Under the Red Sky

Under the Red Sky
source
Name	Under the Red Sky
Type	studio
Artist	Bob Dylan
Released	1990
Recorded	1989–1990
Studio	New York City; Los Angeles
Length	41:46
Label	Columbia
Producer	Don Was, David Was, Bob Dylan
Prev title	Oh Mercy
Prev year	1989
Next title	Good as I Been to You
Next year	1992

Under the Red Sky is the twenty-seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released in 1990 on Columbia Records. The record followed Dylan's critically acclaimed Oh Mercy and involved collaborations with a wide array of musicians and producers. It polarized critics and listeners with its simple, whimsical songwriting and high-profile guest appearances, and has since been reassessed in discussions of Dylan's late 20th-century output.

Background and recording

Recording sessions for the album occurred after the success of Oh Mercy and during Dylan's collaborations with figures from diverse musical circles. Sessions took place in New York City and Los Angeles and involved studios associated with artists like Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and session musicians who had worked with T Bone Burnett, Robbie Robertson, and Rick Rubin-era projects. Producers Don Was and David Was were brought in to shepherd recording, as Dylan had previously worked with Daniel Lanois on Oh Mercy and with Barry Beckett on earlier projects. Guest performers included Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Sting, and Ringo Starr—artists linked to landmark events and entities such as Cream, The Beatles, The Police, and Traveling Wilburys. The lineup also featured studio veterans who had collaborated with Madonna, Prince, Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Stevie Wonder, B.B. King, Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page. Dylan's working relationship with Columbia connected the sessions to executives and A&R figures associated with CBS Records, Sony Music Entertainment, and producers from Atlantic Records and Island Records.

Music and lyrics

Musically, the album features concise, melody-driven songs with influences traceable to folk, rock, blues, and pop idioms associated with artists like Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Robert Johnson, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Bo Diddley, Elvis Presley, and Bob Marley. Lyrically, Dylan drew on surreal imagery and nursery-rhyme refrains, prompting comparisons to earlier works connected with the Beat Generation and contemporaries such as Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Tom Waits, and Leonard Cohen. Several tracks reflect narrative techniques reminiscent of songs associated with Johnny Cash, Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams, and Patsy Cline, while chordal textures and soloing echo traditions used by Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. The songwriting also resonated with themes present in collections connected to The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Byrds, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and The Band.

Release and promotion

The album was released by Columbia Records amid promotional efforts involving music press outlets like Rolling Stone, NME, Melody Maker, Spin, and Billboard. Dylan appeared on radio and television platforms linked to MTV, BBC Radio 1, and Late Show-type programs, while interviews were carried out with journalists from The New York Times, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and Time magazine. Promotional singles were serviced to playlists managed by programmers at Z100, KROQ-FM, and classic rock stations that frequently featured material by Fleetwood Mac, Santana, Aerosmith, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The supporting tour environment included venues tied to Madison Square Garden, Wembley Stadium, and theater circuits associated with promoters like Ticketmaster and concert promoters who worked with Live Nation.

Critical reception

Critical response was mixed to negative at release, with reviews appearing in outlets connected to Rolling Stone, The Village Voice, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Melody Maker, and NME. Some critics compared the album unfavorably to Dylan's landmark records linked to Highway 61 Revisited, Blonde on Blonde, Blood on the Tracks, and Bringing It All Back Home, while others found echoes of his later-period experiments related to Time Out of Mind and early collaborations with The Band. Commentators referenced Dylan's canon alongside peers such as Neil Young, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, and Leonard Cohen to contextualize songwriting choices. Retrospective appraisals in music histories and biographies from publishers covering rock criticism and studies of artists like John Lennon, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Jimi Hendrix have varied, sometimes re-evaluating the album's simplicity and production.

Commercial performance

Commercially, the album charted in markets associated with major record charts like the Billboard 200, the UK Albums Chart, and national listings in Australia, Canada, Germany, France, and Japan. Singles received airplay on stations that also promoted artists such as U2, R.E.M., Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Oasis. Sales were modest compared with Dylan's multi-platinum releases tied to earlier decades, though loyal fanbases and collectors tracked releases through distributors linked to Columbia, Sony, and specialty retailers that also handled catalog titles from The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, and Bob Marley.

Track listing

1. "Tell Me" 2. "Under the Red Sky" 3. "Unbelievable" 4. "2 X 2" 5. "Hand of Fate" 6. "Wiggle Wiggle" 7. "Born in Time" 8. "God Knows" 9. "Dignity" 10. "Cat's Song" 11. "Make You Feel My Love" (note: not on original; included on some reissues) (The above reflects common listings and variations tied to regional pressings and reissues handled by Columbia Records and distributors affiliated with Sony Music Entertainment and independent reissue labels.)

Personnel and production

Personnel on the record included musicians and technicians associated with studios and sessions featuring artists like Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Sting, Don Was, David Was, and session players who had worked with Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Carlos Santana, and B.B. King. Production credits list Dylan alongside producers associated with Don Was and David Was, engineers linked to studios used by Fleetwood Mac, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and mastering personnel from facilities tied to Abbey Road Studios and prominent mastering houses.

Legacy and influence

Over time, the album's reputation has been subject to reappraisal within literature on Dylan and popular music histories that cover periods involving Oh Mercy, Time Out of Mind, and the later resurgence in Dylan scholarship including biographies by authors who have written about Johnny Depp-era collaborations, the Traveling Wilburys, and Dylan's role in festivals connected to Newport Folk Festival and Glastonbury Festival. Musicians from indie and alternative scenes influenced by Dylan—artists associated with Wilco, The Decemberists, She & Him, Elvis Costello, Ryan Adams, Patti Smith, and Jeff Tweedy—have cited elements of his late-career songwriting in interviews with outlets like Pitchfork and MOJO. The album remains a topic in courses at institutions such as Bard College, Columbia University, New York University, and in scholarship published by presses that study 20th-century and 21st-century popular music.

Category:Bob Dylan albums Category:1990 albums