Bob Dylan's The Times They Are A-Changin' LP cover colour — Greenish? Greyish? Or WHAT?!

Depending on which version you look at, the cover shade very different. A greenish tint crept in for the 2005 CD remaster, but was that closer to or further from the 1964 original? My grey vinyl version is from the 1980s, so it's hard to tell.

Which is the "correct" shade? What shade is yours?



The Greys They Are A-Changin'.

 

Color it "melancholy".

As a kid, when I spotted this cover in my brother's record collection, I thought, "wow, he looks so sad!"

 

Yes, it's surely intended as a stark, "gritty" statement. There's a definite rural feel. He could be a character from one of the songs.

Anyone have a view on the "correct" hue?

 

Someone must know something about this?!

 

Here's the scoop...
I'm looking under bright light at my original Mono and Stereo covers.
Both are NM condition, one in sw, both in plastic. Both are U.S. examples.

Mono: Bob's face and shirt are absolutely a much darker hue, his face is darker and a lot more gritty. The shirt is dark and you can see the actual heavy texture of the shirt, while the background color is oddly less grey compared to the stereo.

Stereo: Bob's face/neck are significantly lighter and much smoother.
The background is a little less grey, actually not a great difference in the backgrounds.

No 'greenish' tint to either that I can see.
I have a few others, but chose the two originals for best comparison.
This is not something new, I've seen various color / tint changes in many covers through the years.

 

Thanks for this. From what you say it sounds as though the remaster is further from the original shade than the 1980s CD was, even though in other aspects it more carefully replicates the 1964 LP.

 

I seem to recall a sepia tone in the original first pressing mono that I used to have.

Of course, it could have been grey and then turned sepia years later as paper with an acidic base often does.

I've always found this cover a powerfully melancholy image, apropos to the content.

Everybody, do my Dylan poll:

Bob Dylan -- Live 1965 - U.K. tour poll

and perhaps say a few words.

 

I have since found the original first pressing mono that I bought way back when.
(However 4 Songs From Renaldo & Clara EP is still missing).

It is grey turned a tinge of sepia with age. Looks better now than it did before.

 

The cover was based on a photo of Woody Guthrie

 

Any chance of a photo for comparison?

 

I can scan it, but it wouldn't be the entire cover.
¿ would that be okay?

 

More precisely, Dylan was psychologically and emotionally and physiologically "doing" Woody Guthrie. It was an identity process he was going through larger than himself, if you know what I mean.

The photographer just snapped the picture of the guy.

 

Yes. Great. Thank you!

 

So if there's a shade difference between the US and UK sleeve (which I believe is the vinyl sleeve posted by OP)the U.S. would be the reference I should think.

 

Yes, it is. As the USA artwork is original. Greyish is correct hue.

 

I've seen grey and slightly sepia covers of the original 1964 album.
I believe both are authentic and correct.
Remember, in photography and photo-finishing all paper from that period turns a degree of tan, or sepia, in reaction to the acidic base of chemicals in the paper.

 

The album was released in January 1964, less than two months after the assassination of President Kennedy. Apart from the resemblance to Woody, I think the raw starkness of the cover photo may have also been a reflection of how the country was feeling back then -- confused, worried, thoughtful, bitter.

Paradoxically, Meet The Beatles was released that same month in the US, brimming with 'positivity' and hope for the future, which the country really needed during those dark days.

EDIT: Oh, and my copies (GHF mono LP, 1970s stereo LP, remastered CD) all trend towards a tannish-gray hue, no visible greenish tint that I can see.

 

Here's a scan of my first edition mono.
The scanner changes the tint somewhat. Puts more yellow in than there actually is, perhaps as a result of the slightly yellow bias in the lamp light. It's grey to the naked eye.

It's only a $900 photo-professional scanner.

Sorry I couldn't fit the whole cover.

 

And coincidentally there are several shades of the title on "Meet The Beatles."

 

Wonderful. Thank you.

 

I agree and will add that different plants were probably manufacturing the album covers, and if so, some variation in overall color wouldn't be surprising. That's certainly the case with other album covers from the period.

 

Interesting. In the 2010 Mono CD box, Times is the only mini LP with a textured paper cover. In looking at the photo above, it doesn't appear that the original mono LP had this type of texture.

 

Texture -- yes it does. Very much so.

 

My early-press mono LP (Guaranteed High Fidelity label, deadwax "1B/1AA" on the left) and '70s era stereo LP (right). Looking at them illuminated by daylight through the window, the stereo one may have a SLIGHT tint of green, but it's basically gray. As @Archtop noted, the original mono does have a nice textured feel to the jacket, while the later stereo is smooth and glossy.

 

No.
There is a specific photo of Woody Guthrie that is dead on similar to the cover.
It’s out there somewhere.
Saw it on the web or a book.