How Bob Dylan Made His First Pro Tools Album, Modern Times

When Bob Dylan began making albums in the early ’60s, digital recording was decades away. But the legendary songwriter has never been averse to the evolution of technology, famously noting to The Wall Street Journal in 2002 that science and technology built everything from the pyramids to modern pocket computers, observing that technology can either nurture us or shut us out. In 2006, Dylan let it nurture the recording of his album Modern Times.

Discovering Pro Tools on the Fly

While Pro Tools had revolutionized recording and mixing since the very end of the ’80s, Dylan did not adopt the software until the early 2000s when he began working with engineer Chris Shaw. Shaw worked with Dylan on the 2001 album Love and Theft. Afterward, Shaw suggested utilizing Pro Tools for a handful of one-off movie soundtrack songs Dylan had written, such as "Cross the Green Mountain" from the film Gods and Generals starring Jeff Daniels. Since it wasn’t an official studio album track, it was a low-stakes place to experiment.

"And he said, ‘Okay, whatever,’" Shaw recalled to Uncut in 2008. After doing a take, Dylan asked to edit out the second verse and put the fourth verse in its place. When Shaw had the edit finished by the time Dylan walked from the studio into the control room, the musician’s eyes opened wide. Upon learning that edits could happen instantly on Pro Tools while keeping everything intact, Shaw could see the gears suddenly spinning in Dylan’s head.

Growing Impatience and Classic Approach

That initial exposure was all Dylan needed. When it came time to record Modern Times, he had Shaw use Pro Tools for the first time in his career. Shaw noted that the entire record was done digitally, leaving the machine running 24 hours a day and preserving hours of outtakes.

However, Dylan’s quick adaptation created a new kind of pressure in the studio. Shaw recalled that Dylan grew impatient with the speed of the machine, asking to swap verses and then inquiring just ten minutes later if the engineer was finished yet. There were also tense moments when computers crashed mid-project, leaving Shaw to walk out into the live room while the band was playing to stop Dylan and explain the failure.

Despite embracing digital editing, Dylan approached the material much like physical tape. They skipped micro-edits, instrument tuning, and heavy computer tweaking, using the computer simply as a large tape machine alongside an old desk, old microphones, and old pre-amps.

The Band Behind ‘Modern Times’

For the recording sessions, Dylan surrounded himself with a mix of longtime collaborators and top-tier musicians, including guitarists Denny Freeman and Stu Kimball, bassist and cellist Tony Garnier, multi-instrumentalist Donnie Herron, and drummer and percussionist George Receli.

Dylan praised the lineup in a 2006 interview with Rolling Stone, calling them "the best band I’ve ever been in, I’ve ever had, man for man." He added that he had nobody to teach on the record, noting that his bandmates could whip up anything and surprise even him.

When Modern Times was released on Aug. 29, 2006, it made history by debuting at the top of the Billboard 200. At 65 years old, Dylan became the oldest living person at the time to enter the Billboard charts at No. 1, marking his first chart-topping American album since 1975’s Desire.