Bob Dylan Studio Album: "Rough and Rowdy Ways" - June 19, 2020*

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by timnor, Dec 5, 2019.

  1. Yes many label folks would sell their extra promo copies to certain used stores for extra moolah. I saw guys selling full boxes of the hit albums. It wasn't uncommon.
     
  2. Tribute

    Tribute Senior Member

    Wrong records in wrong jackets was a common return fraud by college students who liked the record but still had one on the same label that they did not like (thus in good enough shape to return in the scam). They didn't necessarily care so much about the cover, as that did not enhance the buzz at a pot party.

    Yes, all of those defects did occur, but there was so much return fraud in those days. That did slow down, both with the CD era and with a more serious clamp down by merchants and record distributors.

    Were you unaware of the fraud? Maybe you worked in a totally honest town (wherever that was).

    But for most cashiers, as they did not own or manage the store, they did not care or it was "wink-wink-nod-nod"
     
  3. Sure we knew but we could usually tell. You knew when things were fishy when a record would be from a different label. And you could tell when a record had been trashed by the user. Occasionally we’d open a batch of one title all with the same wrong record. With the millions of records pressed there were lots of issues.

    I worked in San Francisco.
     
  4. musicaner

    musicaner Forum Resident

    not a used record store all albums were perfectly shrink wrapped with a big price label covering the gold promo stamp over the shrink wrap.
     
  5. rubberhead

    rubberhead I've never made a bad record

    Location:
    NYS
    I never once returned a record in the 70s and 80s. The idea was laughable. Imperfect medium, all that mattered was you could hear music.

    I did return a CD in 1988 because it skipped and that was NOT perfect sound forever.
     
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  6. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    I have one or two records with an odd scrunch noise from the 70s which likely now would come under 'non fill', though I never heard the term back then. I heard people talking about the EMI scrunch and the examples I have were pressed at the Hayes plant.
     
  7. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    I'm glad I wasn't a customer at your shop. Actually if you blamed the customer for causing all the faults I would have shopped elsewhere. Of course there are some dishonest customers but most faults were genuine. Frankly I would have thought shoplifting was a bigger issue.
     
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  8. Tribute

    Tribute Senior Member

    No, I was a cashier. Only the manager could do that. As he was not the owner, he also did not bother. But fraud was easy to see. Today, most big box stores (and probably small ones as well) do not allow any employees to confront shoplifters, many of whom are professionals, for employee safety reasons. Most shoplifters are noted on multiple cameras in those stores and police websites advertise their images.
     
  9. sunspot

    sunspot Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    I got all 3 of the vinyl variants but have only played the standard black and it sounded excellent. It's also back in the UK album charts at number 4 today.
     
  10. Wildest cat from montana

    Wildest cat from montana Humble Reader

    Location:
    ontario canada
    I had ' Muswelll Hillbillies ' on Dynaflex. It was so thin and pliable you could bend it so one edge could touch the other.
     
    Spencer R and musicaner like this.
  11. Crush87

    Crush87 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    Just ran a search in the thread and was surprised no one mentioned the Basement Tape era "Down On The Bottom" refrain in "Key West"? Maybe just a coincidence but I'm telling myself it's an easter egg.
     
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  12. TheGoodDoctor

    TheGoodDoctor It used to go something like that

    Location:
    London
    Just got an email from bobdylan.com informing me that Rough & Rowdy Ways is out now on vinyl.

    Who knew?!.. I’m expecting an email from them shortly telling me that he’s won a Nobel prize
     
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  13. Wildest cat from montana

    Wildest cat from montana Humble Reader

    Location:
    ontario canada
    And I'm expecting an e-mail from them saying ' Murder Most Foul ' is not part of the album....
     
  14. Richard--W

    Richard--W Forum Resident

    Wouldn't it be interesting if there were outtakes that could
    be released during the down-time we're in. A single or two.
    I guess I just want to hear more of this stuff.
     
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2020
  15. Tribute

    Tribute Senior Member

    Remember the days when outtakes would leak for most Dylan albums? They haven't leaked much since Jack Frost took over production. It makes you wonder if the producers were the leakers and whether Jack took over in some part to correct that.
     
    Psychedelic Good Trip likes this.
  16. Richard--W

    Richard--W Forum Resident

    Ah, the old days.

    My information was that Dylan did some of the leaking himself.

    I think maybe perhaps possibly he's not passing around tapes
    anymore to ask colleagues and staff what they think of this & that.
     
  17. Tribute

    Tribute Senior Member

    After stardom hit, circa 1964-1965, I doubt that. Before 1963, possible.
     
  18. Darrin L.

    Darrin L. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Golden, CO
    Yes...my brother and I did the same thing with Elvis' "Almost in Love". RCA Camden Dynaflex.
     
  19. That New Basement Tapes album also has a song called Florida Key. Hmm.
     
  20. Richard--W

    Richard--W Forum Resident

    I'll keep my information to myself, then.

    Don't forget Ginsberg's 1965 tapes. That was after stardom hit.
     
  21. Satrus

    Satrus Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cork, Ireland
    I am happy to report that my black vinyl, European copy, of 'Rough And Rowdy Ways' is absolutely fine, very high quality pressing with both discs flat and centred on all sides. If it was MPO that pressed the vinyl, then I must applaud that plant's work on this release. Please let this be the standard moving forward. The music will take a bit longer to fully engage me, I think. It's wonderful that Bob Dylan who is now approaching his 80s (?) is still able to cut it? It just shows that quality is long lasting and not just a temporary thing. A great release!
     
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  22. wpjs

    wpjs Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ny
    Receieved the vinyl this week.
    Sounds decent- very nice.
    IMO- very laid back dylan. Most songs he's reciting poetry with musical accompaniment.
    Might best be enjoyed late at night with a scotch on the rocks and the lights turned down low.
     
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  23. Satrus

    Satrus Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cork, Ireland
    For the reasons you’ve stated, I don’t think I would mention it in the same breath as ‘Blood on the Tracks’ as others have. It will take a bit of effort to engage with this laid back Dylan. I like the (few) uptempo songs better than when he’s ‘reciting poetry’. I’m sure it will grow on me though!
     
  24. C6H12O6

    C6H12O6 Senior Member

    Location:
    My lab
    I spread out my listening initially before diving deep into it for the past two weeks, and I have to agree, the album seems highly overrated. That has more to do with the reviews though - the clamor of "5 star, masterpiece" reviews that greeted it in the first week was ridiculous and somewhat hard to believe based on the tracks that had been released.

    Musically, I would never call this his weakest - he's made plenty that were worse between 1976 and 1990. The strengths and weaknesses do remind me of Modern Times and Tempest - they're all cut with a band that could catch fire night after night when they were out on tour, but on those particular albums, they can sound much more tentative than usual, like they were just learning the songs and needed time to live with them. (Probably the case. Hell, you could say that's always been the case if you listen to Cutting Edge - on many of the full-band cuts there, you'll find earlier, rejected or aborted takes that sound tentative precisely because they were still learning or working those songs out.)

    I think the lyrics are generally strong - on about half of these songs, they come across as flat out great because the performance and the arrangement serve them well. This has been especially the case for "Key West" and "Murder Most Foul," two epic tracks that unfold beautifully. The latter not only took a lot more time to grow, but it seems to reveal a little bit more (or rather suggest something different) each time I hear it. The former is probably the masterpiece for me. With "My Own Version of You" and a few others, there's more than an LP's worth of wonderful music, a worthy Dylan album for the ages.

    But elsewhere, I can see why you'd call the music his weakest, because in those cases, the music really does fail the song. The band just sounds like they're walking on eggshells, but this is a good band, and to me it's more likely they just didn't have (or needed more time to figure out) a better arrangement to fulfill that particular song's potential. There are intriguing and interesting lines everywhere, and some hilarious jokes too, but instead of the grace and beauty of something like "Key West," the unsuccessful cuts can move like spilled molasses. It's tempting to say the album is too long because it is a very long but organic sounding album that could lose a lot of its flab, but a lot of what could be cut seems to have real potential if it only had a good and tight arrangement or perhaps a different tune altogether. If I had to rate it, I would say it's more like a B+ or 3.5 stars. There is plenty of A material here but there's also plenty that isn't.
     
  25. Tribute

    Tribute Senior Member

    This review is highly overrated. I'd say a C-
     

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