The drummer who performed in the studio with Bob Dylan has explained the “last-minute” style of recording used for Rough and Rowdy Ways.
It appears the last-minute style of performing is what suits Dylan most now, with Matt Chamberlain confirming the veteran songwriter was a very spur-of-the-moment person. The drummer who has worked with the likes of Elton John and Pearl Jam confirmed the studio sessions for Rough and Rowdy Ways were more jams than anything formed beforehand. A “reference point for a groove or a feel” is all Dylan had, according to Chamberlain, who replaced drummer George Receli for the album. He appears on all songs and was one of two personnel changes, the other being the return of Time Out of Mind guitarist Bob Britt. Charlie Sexton, Donnie Herron, and Tony Garnier are also featured.
Chamberlain said: “Yeah, well the Dylan thing is, the tour was very last-minute. I played for a couple of days, and he wanted me to tour, literally, it was like a three-day window, and he asked me to hop on this tour.
“So we did like six weeks and got back, and then after the first year, we started his record, and that was an education because he’s so last-minute, in-the-moment about the way he makes his records.
“It’s almost like playing with a poet jazz musician because he’s just always changing it up; anything can happen at any time, things can just get trashed, and we’ll do a whole new version of a song. He’s amazing. He’s Bob Dylan, so…”
Though it may seem daunting to play along with Dylan and find the right groove, Chamberlain suggested it was “pretty fun” to experience. Rough and Rowdy Ways would mark another critically acclaimed release from Dylan, and his first release of original music since the release of Tempest.
Chamberlain added: “Pretty much, yeah. He might have like a reference point for a groove or a feel, and then we’ll just kind of jam on that.
“And then he’ll start trying to sing over it, and then he’ll get on the piano and add some extra chords, and we’ll kind of work out the arrangement, and the next thing you know we’ve tracked the song. It’s pretty fun…”
Dylan collaborated with Fiona Apple for Murder Most Foul, and was set to reunite with The Band’s Robbie Robertson, though the veteran musician was unable to join the recordings. Cult Following previously reported on the missed opportunity for collaboration, with Robertson, who died in 2023, confirming Dylan had asked him to join the Rough and Rowdy Ways recordings.
He said: “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.”
