Modern Times (Bob Dylan Album) - Critical Reaction

Critical Reaction

The response from critics was overwhelmingly positive. The publications Rolling Stone and Uncut both crowned Modern Times with five-out-of-five stars. Rolling Stone critic Joe Levy called the album Dylan's "third straight masterwork". Robert Christgau of Blender described it as "startling the observant calm of old masters who have seen enough life to be ready for anything—Yeats, Matisse, Sonny Rollins". Jody Rosen of the online magazine Slate 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 in The Guardian ridiculed the lavish praise heaped on the album and wrote: "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." While enjoying the record, Petridis said Modern Times was "not one of those infrequent, unequivocally fantastic Dylan albums". Jim DeRogatis of The Chicago Sun-Times appreciated the lyrical content but found fault in the languid music, writing that "with the exception of the closing track 'Ain't Talkin', one of the spookiest songs he's ever written, Dylan disappoints with... inexplicable fondness for smarmy '30s and '40s balladry".

Perhaps the sourest review came from Ron Rosenbaum. Writing in the New York Observer, Rosenbaum called Modern Times, "a wildly overhyped disappointment... The new album is possibly the worst since Self Portrait, with songs that rarely rise above the level of Dylan's low point—and everybody seems afraid to say so."

Some reviewers who liked the album were critical of its musicianship, such as The Chicago Tribune's Greg Kot, and Jon Pareles of The New York Times, 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."

According to Metacritic, a site that tracks prominent critical opinion, Modern Times' approval rating hovers around 89%, indicating wide acclaim and earning it the honor of 30th most-liked-by-critics album (on Metacritic) of all time.

The album became Dylan's third successive album to top the Village Voice 's 'Pazz & Jop' poll. Love and Theft and Time Out of Mind won in 2001 and 1997 respectively. The album was also placed at #1 on Rolling Stone Magazines list of the 50 greatest albums of 2006 and #8 on the same magazines 100 greatest albums of the 2000s list.