Customer Reviews

Blood On The Tracks

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It has been thirty years since "Blood on the Tracks" was released and of all of the albums recorded by Bob Dylan it is the one that has most increased in stature simply because every album produced since then has failed to rise to this level. I think the reason for this is mainly because it was born in a creative burst of pointed lyricisim as his marriage to Sara Lowndes collapsed, with all the songs written in two months in the middle of 1974. I would no more expect any personal turmoil to provide similar inspiration any more than I would have expected any of the songs on this album to rise to the level of social rhetoric found in his greatest songs of the Sixties.

In "Blood on the Tracks" Dylan also turned his back on his greatest backing band, returning to his artistic routes on an album that is largely acoustic-based. The songs run the emotional gamut from sorrow and regret to bitterness and pain. At the same time, despite the obvious point of origin for most of these songs, this is not an openly confessional album (cf. Courtney Love's "America's Sweetheart"). After all, we are talking the lyrics of Bob Dylan, which means cryptic riddles and allegories abound all laid out in ten classic tracks:

"Tangled Up in Blue" is the best song on the album and the ambguity about the characters and relationships Dylan sings about has only increased over the years with the shifting lyrics in various performances. The cover version by the Indigo Girls remains my favorite Dylan cover.

"Simple Twist of Fate" is another great four-word phrase in a song that represents the most overtly personal song on the album. The stark instrumentation only serves to highlight the heartbreak of the existentialist lyrics and the mournful sound of the vocals.

"You're A Big Girl Now" is a ballad on the end of a relationship and a sort of benediction in that clearly the woman is right to move on, but Dylan is still haunted by their physical encounters. You would think that this would have been the logical final track for the album, but it is not.

"Idiot Wind" is song on the album that most reminds me of an earlier Dylan composition, namely "Like a Rolling Stone," the pair being a set of put-down songs. The difference is that while both song lash out in lots of directions, this one keeps coming back to a certain "babe." This is another song that has changed over the year for various reasons that could well inspire a doctoral dissertation.

"You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go" is a rather upbeat track, despite the descending chord progressions, and is usually considered a song hopeful of reconciliation rather than one eulogizing the breakup.

"Meet Me in the Morning" stands out musically as the most blues oriented track that always struck me as cleansing the palatte for what was coming next on the album.

"Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts" is a 8:50 story song that basically wears down the listener's insistence that this is a biographical album. It also has a line that Dylan seems to sing with nic epitch and without affection, to wit, "and Lily had already taken all of the dye out of her hair." Pay attention next time through to that one phrase.

"If You See Her, Say Hello" probably represents the emotional low point of the album, with lyrics reflecting a singer who is crushed and embittered by the end of the relationship, turning his anger in on himself.

"Shelter from the Storm" is a song of simple beauty, based on three chords and a simple melody, underscoring a profound sense of loss. The song provides an avalanche of symbols and metaphors, but actually seems to end on an optimstic note.

"Buckets of Rain" provides a fitting finale, suitably depressing lyrics against a rather upbeat melody as irony once again abounds. After this song there is no where left to go.

"Blood on the Tracks" is listed by "Rolling Stone" magazine as the #16 record on the list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, between #15 "Are You Experienced?" by the Jimi Hendrix Experience and #17 "Nevermind" by Nirvana. It is one of ten Dylan albums on the list, behind #4 "Highway 61 Revisited" and #9 "Blonde on Blonde." This For pretty much the complete story on the making of this classic album, check out "A Simple Twist of Fate: Bob Dylan and the Making of Blood on the Tracks" by music journalist Andy Gill and guitarist Kevin Odegard, who played on the five tracks recorded in Minneapolis. You can also listen to "The Bootleg Series, Vol. 1-3" to hear the original version of "Tangled Up in Blue," "Idiot Wind," and "If You See Her, Say Hello" recorded in New York City in September to compare with the Twin Cities versions from December of 1974.

Even a cursed eighties born child of the disposible Killers-generation like me can appreciate the genius behind 'Blood on the tracks' In contrast to the commonplace acts of today, Dylans music has always sustained staying power and relevance and this record is still a great illustration of his amazing talent many years after its release. This is an important and poetic record which deals with real emotions (turning a failed marriage into a force for good) and contains some of his most eternal songs (such as 'Idiot wind' and 'Shelter from the storm') The virtuosity displayed on 'Blood' is rare and special. I would recommend this album to anyone.

Dylan fans who know every nuance may be more qualified than I to report on the quality of a Dylan remaster. But collectors always have lots to wonder about when a new Sony remaster is released, so I will go out on a limb as the first to review this one, with emphasis on the sound. Maybe someone else can comment on the editing.

In my opinion, this reissue replaces one of the most abominable CDs ever to occupy the Sony/Dylan catalog. Other favorites like Blonde on Blonde, Highway 51, and JW Harding sounded pretty good in a relative way, but the previous incarnation of BOTT had such dismal sound it was almost unlistenable - whenever I heard it I got a headache.

So the new BOTT has a lot in its favor before the first listen, but actually hearing it is really a pleasure again for the first time since vinyl. For a recording of this significance, its been a long time coming.

I wouldn't say this is Dylan's greatest album, but I wouldn't say it isn't. Dylan had released a few clunkers before shocking everybody with the amazing coherence, narrative power, and universal relevance of Blood on the Tracks. Like Dylan's best albums, listening is like touring a gallery or watching a play as it goes from one dramatic scene to another. Dylan's migrant American romances consistently connect with the listener and draw more than ever from experience - where he might have been brilliant and condescending as a younger man, he now expresses pain, remorse and the need for love and forgiveness.

Written with a broken heart, an album that can make a grown man weep. One of Dylan's great efforts, arguably the best album of the '70s. If only he could sing :). As with a lot of Dylan's songs, the instrumental track grabs you and it's a bit of a let down when the familiar nasal voice enters the proceedings, but you're soon swept up in the sheer brilliance of the lyric and phrasing. You can listen to this album a thousand times and never get tired of it. One of the big 5 Dylan albums, along w/ Freewheelin', Blonde on Blonde, Highway 61 and Bringing it All Back Home. My personal favorite, and I'm in the minority on this, is Bringing it All Back Home, which is IMHO the greatest album ever made in the rock/pop genre. Dylan changed music forever when he did his Ben Franklin imitation and discovered electricity. Before that he only introduced a theme song for a generation (Blowin' in the Wind) and the most powerful song of the '60s (A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall). Rock music grew up with Dylan. He broke all kinds of barriers (the length of songs, fused various genres and brought intelligence to lyrics). The Beatles could no longer sing She Loves You Ya ya ya after Dylan raised the bar. Jerry Garcia: No Dylan, no Dead. Check it out and you'll discover what I did: that the Jewish kid from Minnesota has the goods!

Of all the CD's in my collection, "Blood on the Tracks" is probably the one I've listened to the most. It works best when you can listen to it uninterrupted, as the songs lead effortlessly from one to another--I can't imagine listening to it on the "random" setting. Other reviewers here have provided excellent song-by-song synopses. It's hard to pick a favorite track--each has its own attributes: "Shelter from the Storm" and "Simple Twist of Fate" are the most poignant; "Tangled Up in Blue" and "Jack of Hearts" tell the best stories, and "Idiot Wind" is the best rant. I always love hearing "Ashtabula" rhymed with "old Honolula" in "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome". And did I mention the lovely guitar work on "Buckets of Rain" and "If You See Her, Say Hello"?

BOTT doesn't contain many of my all-time favorite Dylan songs (which include, off the top of my head--Like a Rolling Stone, Hurricane, Isis, Joey, Just Like a Woman, and Visions of Johanna; Jack of Hearts is probably in there somewhere), but it's my favorite Dylan album overall. The "listen all the way through" experience is rivalled only by "Time Out of Mind", but that's a different CD, a different Dylan and another review.

Where has this album been my whole life? I heard "Buckets of Rain" on NPR and loved it. I got the rest of the album and it blew me away. I'm a casual Dylan fan and this is a perfect album to listen to on a rainy day or just when you want to relax and enjoy some good, honest music and lyrics.

As the author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent" and a former radio disc-jockey, I am often asked to write and or discuss various music supplies and recordings from the 60's and 70's.

I recall early 1975 as if it were yesterday. Progressive Rock radio led by WNEW-FM in New York City was alive and well. The moment Columbia Records dropped off "Blood On The Tracks" the grooves would be worn out long before its time.

Critics of Dylan were muzzled after experiencing the ten tracks. The group that loved to say he was a man from the sixties now a fish out of water, ate their own words a plethora of times. On another side of the fence were those that didn't like Dylan. After "Tangled Up In Blue" became entrenched in their minds they couldn't help come up with the five bucks for the LP.

A record full of masterpieces doesn't necessarily grab your attention the first time. It may need several spins before you comprehend the message. That wasn't the case with "Blood On The Tracks." Do you recall the initial listening to "Idiot Wind" with Dylan's phrasing of the word idiot? It was authoritative, haunting, and brilliant, and that was only verse one. "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts" didn't simply command your attention, it put you in the role. You seemed glued in your tracks, unable to move until the final notes were played. "Shelter From The Storm" and "Buckets Of Rain" were a marvelous combination of tracks from the genius of Bob to end one of his most important records ever.

If you never experienced this on CD or need a better pressing than the oldest version, it sound magnificent as she gives you shelter from the storm.

For those that thought this may be hard to parallel even by Dylan, "Desire" took care of any self-doubt!


Enjoy the music and be well,
Craig Fenton
Author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent"

It has been said by many that alot of masterpieces are born from a deeper need within the artist. That emotional and difficult trials give a boost to creativity - elevating the true essence and meaning of existence into a universal realm that everyone in life can understand on some level. With this selection, Bob Dylan does just that. He draws back the curtain and lets you see into his soul. And, it is just not his soul, but the soul of everyman. There we find the need and aspirations for love, the frustration over disappointments, the failure to connect, missed opportunities and, eventually, the need to move on.

Never before, nor since, has Dylan ever sounded so vulnerable, so confessional, and I believe this is just part of the reason why this selection is so monumental - and considered one of his best. He uses all the elements on this recording, the force of wind, the heart on fire, an earthly passion, and teardrops of rain to examine who he is and, for that matter, who we all are.

Written during a time when he was seperated from his wife, the songs here reflect the maturity of this new experience. This was a spurt growth in his genius as opposed to his former material. Dylan's 60's output revolved around thoughts, creeds, observations about life and those around him. But this time out, he looks at himself through that magnifying glass. The ability to step outside yourself, look honestly, and report the truth is a huge leap. You must be willing to accept the consequences, and Dylan has never balked in the quest for finding truth.
This is why Dylan is Dylan.

Dylan's ability to convey folktales has never been better. His "Tangled Up In Blue" reveals a man who parts with his love and, after living his life on the pinwheel of circumstance, has never lost the "blues" from that seperation and needs to reconnect. The line "we always did feel the same, we just saw it from a different point of view" is a recurring theme throughout. The magikal underpinnings of chance meeting in "Simple Twist of Fate" give rise to the question of whether our feelings are real or misplaced. Emotions of the heart don't have to make sense. They just are. Pay attention to his line "he felt the heat of the night hit him like a freight train". And, sure enough, he makes that line hit you just like that freight train. Brilliant.
The beautiful sway of "You're a Big Girl Now" ironically shows Dylan's desperation and hurt with lyrics like "I'm going out of my mind, with a pain that stops and starts, like a corkscrew to my heart, ever since we've been apart". You can actually feel this emotion as he sings it. That's how good he is.

"Idiot Wind" is my favorite here. I will say I prefer the slower tempo and less accompaniment of the mostly acoustic version heard on "The Bootleg Series Vol II" (different lyrics-more colour), however, this version is more than formidable. What is he saying here? That they are both complicit with the death of love. That the failure to connect is not the fault of one or the other. They both pay homage to that idiot wind of words that are never really heard. Some of the best lyrics he has ever written are within this song. "people see me all the time and they just can't remember how to act, their minds are filled with big ideas, images and distorted facts", "there's a lone soldier on the cross, smoke pourin' out of a boxcar door", "what's good is bad, what's bad is good, you'll find out when you reach the top - you're on the bottom", "the priest wore black on the seventh day and sat stone-faced while the building burned","I kissed goodbye the howling beast on the borderline which seperated you from me". The bitterness, the recrimination, the uncharted waters of mournful emotion have never been so blatantly revealed. The acerbic tongue of Dylan is back - but it's different as well.

Moving forward, things lighten up a bit and Dylan gives us the sprightly "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go". The point is made -but with much less stress. "Meet Me in the Morning" again harkens back to Dylan's musical strength. A bluesy, acoustic number that conveys his loneliness. And, just a note here, it is amazing to see the range of emotions in this work. He can be so angry and bitter in some songs, yet like a long lost puppy dog in others. This is real life people. This really is how it is.

Dylan's storytelling reachs new heights with "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts" and, while I always found this song to be tedious and repetitious, I never really listened to the lyrics. It is an interesting tale set, I believe in an old western saloon. The jack of hearts (Dylan) has a purpose and so do others. But his presence is a catalyst for all sorts of events that take place. Jealousy, craving, theft, double-crossing, murder are all added into the mix. But it's Dylan's ability to create visions within your mind which remain true to form.

The next three tunes, in my mind, are some of the lovliest Dylan has ever penned. "If You See Her, Say Hello", "Shelter from the Storm" and "Buckets of Rain" show a man resigned to his fate and wanting to leave with a delicate and hauntingly beautiful memory of his love. Regrets, yes. But he moves on with a tenderness to restore his lost faith. After all, "Life is sad, life is a bust, All ya can do is do what you must". And, with that, Dylan closes his masterpiece.

Every year I have seen this album move further and further up on the rankings of the all-time greatest. And, to think that the reviews were not that great upon it's release. No matter, as all wise Seers know (and you know too), time is the great equalizer. I think we all have learned, by now, to never write off a talent like Mr. Dylan. He is a treasure, a one and only. (We share those traits). ;) And nothing he does is one dimensional.

This is one of his greatest achievements and positively DEMANDS to be put in any considerable pop-folk-archive. Anyone who has done the fire walk of love needs to hear this. Take my word for it. I would not lead you down some desolation road you know!

Appreciation for reading my review -- your own, Metamorpho ;)

This is Dylan "Bleeding" his thoughts, feelings etc out to you during the breakup of his marriage, and it's a tough listen when you know this. How many people could bare their feelings publicly about something so private? Dylan is the best and will always be the best, no one comes close to him, even today.

Dylan scored big on 'Blood on the Tracks,' perhaps the first of many comebacks. The subject matter of love gone wrong has been taken elsewhere, especially with his wild, majestic 'Blonde on Blonde,' but 'Blood on the Tracks' finds him in fine folk form, able to draw more from experience and quiet passion. The known songs are all great, including the mesmerizing hit "Tangled up in Blue," the excellent and hypnotic "Simple Twist of Fate," and the pensive "Shelter from the Storm". Less heralded are other great songs, like, arguably the album's best, "Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts". Complete with a fine story and a rollicking accompaniment, "...the Jack of Hearts" comes up with aces musically and lyrically. Quieter moments are highlighted with the beautiful serenade of "You're a Big Girl Now," which only reminds one in style of another classic "Just Like a Woman". There's also the acoustic ballad excellence of "If You See Her, Say Hello," which is written like a letter to his lover's successor. Still, there are moments when qualified brilliance is present. "Idiot Wind" seems to gather more pungency from the delivery than the lyrical development. "Buckets of Rain," which ends the album caps off his folk excellence. According to his memoir autobiography, 'Chronicles, Vol. I, Dylan wrote that he, to paraphrase, sabotoged his career to escape becoming a messiah. In the liner notes, he is defined as a "troubadour". Indeed, he truly found himself again on 'Blood on the Tracks'. Too bad he had to find love gone sour to find his true footing once again.