Bob Dylan has announced his upcoming album, "Rough and Rowdy Ways," and released his new single "False Prophet" earlier Friday, May 8.
His upcoming album, set to arrive on June 19, marks his first album of original work in eight years, with the last being 2012's "Tempest."
In his Twitter post, Dylan shared the artwork for "False Prophet," announcing it as from his forthcoming album "Rough and Rowdy Ways." Dylan has earlier posted the cover art alone, which featured a skeleton faced man with a gift and a syringe with a hanged man's silhouette, without any references and only captioned with "What are you lookin' at - there's nothing to see."
His recent announcement also provided the links for his album pre-order as well as for streaming "False Prophet."
New album 'Rough And Rowdy Ways' coming June 19th.
Pre-order now: https://t.co/SN0XeyNKiN
Listen to "False Prophet" here: https://t.co/05k7HYtPiK pic.twitter.com/raitEZpabe — Bob Dylan (@bobdylan) May 8, 2020
His simultaneously announced single is also available on his YouTube channel and shares the similarities in terms of vocals and imagery with his earlier releases. His first in this trifecta of surprise tracks was "Murder Most Foul," released last March 26.
The incredibly long 17-minute track referenced the infamous JFK assassination as well as a plethora of references to music legends. It also gave Dylan his first-ever number one hit in the US Billboard Hot 100 in his six decades of music.
His haunting vocals and music references continue, again without warning, in the April 17 "I Contain Multitudes." His new ballad employs minimal arrangements and an exercise on Dylan's lyrical genius, likening him to Anne Frank, Indiana Jones, and The Rolling Stones.
After his 2012's "Tempest," Dylan has released studios albums that contained his covers of classic pop standards such as his handpicked Sinatra album "Shadows In The Night" in 2015, followed by "Fallen Angels" and "Triplicate" in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
Dylan also updated his Bootleg Series catalog, with his 15th edition containing previously unheard recording sessions between him and fellow legend Johnny Cash. His "The Bootleg Series Vol. 15: Travelin' Thru, 1967-1969" included some 47 rare tracks from his recording session with Cash. Aside from these tracks, the latest Bootleg Series entry also catalogs his two years in Nashville, culminating in the 1969 recording sessions.
Aside from his career in music, Bob Dylan is also a prominent visual artist, starting with doing his cover for his 1970 album "Self Portrait." He published a compilation of his artwork with published Random House, titled "Drawn Blank," in 1994. He first held his public art exhibition in 2007 at the Kunstsammlungen in Germany.
His works on visual art have been exhibited in various museums and galleries around the world, including his satirical take on pop icons like Babytalk and Playboy in New York's Gagosian Gallery back in 2012. He then displayed his "New Orleans Series" in Milan's Palazzo Reale the following year.
In 2016, Dylan held his "The Beaten Path" exhibit on American landscape and scenery in London's Halcyon Gallery. His last exhibit, at the Halcyon Gallery in October 2018, featured the hand-written lyrics to Dylan's songs accompanied by an illustration. He has already published eight books containing is drawings and paintings.
