Rough and Rowdy Ways

It was Dylan's first album of original songs since Tempest in 2012, after three albums of standards. It was recorded at Sound City Studios in Los Angeles from January to early March 2020, and engineered and mixed by Chris Shaw. The core band was his then-current touring group: drummer Matt Chamberlain, guitarist Bob Britt, bassist Tony Garnier, guitarist Charlie Sexton and Donnie Herron. Blake Mills, Fiona Apple, Benmont Tench, Alan Pasqua and Tommy Rhodes also played. Apple and Pasqua appear only on Murder Most Foul, on piano.

The singles were Murder Most Foul, I Contain Multitudes and False Prophet. Murder Most Foul became Dylan's first song to top any US Billboard chart. The album reached number one in more than ten countries and number two in the United States and Australia. In the US it was the best seller of its debut week, with 54,700 equivalent units, but charted at two behind Lil Baby.

Metacritic averaged 95 from 25 reviews, the second highest of 2020 behind Fiona Apple's Fetch the Bolt Cutters. Pitchfork's Sam Sodomsky called it a gorgeous and meticulous record, and the rare Dylan album that asks to be understood.