Customer Reviews

Times They Are A-Changin

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Bob Dylans The Times They Are A-Changing is what I would call a stepping stone into the full body of his work. Through this album, people unfimilair with Dylans music will get an idea of how politically important he is. In the song "WITH GOD ON OUR SIDE" Dylan examines the irony surrounding the strong belief in God most Americans have and the war-monger mantality this country embodys. "ONLY A PAWN IN THEIR GAME" illuminates the problems surrounding political power and race. "the south politician preeches to the poor white man.. You got more than the blacks ,dont complain.....you're better than them, you've been born with white skin, he explanes... and the negros name is used at his pain, for the politicians gain, as he rises to fame, and the poor white remains on the caboose of the trains, but it aint him to blame, he's only a pawn in their game".........."the poor white man is used in the hands of them all like a tool, he's taught in his schools,from the start by the rules, that the laws are with him, to protect his white skin, to keep up his hate so he never thinks straight, bout the shape that he's in, but it aint him to blame, he's only a pawn in thier game" Knowing that this album was put out in 65' shows just how foward thinking Dylan is. Buy this albus and digest every word, You'll be a better person for it. other great Dylan albums: Desire, Blood on the Tracks, Another side of Bob Dylan, and Bring it all back home.

This right here folks is the successor to Dylan's highly acclaimed Freewheelin' and Dylan didn't take great a step down with this one. Though not as timeless as The Freewhellin' nor as consistant, it does compile dark folk songs that certainly rank among Dylan's best from his early days. Like the mystical numbers of Freewheelin', The Times They Are A-Changin' contains songs that simply blow the listener away time after time with their truth, emotion, love and despair. The first notable one being 'One Too Many Mornings', a story of a man who reflects on the many days behind him and his lost fellings. The simple guitar and harmonica here work beautifully at creating a most intimate setting for the tale. The second song that stands out (IMO) is 'Boots of Spanish Leather', a song about a girl who leaves her man. I absolutely love this song. It just sounds so darling but ironically is so tragic. It, in fact, reminds me of 'Girl From the North Country' on The Freewhellin' because their guitar parts sound similar (not to mention the love loss). A third highlight is the epic 'Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll' which investigates the murder of Hattie Carroll taking a third person point of view on the disgrace that it all was. I'msure that I am not the first to say this but this song is an absolutely perfect recording of vocal and pace and purpose. There is so much heart, so much hate, so much disgrace done impeccably. Other notable tracks include everything else on side two and of course the title track. To be honest though, I must concur with what others have expressed, 'With God On Our Side' at times does indeed drag a little too long. I also should offer that 'The Ballad of Hollis Brown' and 'North Country Blues' may suffer a little in the melody categories though they still are important parts to this album.

To sumorize these thoughts- you would be foolish to read this review and decide not to buy this record. One of Dylan's more personal, it offers brilliant love and protest songs that will no doubt affect you.

"The Times They Are A-Changin'" is Bob Dylan's dark 1964 all-acoustic folk protest album that has gone down in history. The opening title track explains it all- the times were changing. Pop culture took a huge revolution in the early-mid sixties. The record carries an assortment of dark parables ("Hollis Brown", "North Country Blues", "Hattie Carroll"), well-told histories ("With God On Our Side"), and two love songs to break the mood, the lovely "Boots of Spanish Leather" (the same melody as "Girl of North Country"), and "One Too Many Mornings" a beautiful ballad sung so gently that you begin to wonder if Dylan was afraid that he was being too painful with his sharp criticism of the society. "Only A Pawn In Their Game" is one of Dylan's best and the best songs ever written, a phenominal anti-racial tale which introduced me to my public nickname, Medgar Evers- (I'm a caucasion who's never been fired at; I just liked the name, and it's from one of my favourite songs). And "When The Ship Comes In" is a jaunty folk song about the coming of Christ, also very well-written. Now this must seem to be a bunch of nonsense to you if you don't know the album or songs. But buy it; it's worth it. The amazing music of the Greatest Solo Artist of Rock and Roll lives on!

"Today, Medgar Evers was buried from the bullet he caught. They lowered him down as a king. But when the shadowy sun sets on the one that fired the gun, he'll see by his grave, on the stone that remains, carved next to his name, his epitaph plain: Only a Pawn in Their Game."

I am officially obsessed with this album. In my opinion, the most amazing thing about it may be the fact that Dylan recorded this at 22 years old. While still only a child, his worn voice and cynical lyrics create an atmosphere of wisdom and maturity far beyond his years.

Released in early 1964, mere weeks after the Beatles touched down in America for the first time and standing at the foot of the civil rights monolith to come, the title track has taken on an almost prophetic identity of its own. At times on this album, it seems as though the ghost of Woody Guthrie has taken over Dylan. And there he is, standing on a mountaintop, peering out into the second half of the 1960's.

The times were definitely a-changin', and then there was Dylan.

A gaunt and bony-faced Bob stares out austerely from the cover, trying to resemble a Walker Evans depression-era photograph, and doing a pretty good job at that. These are THE classic 'protesty songs of his protest years', and overwhelmingly powerful they are too, building up from the attention- grabbing title song to culminate in the engrossing human tragedy of Hattie Carroll, the black maid beaten to death by a drunken socialite. Dylan's own mixture of fear and commitment is a noticably intriguing counterpoint to the strong political rhetoric. His usual `restless feet' imagery in `One Too Many Mornings' neatly contrasts with crumbling social stability of `North Country Blues'. Even in `Oxford Town' his campaigning is cut short by the urge to get out of the heat. By the end, the `Restless Farewell' to activism is starkly set against the personalising of oppression in the story of Carroll and the vile Zanzinger. Both these final songs are hypnotic - perfect examples of Dylan's subtle development of his old technique of hanging onto, and drawing out lines so that resolutions seem suspended in mid-air, and endings seem like blessed moments of release.

What is most impressive, is that these mid-60s protest-songs seem neither dated, nor `politically correct' in any way. Instead they recreate the real and intense sense of injustice and fear of destruction that dominated the era.

Early Dylan was known for its precocious politcal commentary, but let's not forget the lyrical. My favorites on this album/CD are actually Boots of Spanish Leather and One Too Many Mornings. Simple, straightforward acoustic guitar (similar to early Simon & Garfunkel). As a "child of the sixties" myself, I was always taken by the beauty of (some of) the music less than the politics. I can listen to 1960's Dylan in the 2000's and still be touched.

This is coming from someone who is not a die hard Bob Dylan fan, in fact most of his music just leaves me flat, but I enjoy listening to this album from beginning to end. His voice & guitar playing are both strong & the songs are heartfelt & meaningful. If you are put off by the legacy of Dylan, this album is worth an objective listening.

was also the first one I purchased, although it was his third release. It is dark, depressing in spots, bleak and bitter, but oh, so powerful back in 1963! Buying Dylan back then,even for a college sophomore was kind of a radical act in my somewhat racist family. We were lifelong denizens of New Jersey, but uncomfortable with all the civil rights agitation just the same. I bought the record because I had seen Bob perform "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" on the Steve Allen late-night TV variety show. To find out what made Dylan famous BEFORE he went to electrified rock, get this item.

While most Dylan fans seem to prefer The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan to its consistently dour follow-up, I actually like The Times They Are A-Changin' better. Sure, The Freewheelin'­ Bob Dylan does feature a lot more diversity of styles, the almost constant barrage of "protest" songs makes Bob's activism seem like less of a pose. Besides, putting the lyrics aside (as I tend to do), the subject matter must've spurred Bob into writing a much stronger set of pieces from a musical standpoint. "Ballad Of Hollis Brown" and "Boots Of Spanish Leather" are better than anything on its predecessor. Besides, not all of the songs are about causes. "One Too Many Mornings", "Boots Of Spanish Leather", and "Restless Farewell" could all probably count as love songs. Although I will agree that there isn't much on here that's upbeat (either lyrically or musically), I think that it's a much more heart-rending and powerful album for it. Besides there is some optimism in the title track and "When The Ship Comes On" and some humor in "With God On Our Side". It's not completely bleak. Really, my biggest complaint comes from "With God On My Side". First of all - it tends to drag on a little long for a song with only one guitar and no new parts. It also features something that crops up a lot on these early Dylan albums. He seems completely unsure what kind of accompaniment he wants on the guitar. Sometimes he's got this wild strumming on the triplets, but when he gets tired and can't keep up he switches to just hitting the downbeats. It's very distracting whenever it happens. Luckily, we don't hear much more of it after "with God On Our Side".

To me Bob Dylan was always his best when he was acoustic . Not to say he isnt good electric, I just like his acoustic period better.
The Freewheelin Bob Dylan to me is his career album and this is a very close second.
The times they are a Changin kicks the album off, one of Dylans' classic songs of his career.
He then tells us about Hollis Brown and tells us about his poverty, and his inability to find work and how no one really cares about each other.
With God on our Side is one of my personal favorite Dylan songs ever. He talks about this country and its views on war. "And you dont count the dead when God's on our side.
He then talks about Civil Rights leader Medger Evers and how he was a "Pawn in their game" Showing how corrupt political leaders are in the south and other places as well.
Another Favorite "When the ship come In" is another solid song.
Dylan has always been known for war protest and civil rights awareness. I remember hearing these songs at a very early age and its strange becasue the message still applies in many ways.
I guess despite our technology some things never change.
If you are a Dylan fan this is a must.