Bob Dylan – Things Have Changed Review

Things Have Changed gave Bob Dylan a hood ornament for his baby grand piano. The song won him an Academy Award, which was displayed during the tours around the release of Love and Theft on stage. It would sit atop the amp or piano with the same prestige as the Spirit of Ecstasy, though in tribute to Wonder Boys rather than Rolls-Royce. Things Have Changed was confirmation of a return to quality. It was a licence for Dylan to do as he pleased on stage and in public, the latter leading to a string of advert appearances which only added layers to the mysterious stage veteran. Why was the folk protestor turned rock and roller advertising Chrysler cars and Victoria’s Secret? It didn’t matter so long as the music remained strong. It did. Things Have Changed is an outstanding link between the tone of Time Out of Mind and Love and Theft.  

Dylan described this song best of all. For once, his words on his work are correct. Things Have Changed is a “song that doesn’t pussyfoot around nor turn a blind eye to human nature.” Gluttony is at the core of this as a want which, once received, does not fill the heart. Champagne-guzzling women, a shifting acoustic instrumental which brings a swagger to the lyrics, and a sudden switch is all it takes. Things Have Changed is one of Dylan’s very best. It’s certainly in contention for the best song he has written this century. What it highlights is a belief in the randomness and volatility of life. Falling in love with the first person you meet, as though a throwaway line to transition into wheelbarrow thrills, is a staggering moment. Every line is gold. It used to be like that all the time for Dylan, but everyone eventually loses their stream of consciousness.  

But here it returns as Dylan deals with death, religion, and love as only he can. There are some scorching lines to be heard throughout, backed by an instrumental which has a floaty, feel-good style to it. Pair that with talk of nooses around necks and last trains home, the urgency of the writing threatens the sincerity and calmness of the instrumentals. It’s a back-and-forth fight which allows Things Have Changed to still stand out. Dylan sounds great, too. A drifting style which has him take on the role of, as he sings in the first line, a “worried man with a worried mind.” Material wealth will not stop the tide of doubt, the raging storm inside. It’s a brilliant message which stands well on its own, but well enough too when paired with the Michael Douglas-starring Wonder Boys.  

Things Have Changed documents the changing priorities of life in the face of love and new experiences. That is the fundamental which remains in this song. A person can be moulded by experiences they were not expecting. It is enough to crack the shell they have spent years working on. But Dylan makes those changes sound extreme, dangerous, as they often are. Even if we are not in physical danger, the overwhelming moments can be emotionally damaging. Every moment featured on Things Have Changed features that possibility, a fearsome song delivered with a slow drawl, the sound of a rambler well-versed on the road of life. It’s one of the very best in Dylan’s discography, and he knows it, having played it over a thousand times on stage since its release.