15th CD...

The Times They Are A-Changin. Four stars.

Okay, I am scared stiff. This is bearding the lion, phase 1. What could possibly be worse than describing this?

Answer: Highway 61 Revisited. So I should count my blessings.

Now Dylan's a bit of a cynic and pessimist on all his records, but I think this one takes the cake for surpreme downer. Almost every song is either a bitter ballad or written in protest of some form of injustice. Trust me, this is not the place for the uninitiated to start. His other records from around this time have far more humour and musical diversity, never mind when he went electric.

And for those who want to know, this album came out in early 1964.

Every line of the title track is solid gold. It is the bar-none classic from the record. Early Dylan consisted of him, his guitar and bursts of harmonica, and the sound of this track is the blueprint for all the others herein. Musically primitive, but the song itself hasn't dated an inch. Great statement.

Ballad of Hollis Brown is certainly memorable. Tense guitar lick, and an excruciatingly slow building murder ballad. After introducing Hollis and his starving family, the rest of the story changes to the viewpoint of "you." This stroke of genius forces empathy, as you listen in to every awful detail.

With God On Our Side is a still more obvious protest song. This one is rather stuck in its era, but it still makes some valid points. The nice thing about his protests: they don't offer any reform plans, he just says what he thinks and leaves the audience to make up their own minds. It's the reason this stuff still holds up after decades of changing ideals. Don't ask me about the melody though; it clunks at every note.

One Too Many Mornings is the shortest track (God was the longest) and the most beautiful, wistful and sad. It's an evocative vignette, not a statement of anything.

North Country Blues is the bitterest of the ballads. It's about the iron ore mining towns, the casualties they create when operating, and the ruin when they shut down. "They say it's much cheaper down in South American towns/Where the miners work almost for nothing."

Only a Pawn in Their Game. More protest, obviously. Better than God.

Boots of Spanish Leather is structured as leave-taking between two lovers. It's the lady leaving on a boat, though until the last verses you can't tell. It ends ambiguously, yet unhappily, and the entire song is hauntingly rendered.

When the Ship Comes In is positively allegorical, like the second coming of Christ. It is the only upbeat tune, and quite a welcome addition too. Great change, full of fantastical imagery that doesn't quite reach biblical in nature until the end.

The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll is an extraordinary ballad. Lovely melody, however simple it is. The story is of a 51 year old servant "killed for no reason" and it is surprisingly moving. The story catches you up just like Hollis Brown's did, and it's impossible not to feel insult and indignation at the absolute misplacement of justice depicted.

Restless Farewell is a fitting end. The narrator is moving on, and leaving a sprawling epitaph behind. Old-fashioned, poignant and a fine finish all around.

...Okay, how'd I do?