minute Song About JFK Assassination". Variety. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
- 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.
- Hiatt, Brian (April 17, 2020). "Hear Bob Dylan's Daring New Song, 'I Contain Multitudes'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
- 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.
- "'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.
- Ali, Rasha. "Listen to Bob Dylan's second surprise song in a month: 'I Contain Multitudes'". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
- "Bob Dylan Announces New Album Rough and Rowdy Ways, Shares New Song: Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- Hiatt, Brian (May 8, 2020). "Bob Dylan Previews New Album 'Rough and Rowdy Ways' with 'False Prophet'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
- "Bob Dylan – Rough And Rowdy Ways (Tracklist Reveal)". YouTube. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
- "Bob Dylan – Rough and Rowdy Ways – Reviews". Album of the Year. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
- "Rough and Rowdy Ways by Bob Dylan reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
- "Rough and Rowdy Ways by Bob Dylan Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
- Jurek, Thom. "Rough and Rowdy Ways – Bob Dylan". AllMusic. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
- Gompertz, Will (June 20, 2020). "Bob Dylan: Will Gompertz reviews his first album of new songs in eight years". BBC. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
- Melis, Matt (June 18, 2020). "Bob Dylan's Rough and Rowdy Ways Plays It Too Tame: Review". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
- 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.
- 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.
- Simmons, Michael (June 13, 2020). "Bob Dylan: Rough And Rowdy Ways [Review]". Mojo. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
- Beaumont, Mark (June 15, 2020). "Bob Dylan – 'Rough And Rowdy Ways' review: arguably his grandest poetic statement yet". NME. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
- 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.
- Daniel, Anne Margaret. "The Verdict on Rough and Rowdy Ways by Bob Dylan: A Record We Need Right Now". Hotpress. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
- "Review: Bob Dylan's 'Rough and Rowdy Ways' is a savage pulp-noir masterpiece". Los Angeles Times. 2020-06-13. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
- Wilson, Carl (June 18, 2020). "Bob Dylan's New Album Is His Best in Many Years, Maybe Decades". Slate. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Schwartz, Danny (June 17, 2020). "50 Best Albums of 2020 – So Far". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
- "Best Albums of 2020 So Far". Stereogum. June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
- "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. June 29, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
- "Ultratop.be – Bob Dylan – Rough and Rowdy Ways" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
- "Ultratop.be – Bob Dylan – Rough and Rowdy Ways" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
- "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.
- "Dutchcharts.nl – Bob Dylan – Rough and Rowdy Ways" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
- "Albumit 26/2020". IFPI Finland. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
- "Top Albums (Week 26, 2020)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
- "Offiziellecharts.de – Bob Dylan – Rough and Rowdy Ways" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
- "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
- "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 26 (dal 19.06.2020 al 25.06.2020)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
- "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. June 29, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
- "VG-lista – Topp 40 Album uke 26, 2020". VG-lista. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
- "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
- "Veckolista Album, vecka 26". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
- "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
- "Bob Dylan Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
External links
- Rough and Rowdy Ways at Discogs (list of releases)
- Rough and Rowdy Ways at MusicBrainz (list of releases)