A studio collaboration between veteran musicians Bob Dylan and Robbie Robertson had been planned for Rough and Rowdy Ways.
Though the duo had worked together in the past when Robertson was in The Band, he and Dylan had not worked together since the mid-1970s, on the Martin Scorsese film, The Last Waltz. Robertson would appear on several Dylan records, though Planet Waves would prove to be his final collaboration with the Mr. Tambourine Man songwriter in the studio. Robertson has since shared he would have “loved” collaborating with Dylan on Rough and Rowdy Ways, but was simply unable to do so. Dylan, who released the album in 2020, is still touring the album as of this year, with a schedule of live dates set to end in September.
Speaking of the album, Robertson says if he were able to, he would have played guitar on at least a few songs featured on Rough and Rowdy Ways. Robertson, who died in 2023 at the age of 80, confirmed he was “in the middle of stuff” and did not, unfortunately, have time to collaborate with Dylan.
He told Rolling Stone Music Now: “I was just slammed with work. I said, ‘Right now, I’m in the middle of this stuff,’ and I think that he just felt like it was cooked and he needed to bring it out of the oven. So he went in and recorded this album.”
Robertson had just finished working on his album, Sinematic, which proved to be his final solo album. He also completed work on The Irishman, a Scorsese movie which starred Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Joe Pesci.
The Band’s guitarist did at least share his thoughts on Rough and Rowdy Ways, namely Murder Most Foul, which was read to Robertson over the phone by Dylan. Robertson recalled: “I thought, this is just terrific writing and something that only Bob could do.
“And I would have loved for us to work together on that. But I just couldn’t do it at that time… I was gonna check in with him and just say, ‘God, I’m sorry I wasn’t available then, but let’s see if we can cause some trouble down the line.’”
Dylan has not yet released another studio album, but did release a live album, Shadow Kingdom, in 2023. It is so far his most recent official release outside of The Bootleg Series. It is not known if Dylan is currently working on a new album or an addition to The Bootleg Series, though fans believe another compilation of early years tapes is in the works. No official announcement for this has been made.
Despite not getting Robertson to work on the album, Dylan is believed to consider his time in the studio for Rough and Rowdy Ways as his favourite. Bob Dylan All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track, claims Dylan confided in an unnamed source that it “was his favourite studio experience.”
