The Times They Are a-Changin’ is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on January 13, 1964 by Columbia Records. Produced by Tom Wilson, it is the singer-songwriter’s first collection to feature only original compositions. The album consists mostly of stark, sparsely arranged ballads concerning issues such as racism, poverty, and social change. The title track is one of Dylan’s most famous; many feel that it captures the spirit of social and political upheaval that characterized the 1960s. Some critics and fans were not quite as taken with the album as a whole, relative to his previous work, for its lack of humor or musical diversity. Still, The Times They Are a-Changin’ peaked at #20 on the US chart, eventually going gold, and belatedly reaching #4 in the UK in 1965. (More from Wikipedia)
Besides the work on Freewheelin’, Tom Wilson wound up producing many of the albums that make up the heart of Bob Dylan’s early career: The Times They Are A-Changin’, Another Side of Bob Dylan, and Bringing it All Back Home.
(June 2013/2)
* * *
A bit of serendipity occurred when Bob Dylan and Joan Baez appeared together at the 1963 Monterey Folk Festival singing a duet of a newly written song, “With God on Our Side” (which would appear on Dylan’s next album, The Times They Are A-Changin’). The Festival was in the same month as the release of The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. Wikipedia states: “Baez was at the pinnacle of her fame, having appeared on the cover of Time magazine the previous November. The performance not only gave Dylan and his songs a new prominence, it also marked the beginning of a romantic relationship between Baez and Dylan, the start of what Dylan biographer [Howard] Sounes termed ‘one of the most celebrated love affairs of the decade’.”
(March 2015)
