The Times They Are A-Changin' (180 gm Vinyl)

The Times They Are A-Changin', the third album featured in our ongoing campaign to restore Bob Dylan's legacy on vinyl, is also the third album Dylan recorded for Columbia. Released in February 1964, the incisive title track quickly became an anthem for all those seeking social justice, and served as the soundtrack for an entire generation. This Sundazed edition is an exact reproduction of the rare original 1964 mono album, featuring the original "11 Outlined Epitaphs" insert and all-analog mastering from the absolute original source tapes.

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