(Disclaimer: Those looking for a brief description of the album will find what they're looking for in the "Review Body" section. The section titled "Track Reviews" is meant only for those who want to read detailed descriptions of the songs, and they do not constitute the essence of this review. Lastly and most importantly, this review might not be written in the point of view of a Bob Dylan fan.)

Overall Score: 9/15
Best song: “The Times They Are A-Changin'”
Worst song: “Restless Farewell” … mostly because it's the last song, and I'm sick to death of the album by then

Review Body:

This album is a hazard. Its title track is so beloved that people are going to be tempted to make it their first Bob Dylan purchase. Big mistake. If you want to start with his acoustic folk period, get the wildly entertaining The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan first. Don't even think about getting this album until you've already become a die-hard fan, and you're confident that nothing can phase you from it. Many people who get this album first will probably take one close listen to it and throw up their hands with frustration, exclaiming: “I don't know what I'm supposed to see in this guy. He's so boring!” ...The reason I say that is because the same thing happened to me. This was the first Bob Dylan album I ever listened to (in Fall 2001), and I just couldn't connect with it. I figured it must've been the voice I wasn't used to.

Since that time, I've not only listened to all his albums, but I also saw him perform on stage (awesome). And I still have trouble connecting with this album. Especially when I compare it to his previous, The Freewheelin', which was released only seven months prior. That album was chock-full of melodies, humor and insight. It's diverse and a joy from beginning to end. The Times They Are A-Changin', on the other hand, is as stone-cold serious and downbeat as it could possibly get. And it's relentless, too. It's like a Dementor from Harry Potter came along and sucked out all of his joy and hope for the future.

As it turns out, it was the record company and his colleagues who coaxed him into doing this. Downbeat protest songs were a very popular form of music back then. I guess The Freewheelin' wasn't a proper folk album, because it was funny and imaginative. And to that, I say BAH! His fans and colleagues might have eagerly lapped it up in 1964, but it didn't stand the test of time. The exception to that, obviously, the title track. (And I like “Boots of Spanish Leather” as well, but at best, that's considered one of his minor songs.)

Why do these lyrics have to be so boringly straightforward? Let me ask you a question: Who among you wants to hear about why murdering people because of the color of their skin is bad or about how chemical warfare will take the planet to Hell in a hand basket? All very important topics, mind you, but do any of you actually disagree with him? If you do, please do the human genome a favor and find a bridge to jump off of. And yet protest-folk fans used to love these sorts of songs. You know the phrase “preaching to the choir?” Protest-folk fans were the choir, and they demanded being preached to. I'm shrugging my shoulders.

In this album, Dylan also tells us stories of destitute families who can't provide for their families. “Boots of Spanish Leather” is about a sailor who goes off to sea and has to leave his love behind. These songs are more meaningful to me, but they're still quite depressing. I mean, this is wrist-slitting material.

Perhaps it wouldn't have been so bad if Dylan still used his melodic prowess. The title track is great in that regard of course, but the remainder of these songs are woefully weak. Usually, they're based on cliché blues and folk melodies, and they're lifeless. Furthermore, they have a tendency to just boringly repeat themselves for seven or eight verses. Yawn. Maybe Dylan's problem was that he was a real songwriter. Other protest-folk sensations at the time, such as Joan Baez, also presented their folk music in a serious-as-AIDS manner. But they usually didn't write her own songs, and so they had an excuse to put in a few captivating British folk songs and time-tested spirituals in their albums. Dylan, on the other hand, was a writer, and writers had to write. The people wanted boring protest songs? Well, here they are.

Fortunately, after this album's released, Dylan would just disregard things the record executives and fans were telling him and just go his own way. Obviously, it was for the best. Even though The Times They Are A-Changin' has a great title song that everybody knows by heart, this rest of the album lacks wit, insight, and imagination. I suppose that means it isn't very Dylan-esque at all.

Track Reviews:

The Times They Are A-Changin' A+
Great song, no doubt. It was considered iconic to people who lived in the early '60s, particularly after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, which happened a month after he wrote this. However, it's easy to see how the lyrics would apply today as much as they applied back then. (“Come senators, congressmen, please heed the call / Don't stand in the doorway, don't block up the hall / For he that gets hurt will be he who has stalled / The battle outside ragin'”) To people who usually don't give a damn about lyrics and just want melody won't be disappointed with this one. Dylan sings a terribly hooky melody. I know for a fact that it's memorable as well, since I knew this song before ever buying a Bob Dylan album! ...Also, interestingly, this was among the first of three Dylan albums I bought, and of them it was the first I listened to, because of this song. But unfortunately, this is kind of a boring album. Read the rest of the track reviews for more information. The instrumentation consists of the standard acoustic guitar drumming, harmonica playing, and Dylan's torn vocals. Of course, that's nothing new!

Ballad of Hollis Brown B+
This song tells the story of a destitute farmer whose life becomes even more destitute. Some of the lyrics really sting me. ( “You looked for work and money and you walked a ragged mile / Your children are so hungry they don't know how to smile.”) I mean, it's a good song. The melody and riff derivative of the blues, but Dylan delivers it in a fresh way. ...But don't I get enough of these sorts of weepy stories from Joan Baez? Dylan made me laugh in his previous two albums. Why so serious? ...And this is such a straightforward song. Nothing particularly clever or ironic to keep me amused. ...Unfortunately, most of the album is like this.

With God on Our Side B
( “But now we got weapons of chemical dust / If fire them we're forced to, then fire them we must / One push to the button and a shot the world wide / You never ask questions when God is on your side.”) It's nothing terribly new. Dr. Strangelove told the same story, but that was funny about it... and telling sometimes harrowing stories in a humorous fashion was what Dylan did ALL THE TIME in his previous album. Oh well. But my main complaint about this is the melody, which also seems too folk-derivative and nothing that makes a lasting impression on me. It's also very repetitive and starts to get boring. Lastly, Dylan's also strumming his guitar in a loose and rather uninteresting way.

One Too Many Mornings B
If I could get up every day at noon, that would improve my life 100 percent... Anyway, this is a very low-key and downbeat song. I like the way that he's very delicately strumming his acoustic guitar and the thoughtful way he's blowing on his harmonica, but other than that, this is on the boring side. The lyrics seem more poetic than the previous three, but I have no idea what they mean. (Then again, I was never a lyrics buff, so I only spent a minute or so reading them.) The melody is OK, but it never makes a lasting impression on me.

North Country Blues C+
…..................Oh man. I'm suspicious that this song would have gotten a higher score if it came after the title track, because my “boredom” seems to be exponentially increasing. People who say folk music is boring is probably thinking of this album. It's such a shame, because a prospective fan would probably buy this album first because it's named after a much-beloved song. ...Well, he's just strumming his guitar very boringly in 3/4 time, and repeating an uninteresting melody over and over again. Like everything else here, the attitude is downbeat, and the lyrics are depressing. ( “Oh, the years passed again and the givin' was good / With a lunch bucket filled every season / But three babies born, the work was cut down / To a half a day's shift with no reason” )

Only a Pawn In Their Game B
Yet another protest song. I enjoy the melody more than the previous song hence the higher rating. The lyrics pertain to the death of Medger Evers who was murdered by the KKK in 1963. And, more generally, the song is about racism. I don't think anyone disagrees with anything Bob Dylan is singing about, which is why these lyrics don't interest me much. I mean, it's a straightforward telling of his story. You'll get the same effect from reading newspapers (the mid-20th Century version of Wikipedia).

Boots of Spanish Leather A-
This is yet **ANOTHER** protest song, this time about a bull that's murdered in a bullfight and someone makes a pair of boots out of its skin. I wouldn't have pegged Bob Dylan as an animal rights activist.................. Er, I'm kidding, of course. This is actually more of a love song, about a sailor who has to go out to see and leave his love behind. (“So take heed, take heed of the western winds / Take heed of the stormy weather / And yes, there's something you can send back to me / Spanish boots of Spanish leather.”) It's a lovely song even though Dylan is still being relentless with the depressing tones.

When the Ship Comes In B
This song is about a half dozen prostitutes who wait desperately for the navy to come in for their next meal ticket, when the arrive, they only end up contracting syphilis and dying painfully...................... Just kidding, again. Am I faking anyone out? Actually the lyrics are less interesting; he's using a sailing ship as a metaphor for something or other. I don't “get it,” but as I said before, I suck at lyrics. Anyway, this is a decent song. Dylan's strumming his guitar in a more upbeat manner, which is appreciated because the last few songs have been *ssssssllllooowwww*, but the melody still isn't that great.

The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll C+
This song is about someone named Hattie Carroll who was lonesome and died................. Hah hah, did I just FAKE fake you out? …Er, probably not. Anyway. About this Bob Dylan song. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz! Does that give you the picture? I'm reading the lyrics and... you know... it's terrible that there are racist people who kill people. I guess anyone who disagrees with that should listen to this song and be taught a lesson. Me? I'm not racist, so I'm allowed to listen to other songs. You know, songs that actually tell me things about life that I didn't know.

Restless Farewell C
I'm giving kind of a restless farewell to this album right now. This is such a sloooooow and down-key song, and I'm sooooo borrrrrrrreddddddddd-d-d-d-d-d-d-d. I'mmmmmm sooooooooooo booooredddddd thattttttt I'mmmmmm keepppppinnggg mmmyyyyy ffffffffingeeeeeersssssssss onnnnnnn theeeeeeeeese keeeeeyssss fooooooorrrr lllllonngerrrrrr thannnnn necccccesssssarry fffffforrrrr noooo appppppparrrrrrrrenttttttttttt reeeeassssssssonnnnnnnnn. The lyrics? ( “But if the arrow is straight and the point is slick / It can pierce through the dust, no matter how thick / So I'll make my stand and remain as I am / And bid farewell and not give a damn”) I have no idea what I just copied down there. I don't care.

Concluding Remarks:

This album has its moments. Well, one moment. Maybe two, because I like “Boots of Spanish Leather” well enough. This is such a downbeat and depressing protest album that I can't understand how this could be the same person who made that funny and insightful The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan only seven months previously.

Read More Bob Dylan Reviews by Starcollector!

Bob Dylan (1962) | The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963) | The Times They Are A-Changin' (1964) | Another Side of Bob Dylan (1964) | Bringing it All Back Home (1965) | Highway 61 Revisited (1965)

Recommended: No