Track Listing

1. The Times They Are A-Changin'
2. Ballad Of Hollis Brown
3. With God On Our Side
4. One Too Many Mornings
5. North Country Blues
6. Only A Pawn In Their Game
7. Boots Of Spanish Leather
8. When The Ship Comes In
9. The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll
10. Restless Farewell

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3781 in Music
• Released on: 2005-06-20
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered

Amazon.co.uk Review
This is the re-released, remastered version. One of the darkest of Dylan albums, Times... is the work of a 22-year-old who sounds no less sick of it all than the ailing 55-year-old who made Time out of Mind. There's a place here for rousing protests such as the title track and "When the Ship Comes In", but those songs are outnumbered by the equally powerful, drainingly pessimistic likes of "Only a Pawn in Their Game", "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll", and "The Ballad of Hollis Brown". It's as if Dylan had to deliver his grimmest topical material before moving on to Another Side's liberation and laughs. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews

His one, real protest album.
When Bob Dylan has a fire in his belly and is on top form, there are few things finer in this world. With two albums under his belt and a confidence that could only have come from rapturous applause, he embarked upon this most serious of collections.
Very few albums have what you'd call the perfect sleeve art, in the sense that it is a visual representation of the music within. On The Times They Are A Changin' it is perfect. Stark, moody, monochrome, almost archaic even in 1963. Bob looks 23 going on 53, a man with the world on his shoulders.
From the off, Bob has some serious things to say. Let not over-familiarity dilute the title track, a revolutionary and almost Marxist desire to see the old order crumble and for the young to take over. Its actually startling that he got away with it! The subject matter is largely grim; he sings about murders on The Ballad Of Hollis Brown, Only A Pawn In Their Game, and The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll. There's one about the horrors of a closing mining town (North Country Blues) and another couple that directly relate to his anger against the establishment (With God On Our Side and When The Ship Comes In).
Its predecessor, Freewheelin', was liberally sprinkled with his Chaplinesque humour, and he wouldn't be railing against anything except women on its follow up, Another Side Of... again doused with that silent movie farce as was his wont. The Times They Are A Changin' is pretty hardcore stuff; one man, a guitar, both as harsh as the words he was putting across.
For me, a special place in my heart is reserved for With God On Our Side and The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll. These are stunning pieces of poetry set to music that's so gorgeous as to make you want to weep. I personally prefer Freewheelin' for its greater scope, but like that album, this is purely timeless.

The times they are a'changing
Possibly Dylans darkest work, this album is full of acoustic work that is is simply amazing. It is not a 'feel good' album, with dark songs such as 'Only a Pawn in Their Game', 'Ballad of Hollis Brown' and 'The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carrol', all the songs on this album tell stories. The songs that realy stand out are 'The Times They are A-Changin', 'Spanish Boots of Spanish Leather' and 'When the Ship Comes In'.
In short: Buy this album.

Strong, folkish, and somewhat melancholy early Dylan
Bob Dylan's third album, and his first collection of all-original material, "Times" may not be quite as rich as its predecessor ("Freewheelin'"), but it is a memorable record in its own right.

Several of Dylan's best early songs are here...the only thing you can really say against "Times" is that most of them are available on equally good or better renditions on Dylan's live albums or on the first two "Greatest Hits" albums. Even casual fans should pick up "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan", but they may find that the live renditions of songs like "One Too Many Mornings", "With God On Their Side", and "The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll" available on "Live 1964" and "Live 1966" is all they need.

Serious fans will definitely want this one as well, though. A notable lack of up-tempo songs and the generally bleak outlook of this album might turn off casual listeners a little bit, but you can't deny the quality of songs like "Only A Pawn In Their Game", "Boots Of Spanish Leather", "Hattie Carroll", and the title track.
Dylan's most traditionally folkish album, "Times" concentrates mainly on social protest, writing a bunch of very serious lyrics without the whimsical absurdism of other early records. It may pale next to its predecessor, but it's pretty terrific by most other standarts.