Modern Times
by Bob Dylan
  • Record Label: Sony
  • Release Date: Aug 29, 2006
User Score
8.5

Universal acclaim- based on 289 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 245 out of 289
  2. Mixed: 23 out of 289
  3. Negative: 21 out of 289

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  1. R.L.
    Sep 2, 2006
    9
    One of the best albums to come out in the last 20 years! And incredibly, it's only a shade less entertaining than the "Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum" record.
  2. JimN
    Sep 2, 2006
    10
    surprisingly the hype about this as the end of a trilogy of releases is not completely inplausible. this will be worth its many times I will listen and relisten to it.
  3. jamesnormann
    Sep 23, 2006
    9
    it is amazing that bobby is still good enough & far ahead enough to get bad reviews.
  4. sl
    Sep 28, 2006
    10
    Another brilliant album in the bob catalogue.
  5. BenE
    Sep 3, 2006
    10
    flows perfectly from start to finish, spellbinding.
  6. BobT
    Sep 4, 2006
    10
    This a brilliant album and it exemplifies why Dylan is in a class by himself.
  7. TimR
    Sep 5, 2006
    10
    best album I have heard in years, I especially liked the first 6 tracks -- I was expecting something good but not this good...buy it you won't be disappointed regardess of your thoughts on Dylan -- if you are a Dylan fan you will be overwhelmed.
  8. JimG
    Sep 8, 2006
    9
    Dylan matures gracefully. Dylan is doing what he wants and could care less about anybodys opinion of his art. Great CD
  9. BrianM
    Sep 9, 2006
    10
    There aren't enough adjectives to describe how good this album is. The Man's in amazing voice, the band is incredible....if you're not listening to this, your life is incomplete.
  10. PaulS
    Jan 6, 2007
    10
    When all is said and done this will be recognized as one of the best. He should win the Nobel Prize for Literature.
  11. PhilZ
    Jun 11, 2007
    10
    Clearly the best of the recent trilogy along with Love & Theft and Time out of Mind. Perhaps the best work since Infidels. This is one of Dylan's top half dozen albums.
  12. Jamesk
    Jul 12, 2007
    10
    C mon guys, ofc if this cd was under the name of an unknown arist he may had a average user rating 2.But c mon he is BOB DYLAN.Whatever he says is like gospel to me.Period._
  13. JanisP
    Jul 31, 2007
    10
    Very enjoyable album, with the mystery and quirks of Dylan making blues even so much more interesting.
  14. CB
    Jul 8, 2007
    9
    Great, great album. Like many of his great albums, like New Morning or Slow Train Coming, starts out sounding understated and then gets better with each listening. His best since Blood on the Tracks, Desire, and Slow Train. Don't judge by the first listening; listen again. It's a sleeper. Over the hill? Man's still got the juice.
  15. DanS
    Nov 19, 2006
    9
    An excellent cd......one of my best. If there were more up tempo songs on it, like track No. 1....it'd be a 10.
  16. MattR.
    Aug 31, 2006
    10
    This really is a fantastic album. There are no weak songs, and a couple are among his best. Personally, I find it more appealing than Love & Theft.
  17. IanC
    Aug 31, 2006
    8
    I think it's an amazing feat that Dylan has made an album this good nearly 50(!) years into his career, but 10? Instant classic? Among the ranks of Highway 61 Revisited and Blood on the Tracks? C'mon.
  18. LarryS
    Aug 31, 2006
    10
    Tim Perlich of "Now" is an idiot! A voice changes with age and this voice is well suited to the material. He was never a crooner, but that never detracted from the sincerity and immersion in his chosen material in a way shared by a few e.g. Johnny Cash. The only cynical attempt to pass anything off; is Petrich's attempt to pass himself off as a knowledgeable critic.
  19. aurelios
    Sep 14, 2006
    9
    muy bueno , mejora con cada escucha, sin rabia sesentera pero se degusta como un vino de reserva, saboreando cada detalle.no tiene un 10 porque sino que ¿le pondriamos a blonde on blonde?.
  20. SethR
    Sep 21, 2006
    10
    awesome. dylan at his finest. 10 GREAT songs!
  21. KenG
    Sep 24, 2006
    10
    The depth and breadth of artistry evident in this disc is astounding. How many more years can he keep this up?
  22. emiliog
    Sep 25, 2006
    10
    Lo mejor de Dylan en los últimos años. Un placer escuchar el disco
  23. sbsb
    Nov 12, 2007
    9
    Not the greatest work of Dylan, but certainly a very good album. Dylan never gets old.
  24. DavidG
    Feb 23, 2007
    10
    giving dylan a 10 is only because for at least the last 20 years (more) dylan has been addressing a bible based truth that being he is the spokeman for yahweh concerning his bride and her relation with the marriage of god and his people(us)we being the bride for instance jokerman is humanity not .dylan. the waitess in time out of mind again is the bride. enough said i hope you replay some giving dylan a 10 is only because for at least the last 20 years (more) dylan has been addressing a bible based truth that being he is the spokeman for yahweh concerning his bride and her relation with the marriage of god and his people(us)we being the bride for instance jokerman is humanity not .dylan. the waitess in time out of mind again is the bride. enough said i hope you replay some albums , oh the gar dener in 'not talkin' is Jesus...… Expand
  25. Sarah
    Nov 17, 2006
    10
    This is an incredible, incredible album. Workingman's Blues #2 might just be my new favorite song. Anyone who thinks Dylan can't sing should listen to this. I can't believe some people gave it such a bad rating...Dylan is truly incredible. The songwriting is amazing...deals with everything from God to sucking milk out of cows. Amaaaaaaaaaaizingggggggggggggg.
  26. SharonD
    Nov 26, 2006
    10
    Another brilliant album from rock's greatest songwriter. I am sick of all these idiots who want to keep Bob frozen in the 1960's. You all need to grow up (and wake up). Older artists can be as relevant and emotionally moving as the younger ones, maybe even more so. It's called experience, which one can only gain with age. People place too much emphasis on youth over Another brilliant album from rock's greatest songwriter. I am sick of all these idiots who want to keep Bob frozen in the 1960's. You all need to grow up (and wake up). Older artists can be as relevant and emotionally moving as the younger ones, maybe even more so. It's called experience, which one can only gain with age. People place too much emphasis on youth over experience in American culture. It's great artists like Dylan who provide an antidote to this stupid notion.… Expand
  27. ReubenF
    Dec 18, 2006
    7
    A sentimental favourite for Bob Dylan fans who can rejoice that this album represents an excellent return to form. However, in my opinion it does not deserve to be in the top 10 for the year.
  28. eunice-vanburen
    Apr 26, 2012
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. In creating 'Modern Times' Dylan has drawn upon traditional American music and has created a conservative album similar to his two previous studio albums. Despite misgivings that may arise from Dylan fanatics who have yet to hear the album and fear that its preservative nature renders the album irrelevant or worst of all boring, it takes just one listen to disprove this. 'Modern Times' is an attempt to make an observation about the state of the current world (hence the title) without making any specific references (except for the infamous mention of Alicia Keys in the opening track that says more about the 64 year old's music from his zenith era than it does of Keys and contemporary popular music ) to society. The lyrics are typical of Dylan in that they are cerebral and in fused with religious themes. However this album is not the mind bender of Dylan's landmark 1965-1966 albums and the lyrics and tunes are more simplistic. The relative simplicity of the lyrics makes this album more commercially appealing than a majority of Dylan's former albums but this doesn't mean that the lyrics have been dumbed down for the sake of a cheap and easy sell to the masses. Instead this means that the album is more accessible than is common with Dylan recordings and that the messages have merely been sugarcoated. Of course not all of the songs on this album detail Dylan's impressions of the world. This album is a combination of songs that are a loose commentary on the world ('Thunder on the Mountain', 'Workingman's Blues #2', 'The Levee's Gonna Break' and 'Ain't Talkin'), songs about relationships ('Spirit on the Water', 'Someday Baby'), a combination of both ('Rollin' and Tumblin', 'Nettie Moore') and a theme that must be close to Dylan's heart at the time of recording; aging and death (Beyond the Horizon). Although all of these themes seem to be entwined with one another across the album particular songs give particualy themes more prevalence than others.The affect that the album impresses upon the listener is that it is expertly done.The tone, the spirit, the singing, the music and above all the lyrics are as engaging and exciting as some of the man's best work.

    My rating: A+ (Perfection)

    Strongest song: Workingman's Blues #2
    Weakest song: When the Deal Goes Down    … Expand
  29. JayUK
    Aug 2, 2013
    10
    The best Dylan album of the 2000s and possibly the best of his career so far. I prefer listening to it on vinyl, Spirit on the Water sounds a completely different song when on vinyl.
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Awards & Rankings

3
#3 Best Album of 2006
14
#14 Most Discussed Album of 2006
75
#75 Most Shared Album of 2006

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
89

Universal acclaim - based on 29 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 29
  3. Negative: 0 out of 29
  1. Uncut
    100
    Love And Theft was quite unlike any other pop album--apart, that is, from Modern Times, its direct and audacious sequel. [Sep 2006, p.72]
  2. Entertainment Weekly
    100
    Intriguing, immediate, and quietly epic, Modern Times must rank among Dylan's finest albums.
    Read full review
  3. The Guardian
    80
    It's hard to hear Modern Times' music over the inevitable standing ovation and the thuds of middle-aged critics swooning in awe. When you do, you find something not unlike its predecessor, Love and Theft.
    Read full review
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