Music reviews & criticism
November 2015
A Change Is Gonna Come: Dylan, die Beatles, die Rolling Stones und andere im Jahr 1966
by Dürkob, Carsten
Everyone is talking about 1967, the ‘Summer of Love’, about sun, love, peace – but what enabled this unique atmosphere, later turned into a myth? “A Change Is Gonna Come” answers this questions from the perspective of pop music, more specifically: from the perspective of a couple of songs, released in 1966, that unfolded their impact around the world in the following months. In the middle of the decade of carefree pop music, the most important songwriters born around 1940 compose lyrics about fear of the future, a lack of orientation and disillusionment. The LPs that were released in these few months do not merely change the direction and authenticity of music within one summer, but they are also a call to action: Things can’t go on like this! For this reason, ‘The Sounds of Silence’, ‘Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme’ (both Simon & Garfunkel), ‘Blonde on Blonde’ (Bob Dylan), ‘Revolver’ (The Beatles), ‘Aftermath’ (The Rolling Stones) and ‘Pet Sounds’ (The Beach Boys), as well as other individual songs, are the focus of “A Change Is Gonna Come”. They all show: The foundations of the world have become brittle in 1966. The ‘Summer of Love’ is just the response!
