Portions of proceeds from album sales will go to the charity, Pencils of Promise. Pencils of Promise is a non-profit organization that builds schools and increases educational opportunities in the developing world. The charity has built more than 150 schools in Asia, Africa and Latin America.[2]
The Wall Street Journal said Bob Dylan in the 80s: Volume One was an assembly of likable Dylan songs from his 1980s albums.[8] On the other hand, The New Yorker felt the collection was missing a clear order and was more than a decade's worth of songs, as it included selections from 1990's Under the Red Sky.[9]