Bob Dylan, The Times They are a Changin’
Bob DylanTHE TIMES THEY ARE
A-CHANGIN'.
Bob Dylan's third album is one of the starkest records in his catalog, built entirely from original songs and presented with little between the listener and his voice, guitar and harmonica.
Album artwork shown for commentary and historical reference. Cover image source: Cover Art Archive or the linked archival source.
SEVEN THINGS
WORTH KNOWING.
Recording stories, personnel, physical details and numbers worth keeping with the record.
The Times They Are a-Changin' was released on February 10, 1964 and contains 10 tracks.
Tom Wilson produced the album for Columbia Records.
Every song on the album was written by Bob Dylan.
The title track opens the record.
The album also includes "With God on Our Side," "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" and "The Ballad of Hollis Brown."
The arrangements are notably spare, centered on Dylan's voice, acoustic guitar and harmonica.
The black-and-white cover portrait reinforces the record's serious, documentary-like tone.
WHY THIS
ALBUM MATTERS.
The album matters because Dylan was no longer primarily interpreting folk tradition, using the form instead to deliver a complete album of his own topical and narrative writing.
THE
NUMBERS.
TRACKS
The album contains ten songs.
SONGWRITER
Dylan wrote the entire record.
RELEASE
The album arrived in February 1964.
THE
PHYSICAL OBJECT.
The austere black-and-white portrait contains almost none of the playful visual language associated with later Dylan sleeves, matching the seriousness of the songs.
RESEARCH SOURCES
Facts are checked against artist archives, release databases, recording credits and established archival sources before publication.
KEEP
DIGGING.
More recording stories, strange credits, cover art, chart numbers and details hiding inside the records.