Modern Times (Bob Dylan album)
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''Modern Times'' is the 32nd studio album by American singer-songwriter
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
, released on August 29, 2006, by
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
. The album was the third work (following '' Time Out of Mind'' and '' Love And Theft'') in a string of albums by Dylan that garnered wide acclaim from critics. It continued its predecessors' tendencies toward
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
,
rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...
and pre-rock
ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
ry, and was self-produced by Dylan under the pseudonym "Jack Frost". Despite the acclaim, the album sparked some debate over its uncredited use of choruses and arrangements from older songs, as well as many lyrical lines taken from the work of 19th-century poet
Henry Timrod Henry Timrod (December 8, 1828 – October 7, 1867) was an American poet, often called the "Poet of the Confederacy". Biography Early life Timrod was born on December 8, 1828, in Charleston, South Carolina, to a family of German descent. His gr ...
. ''Modern Times'' became Dylan's first album in the U.S. since 1976's ''
Desire Desires are states of mind that are expressed by terms like "wanting", "wishing", "longing" or "craving". A great variety of features is commonly associated with desires. They are seen as propositional attitudes towards conceivable states of aff ...
''. It was also his first album to debut at the summit of the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 191,933 copies in its first week. At age 65, Dylan became the oldest living person at the time to have an album enter the Billboard charts at . It also reached in
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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and
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, debuted in
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,
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and
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. It reached in the UK and the
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, respectively, and had sold over 4 million copies worldwide. In the 2012 version of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' magazine's list of "
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indust ...
", ''Modern Times'' was ranked at .


Background and recording

The album was recorded with Dylan's touring band, including bassist Tony Garnier, drummer George G. Receli, guitarists Stu Kimball and
Denny Freeman Dennis Edward Freeman (August 7, 1944 – April 25, 2021) was an American Texas and electric blues guitarist. Although he is primarily known as a guitar player, Freeman also played piano and electronic organ, both in concert and on various recor ...
, plus multi-instrumentalist Donnie Herron. This iteration of the
Never Ending Tour The Never Ending Tour is the popular name for Bob Dylan's ongoing touring schedule which began on June 7, 1988. During the course of the tour, musicians have come and gone as the band has continued to evolve. The tour amassed a huge fan base with ...
band had played with Dylan for the entirety of 2005. Dylan and band rehearsed the songs at the
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in
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, in late January and early February, 2006, before heading to New York City to record them. As with its predecessor, ''Love and Theft'', ''Modern Times'' was engineered and mixed by Chris Shaw. Shaw remembered the recording sessions going slower for ''Modern Times'' than for ''Love and Theft'': "The sessions for ''Modern Times'' went a little slower, it took maybe a month rather than three weeks. Not for any real reason I can pinpoint. Bob had a lot of ideas to sort through, there were a lot of different versions of each song he had to settle on before he could decide where he wanted them to go, and I think he had this vision in his head that maybe he couldn’t quite articulate to the band as quickly, so it took a few times trying out ideas to get it to land where he wanted it to be. And I think there was a lot more lyric writing he had to deal with". Freeman remembered the sessions as being difficult, though this is something he doesn't think is evident when listening to the album: "''Modern Times'' was a difficult challenge for me. We were feeling our way through it all, and it seemed like it was going really slow, trying to find the songs. Listening to it, I think it's a very coherent album, musically and lyrically and simple, in a good way. Simple in that the melodies and arrangements are 'right there' and the songs sound to me like they would have come together quickly and easily. But that's not the way I remember it happening. Bob seemed frustrated much of the time. But I never really knew what he was thinking, of course". During a 2006 interview with Rolling Stone, Dylan said: This is the best band I've ever been in, I've ever had, man for man. When you play with guys a hundred times a year, you know what you can and can't do, what they're good at, whether you want 'em there. It takes a long time to find a band of individual players. Most bands are gangs. Whether it's a metal group or pop rock, whatever, you get that gang mentality. But for those of us who went back further, gangs were the mob. The gang was not what anybody aspired to. On this record (Modern Times) I didn't have anybody to teach. I got guys now in my band, they can whip up anything, they surprise even me.


Anticipation and release

Dylan's historical stature, as well as his renewed critical acclaim following '' Time Out of Mind'' and '' Love and Theft'', helped to make ''Modern Times'' a highly anticipated release. As with ''Love and Theft'' in 2001,
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
held a listening event for critics far in advance, but those invited were forbidden from disclosing details or opinions about what they heard prior to the official release. ''Modern Times'' was leaked online through various BitTorrent and Dylan fan websites on August 21, 2006, after 30-second sound clips were released on the official Sony website. The album was first released in some European countries (including Germany and Ireland) on August 25, in the UK on August 28 and premiered in the U.S. on August 28 on
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, the satellite radio service that carried Dylan's ''
Theme Time Radio Hour ''Theme Time Radio Hour'' (''TTRH'') was a weekly one-hour satellite radio show hosted by Bob Dylan that originally aired from May 2006 to April 2009. Each episode had a freeform mix of music, centered on a theme (such as "Weather", "Money" or "F ...
'' program. While the album was marketed as the third part of a conceptual trilogy, beginning in 1997 with '' Time Out of Mind'', Dylan himself rebuffed the notion. In an interview with ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'', he stated that he "would think more of ''Love and Theft'' as the beginning of a trilogy, if there's going to be a trilogy".


Reception and legacy

Response to ''Modern Times'' from music critics was overwhelmingly positive. On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, a site that tracks prominent critical opinion, ''Modern Times'' holds a score of 89 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim" and putting it among the 100 most acclaimed albums on the site. In a five-star review, ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' critic Joe Levy called the album Dylan's "third straight masterwork", while ''
Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...
'' called it a "direct and audacious sequel" to '' Love and Theft''.
Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...
of ''
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'' described it as "startling nd radiatingthe observant calm of old masters who have seen enough life to be ready for anything—
Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...
,
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,
Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, he has recorded over sixty albums as a ...
".
Jody Rosen Jody Rosen (born June 21, 1969 in New York City) is an American journalist and author. He is a contributing writer for ''The New York Times Magazine''. Career Journalism Rosen served as critic-at-large for '' T: The New York Times Style Magaz ...
of the online magazine ''
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'' concurred, calling ''Modern Times'' "a better album than '' Time Out of Mind'' and even than the majestic ''Love and Theft'', which by my lights makes it Dylan's finest since ''Blood on the Tracks''". The album was also credited for original blues and folk rock music which was said to be "hard to hear these days" by critics.
Alexis Petridis Alexis Petridis ( el, Αλέξης Πετρίδης; born 13 September 1971) is a British journalist, head rock and pop critic for the UK newspaper ''The Guardian'', as well as a regular contributor to the magazine '' GQ''. In addition to his mus ...
of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', while enjoying ''Modern Times'', felt that it was "not one of those infrequent, unequivocally fantastic Dylan albums" and ridiculed the lavish praise heaped on the album, writing: "It's hard to hear the music of ''Modern Times'' over the inevitable standing ovation and the thuds of middle-aged critics swooning in awe."
Jim DeRogatis James Peter DeRogatis (born September 2, 1964) is an American music critic and co-host of ''Sound Opinions''. DeRogatis has written articles for magazines such as ''Rolling Stone'', '' Spin'', ''Guitar World'' and ''Modern Drummer'', and for 15 ...
of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' appreciated the lyrical content but found fault in the languid music, writing that "with the exception of the closing track '
Ain't Talkin' "Ain't Talkin" is a song written and performed by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, appearing as the tenth and final track on his 2006 album '' Modern Times''. As with most of Dylan's 21st century output, he produced the song himself unde ...
', one of the spookiest songs he's ever written, Dylan disappoints with... isinexplicable fondness for smarmy '30s and '40s
ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
ry". Some reviewers who liked the album were critical of its musicianship, such as the ''
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''s
Greg Kot Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...
, as well as
Jon Pareles Jon Pareles (born October 25, 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''.The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', who wrote that "onstage Mr. Dylan's touring band regularly supercharges his songs. But on ''Modern Times'' the musicians play as if they’re just feeling their way into the tunes". Perhaps the sourest review came from
Ron Rosenbaum Ronald Rosenbaum (born November 27, 1946) is an American literary journalist, literary critic, and novelist. Life and career Rosenbaum was born into a Jewish family in New York City, New York and grew up in Bay Shore, New York. He graduated fr ...
. Writing in the ''
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'', Rosenbaum called ''Modern Times'', "a wildly overhyped disappointment... The new album is possibly the worst since ''
Self Portrait A self-portrait is a representation of an artist that is drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by that artist. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century tha ...
'', with songs that rarely rise above the level of Dylan's low point—and everybody seems afraid to say so". ''Modern Times'' became Dylan's third successive album to top ''
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''s
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critics' poll, following ''Time Out of Mind'' and ''Love and Theft''. The album also topped ''Rolling Stone''s list of the 50 best albums of 2006, and was later ranked number eight on the magazine's list of the 100 greatest albums of the 2000s. At the
49th Annual Grammy Awards The 49th Annual Grammy Awards was a ceremony honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2005 and ending September 30, 2006 in the United States. The awards were handed out on Sunday, February 11, 2007 at the Staples Ce ...
in 2007, Dylan won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album for ''Modern Times'' and the
Grammy Award for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for works (songs or albums) containing qua ...
for the song " Someday Baby".
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
is a fan of the album and has cited it as an inspiration for him to try and capture a more live-in-the-studio sound for his 2013 album '' The Diving Board'': "It floored me, that someone of Dylan's great output could come across and make an album like that at his age, which was for me so timeless and sounded so brilliant. I thought, 'Well, if I'm going to make a record again, I've got to make it sort of sounding like that, because that's how I like my records to sound". In a 2020 list of "Bob Dylan's 10 greatest albums" in ''Far Out'' magazine, ''Modern Times'' was ranked tenth. An article accompanying the list characterized the album thusly: "Not bound by genre or style, Dylan digs through a plethora of blues, country and rock songs, offering his audience the chance to hear the indigenous stories behind the music. Dylan spins the songs into a thread far more modern but is still able to weave them into the tapestry of the country nevertheless".


Artwork and versions

Because of the length of the songs, the entire album stretched out to two LPs, making it Dylan's third double album in a row. The album's cover photo is Ted Croner's 1947 photograph ''Taxi, New York at Night''. The image was previously used as a cover by the band
Luna Luna commonly refers to: * Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin * Luna (goddess), the ancient Roman personification of the Moon Luna may also refer to: Places Philippines * Luna, Apayao * Luna, Isabela * Luna, La Union * Luna, San Jose Roma ...
for their 1995 single "Hedgehog/23 Minutes in Brussels". The album was released in both standard and Limited Edition formats, with the special edition including a bonus DVD of four Dylan music videos. The DVD contains "
Blood in My Eyes "Blood in My Eyes" is a song taken from Sum 41's fifth studio album ''Screaming Bloody Murder'', officially released on September 10, 2012. It failed to chart despite being nominated for a Grammy Award. Music video On February 24, 2012, it was a ...
" (Promo Video), " Love Sick" (Live at the Grammys, 1998), "
Things Have Changed "Things Have Changed" is a song from the film ''Wonder Boys (film), Wonder Boys'', written and performed by Bob Dylan and released as a single on May 1, 2000, that won both the Academy Award for Best Original Song and the Golden Globe Award for ...
" (Promo Video) and " Cold Irons Bound" (''
Masked and Anonymous ''Masked and Anonymous'' is a 2003 drama film directed by Larry Charles. The film was written by Larry Charles and Bob Dylan, the latter under the pseudonym "Sergei Petrov". It stars Dylan alongside a star-heavy cast, including John Goodman, Jeff ...
'' Video).


Credit controversy

Shortly after its release, the album sparked some debate in the media concerning its songwriting credits, mainly the liner notes' contention of "All songs written by Bob Dylan", which appears in most editions of ''Modern Times''.


Adaptations

Many of the album's songs have musical roots in well-known older compositions, though in all cases, Dylan has given the songs new lyrics. * "Rollin' and Tumblin'" is a blues standard first recorded and possibly written by the bluesman
Hambone Willie Newbern William "Hambone Willie" Newbern (probably 1901 – April 15, 1965) was an American guitar-playing country blues musician. Life and career Few details are known of his life. He is believed to have been born in Haywood County, Tennessee, clos ...
. An arrangement very similar to Dylan's but with different lyrics was a hit for Muddy Waters, who is also credited with writing the song. Except for the first verse, all the lyrics in Dylan's version are original. * "
When the Deal Goes Down "When the Deal Goes Down" is a love song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, originally released as the fourth track on his 2006 album '' Modern Times'' and anthologized on the compilation albums ''Dylan'' in 2007 and ...
" is based on the melody of "
Where the Blue of the Night (Meets the Gold of the Day) "Where the Blue of the Night (Meets the Gold of the Day)" was the theme Bing Crosby selected for his radio show. It was recorded in November 1931 with Bennie Krueger and his Orchestra. The song was featured in a Mack Sennett movie short starring B ...
", a signature song for
Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...
. * " Someday Baby" is based on an old standard that can be traced back to "Worried Life Blues", recorded by
Sleepy John Estes John Adam Estes (January 25, 1899 or 1900June 5, 1977),
known as Sleepy John Estes, was an Am ...
, and made famous in versions by
Lightnin' Hopkins Samuel John "Lightnin" Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist from Centerville, Texas. In 2010, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked him No. 71 on its list o ...
and
Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...
. It is sometimes referred to as "Trouble No More", and often credited to Muddy Waters. * "Beyond the Horizon" is based on the melody of " Red Sails in the Sunset," written by Jimmy Kennedy and Hugh Williams in 1935. * "The Levee's Gonna Break" is based on "
When the Levee Breaks "When the Levee Breaks" is a country blues song written and first recorded by Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy in 1929. The lyrics reflect experiences during the upheaval caused by the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. "When the Levee Breaks ...
" by
Kansas Joe McCoy Wilbur "Kansas Joe" McCoy (May 11, 1905 – January 28, 1950) was an American Delta blues singer, musician and songwriter. Career McCoy performed under various stage names but is best known as Kansas Joe McCoy. Born in Raymond, Mississippi, he ...
and
Memphis Minnie Lizzie Douglas (June 3, 1897 – August 6, 1973), better known as Memphis Minnie, was a blues guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter whose recording career lasted for over three decades. She recorded around 200 songs, some of the best known being "Wh ...
. It has been previously adapted by rock acts such as
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
. The song has also been in the public domain since 2004.


Additional sources

Two other sources of the album's lyrics were cited in the latter half of 2006. In September, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' ran an article exploring similarities between some of the lyrics in ''Modern Times'' and the work of 19th-century poet
Henry Timrod Henry Timrod (December 8, 1828 – October 7, 1867) was an American poet, often called the "Poet of the Confederacy". Biography Early life Timrod was born on December 8, 1828, in Charleston, South Carolina, to a family of German descent. His gr ...
. Albuquerque
disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...
Scott Warmuth is credited as the first to discover at least ten substantial lines and phrases that can be clearly traced to the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
poet across several songs. Dylan and Sony have declined to comment on the matter, and Timrod's name is nowhere to be found on the liner notes. Robert Polito of the
Poetry Foundation The Poetry Foundation is an American literary society that seeks to promote poetry and lyricism in the wider culture. It was formed from ''Poetry'' magazine, which it continues to publish, with a 2003 gift of $200 million from philanthropist Rut ...
wrote a detailed defense of Dylan's usage of old lines in creating new work, saying that calls of
plagiarism Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thought ...
confuse "art with a term paper". In October 2006, ''
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'' ran an article by New Zealand poet Cliff Fell exploring similarities between some of the lyrics in ''Modern Times'' and the works of the first-century Roman poet
Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...
. Fell cited numerous direct parallels between lines from Ovid and those in four of Dylan's songs. A sampling of these included: Fell considered the borrowings a homage and not plagiarism, noting Dylan's direct reference to Ovid in the album's first song, " Thunder on the Mountain", with the line "I've been sitting down and studying The Art of Love." ''The Art of Love'' was one of the great poet's most famous works.


Dylan's response to credit controversy

None of these previous incarnations or their authors are credited, though Dylan has casually acknowledged some of the uses. In a 2004 ''
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'' online feature, Dylan mentioned that he was working on a song based on the melody of a song associated with
Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...
, now known to be "
When the Deal Goes Down "When the Deal Goes Down" is a love song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, originally released as the fourth track on his 2006 album '' Modern Times'' and anthologized on the compilation albums ''Dylan'' in 2007 and ...
". Dylan has a history of being open about his songwriting techniques, and his usage of older classics. For instance, in a 2004 interview with
Robert Hilburn Robert Hilburn (born September 25, 1939) is an American pop music critic, author, and radio host. As critic and music editor at the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1970 to 2005, his reviews, essays and profiles appeared in publications around the wor ...
of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'', he stated, The lack of official credits is not a legal problem, given the age of the source material, but it troubled journalist Jim Fusilli of the ''
Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
''. Fusilli thought that this was contrary to Dylan's long track record of noting his influences, as in the liner notes of 1993's ''
World Gone Wrong ''World Gone Wrong'' is the Bob Dylan discography, 29th studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on October 26, 1993, by Columbia Records. It was Dylan's second consecutive collection of only traditional folk songs, performed ...
''.WNYC's ''Soundcheck'', "Deconstructing Dylan," 6 September 2006, a
WNYC.org
; last accessed September 15, 2006.
Joe Levy of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' claimed to have raised the question with Sony BMG executives, who shrugged it off as a non-issue, on the basis that Ovid had died 1900 years before the release of Dylan's album. Levy and many others have supported Dylan in the context of a larger, older blues and folk tradition of songwriters evolving old songs into new ones, which Dylan was no stranger to in the 1960s.
Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...
himself has previously expressed the view that Dylan is a link in this chain of folk and blues songwriters. Seeger has spoken many times about the
folk process In the study of folklore, the folk process is the way folk material, especially stories, music, and other art, is transformed and re-adapted in the process of its transmission from person to person and from generation to generation. The folk proc ...
, often recounting that his friend
Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspired ...
once said to him "That guy stole that from me, but I steal from everybody". Ramblin' Jack at one time expressed similar sentiments: "Dylan learned from me the same way I learned from Woody. Woody didn't teach me. He just said, 'If you want to learn something, just steal it—that's the way I learned from
Lead Belly Huddie William Ledbetter (; January 20, 1888 – December 6, 1949), better known by the stage name Lead Belly, was an American folk music, folk and blues singer notable for his strong vocals, Virtuoso, virtuosity on the twelve-string guita ...
'".


Track listing


Personnel

* Bob Dylan –
vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
,
guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
,
harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...
,
piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
;Additional musicians *
Denny Freeman Dennis Edward Freeman (August 7, 1944 – April 25, 2021) was an American Texas and electric blues guitarist. Although he is primarily known as a guitar player, Freeman also played piano and electronic organ, both in concert and on various recor ...
 – guitar * Tony Garnier –
bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
,
cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...
* Donnie Herron –
steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...
,
violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
,
viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...
,
mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...
* Stu Kimball – guitar * George G. Receli –
drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
,
percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
;Technical personnel *
Greg Calbi Gregory Calbi (born April 3, 1949) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound, New Jersey. Biography Greg Calbi was born on April 3, 1949, in Yonkers, New York, and raised in Bayside, Queens, New York. He graduated in 1966 from Bisho ...
 – mastering engineering * Chris Shaw –
engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
* Tom Aiezza – assistant engineer * Sheldon Yellowhair – assistant engineer


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Notes


External links


Lyrics
at Bob Dylan's official website
Chords
at Dylanchords {{DEFAULTSORT:Modern Times (Bob Dylan Album) 2006 albums Albums produced by Bob Dylan Bob Dylan albums Columbia Records albums Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album Rockabilly albums