Review

Rough and Rowdy Ways Bob Dylan

After nearly a decade of albums that focused on covers of classic songs, we’re treated to Dylan the songwriter on ‘Rough and Rowdy Ways’ and he is on top form. Subtle in its musicality, taking in Blues, Folk and Country, Dylan’s latest shows a direct lyricism that revels in wit and cultural references. His voice, an ever evolving feature across his career, has a rich, mellow rasp marked by his later albums of crooner classics. As eloquent as ever, each track blossoms more vibrantly than the studious and restrained use of words should allow. Closing with the nearly seventeen minute long ‘Murder Most Foul’, Dylan draws together a faith in the creative human spirit with a worn disgust at humanity’s sins as he recounts the assassination of President John F Kennedy. It’s a remarkable track that needs to be heard, and it isn’t even the finest here.

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