Blood On The Tracks

“Blood on the Tracks” by Bob Dylan (1975) It takes a remarkable talent to produce poetically powerful emotional scenes and evocative narratives in a musical idiom, and that is what is on display in this album. A bit of advice for those who are not Dylan fans: Listen to the stories. Listen to the expressions of love fulfilled or frustrated. Generate images in your mind, guided by the lyrics. Anticipate and cherish the moments when you say to yourself, “I never thought of it that way before.” You’ll find life expanding within you. And if you find Dylan’s vocals unbearable, start with “Tangled Up in Blue” and “Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts”. Listen to the creative variations in the synchronization between the poetic rhythms and the musical rhythms. You may not ‘get’ all the obscure references, but you’ll feel the feeling. Then you might be ready to embrace the passion of a man who sings to his estranged wife at the end of a failed marriage (in “Idiot Wind”): You’re an idiot, babe It’s a wonder that you still know how to breathe. . . . We’re idiots, babe It’s a wonder we can even feed ourselves. Try to put words to the development from the first two lines to the last two lines. This is not music for dancing, partying, getting stoned, lifting one up, easing one down, or background while one works. This merely culture-causing music fit for a serious listen. But if this album is over the heads of pop music consumers with three-minute attention spans, they should feel free to move on. I’ll stay awhile. Shelter from the storm. 5/5

To me, this is his last 5 star masterpiece album. Me and my friends were practically Dylan cultists back in high school so this one is burned into me. Probably the most personal Dylan ever got and perhaps the greatest breakup album of all time.

Confession time: I’ve never listened to a Bob Dylan album before. Couldn’t tell you why. He seemed, I suppose, too much of a Goliath to tackle; I’d missed my window, surely - where would I start? But here we are. My window opened, and I leapt through. I listened to this album three times yesterday, and will surely have to listen more, and more intimately to unravel all the rambling tales and hidden crooked melodies, and its deceptively simple-not-easy instrumentation. I will always feel like I’m not getting something when it comes to Dylan, and like I’m playing catch up, such is the weight of mythology that comes with such an artist. But I’m pleased to have finally broken the seal.

I really can’t stand Dylan’s way of singing.

Shit, as always

No more Bob Dylan please

Tangled up in blue is incredible. The rest of the album reminded me why I'm a distant admirer rather than a fan

Following on the heels of an album where he repudiated his past with his greatest backing band, Blood on the Tracks finds Bob Dylan, in a way, retreating to the past, recording a largely quiet, acoustic-based album. But this is hardly nostalgia -- this is the sound of an artist returning to his strengths, what feels most familiar, as he accepts a traumatic situation, namely the breakdown of his marriage. This is an album alternately bitter, sorrowful, regretful, and peaceful, easily the closest he ever came to wearing his emotions on his sleeve. That's not to say that it's an explicitly confessional record, since many songs are riddles or allegories, yet the warmth of the music makes it feel that way. The original version of the album was even quieter -- first takes of "Idiot Wind" and "Tangled Up in Blue," available on The Bootleg Series, Vols. 1-3, are hushed and quiet (excised verses are quoted in the liner notes, but not heard on the record) -- but Blood on the Tracks remains an intimate, revealing affair since these harsher takes let his anger surface the way his sadness does elsewhere. As such, it's an affecting, unbearably poignant record, not because it's a glimpse into his soul, but because the songs are remarkably clear-eyed and sentimental, lovely and melancholy at once. And, in a way, it's best that he was backed with studio musicians here, since the professional, understated backing lets the songs and emotion stand at the forefront. Dylan made albums more influential than this, but he never made one better.

BOB FUCKING DYLAN

You know how a harmonica sounds really annoying and whiney? Well, on this album Bob emulates a harmonica with his voice and sometimes doubles it with a harmonica too. Just can't get past the worst voice in music. Autotune wouldn't save this either. I'm sure the lyrics are cutting but can't get past the voice.

fuck bob dylan

There are some artists that should only be songwriters, NOT singer-songwriters. I'm sorry to say, but Bob Dylan is one of those artists. The man CAN NOT sing! I'll bury myself even deeper by adding that Bruce Springsteen is in the same boat, IMO.

The album before was "The Dark Side of the Moon" so it's a tall order to follow but I think this manages. This is my favourite Dylan album. As i get older I feel that the older stuff Dylan wrote that previously were my favourites now seem a bit mean and childish. This album however has grown on me so much. There are not many catchy songs but the lyrics are really where this shines. Many of the songs feel like poems more than songs in a way. The songs are all scenes from a relationship and there is so much optimism and sorrow between the lines. I think it's clear that this is a more adult break-up album, there is not too much anger but just a lot of regret and reminiscence. Favourite songs is hard to say as it's such a slow burn. I have a few favourite lyrics though from simple twist of fate: """ He woke up, the room was bare He didn't see her anywhere He told himself he didn't care Pushed the window open wide Felt an emptiness inside To which he just could not relate ... People tell me it's a sin To know and feel too much within I still believe she was my twin but I lost the ring """ Clear 5 star from me.

Perhaps because I was looking forward to it all day, or it’s been a while since I last listened, or what I look for from Dylan has changed, or I’ve changed, or I’ve never ‘got it’ before, but in the ten years and many listens since I first spun Blood on the Tracks this is the first time it’s sounded like a 5. And I don’t doubt that change for a second. I’d rather luxuriate in the delicious tangibility of growing with an album – surely one of music listening’s greatest and mysterious pleasures. So, what am I hearing differently? First, Dylan’s writing, which is equal to (no higher praise) Hank Williams in the way he uses the hook – often just one line: “shelter from the storm”, “a simple twist of fate”, “tangled up in blue”, “the Jack of hearts” – like a recurring dream or deadly obsession that pulls him back no matter how far he strays. Second, melodies and arrangements that are somehow both gentle and played with a muscular, sometimes even virulent, intensity and exactness, hoarily putting me in mind of a master painter – let’s say Turner out of laziness, though that’s probably a good comparison for delicacy qua intensity. And last, something extraordinary about the limitations of what he’s saying, or rather feeling. By which I mean that (to paraphrase something I read recently on the interwebs) these songs are about romance not love and, however gorgeously complex, are confined to one man’s limited and very solipsistic experience of those romance. Somehow, the narrower parameters improve the overall effect. Don’t ask me how. I’ll only say, “That’s art.”

08/19/2022 About a year ago, I woke up one morning and went out to find garage or estate sales. I came across a house in Alamo Heights where an older woman was selling lots of items for dirt cheap. She had a box full of CDs that were only a dollar. Taking advantage of the situation, I bought Neil Young, Bringing it All Back Home, and Blood on the Tracks. When she saw what I had picked she sighed and told me “When [Blood on the Tracks] came out it was just incredible. I bought the record and would play it all the way through, and then I would turn it over and start it again.” I didn’t really understand why anyone would feel compelled to do that. I liked the album at that time but wasn’t fully in love with it like I am now and figured that anyone would get tired of hearing an album over and over again. Regardless, I took the CD home with me. I was lucky enough to still have a CD player in my car at that time, so I would listen to it when I would drive around San Antonio. I slowly began to fall in love with each song, and to this day I grow to love this album more and more with each listen. Falling in love, experiencing heartbreak, longing for something or someone long gone, and feeling emptiness that only some of the darkest times in one’s life can bring out are the languages of this album. There have been times when listening to this album sets me right back in those head spaces, and I can only imagine what Dylan was going through during the production and recording of this album. Divorce from his wife, loss, heartbreak. There’s some sort of timeless quality about this album. Something that sounds and feels like it was made centuries ago, but with the same freshness and raw vulnerability that still holds strong and fits right in the time that one listens to it now. Dylan truly bared his soul for this album, regardless of his petty insistence that these songs have no relation to what was happening in his life at this time. When I saw this album was the one assigned to me today, I was so happy and also thought it was the funniest thing, because just like how that old woman told me how she would play this album over and over, I had come to do the exact same thing. Just yesterday I was playing this album over on Spotify only to skip to playing the record and sitting next to the player as each track rang out. — No skips on this album for me. Although I think every track is wonderful in its own way, I’m extremely biased toward You’re A Big Girl Now, You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go, Shelter from the Storm, and Buckets of Rain. — Otherwise, today has been very calm. Did lots of housekeeping today. Laundry, cleaning, unpacking, all that. School starts in just three days. I’m so nervous, but so excited as well. Listening to albums like these give me the strength to keep pushing. The only thing I knew how to do Was to keep on keeping on like a bird that flew Tangled up in blue

Bob Dylan’s voice is an acquired taste and baby I have ACQUIRED it. This album rules.

Bob Dylan was one of the best songwriters of all time, and this is some of his best work. Idiot Wind is a work of lyrical genius. I love his trademark unconventional vocal delivery; to me it makes the songs more memorable than having a Michael Bublé type singing them. This album is going on repeat and straight to my personal collection.

One of my favorites from the first time I heard it. Beautiful lyricism, and no tracks I would throw out.

tangled up in blue is a classic, rest is pretty much nondescript except vocals that rise up into a weird falsetto. Great song writing but otherwise not sure why Bob Dylan is so popular.

Nopy nope.

Had heard before one of my fav albums ever

This was the first Dylan album I ever listened to that wasn’t a best of and it was the thing that finally helped me understand what people saw in him. The music is complicated, the lyrics are intricate and tell such vivid stories, and his voice sounds phenomenal. The only knock against it is that it isn’t quite as good as some of the albums leading up it, which is more just an indication of what an insane hot streak Dylan was on at that point in his career.

Loved it.

tangled up in blue, you're gonna make lonesome when you go

Thank god he turned down the volume of the harmonica from Blonde On Blonde, that could get very hard to listen to. Ok nevermind "you're gonna make me lonesome when you go" fucking killed my ears holy shit. The lyrics are really great and all, but none of the songs really hit me very hard. I think Bob Dylans music is a bit overrated, felt the same with Blonde On Blonde, except for "I Want You", that song is fucking exceptional. Some songs though, like "Lilly, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts makes me physically cringe because the intro is so horrible to listen to. And then of course a song like "If You See Her, Say Hello" comes and fucking breaks the mold. Fuck man. a 4 for that actually And "Shelter From the Storm" is quite good too. Was ready to hear a 5 but I just don't see it. An album of 3 but, If you see her, gets it to a 4 to me.

Actually not terrible for a Bob Dylan album. He still can't sing for the life of him, but it was bearable and there wasn't too much harmonica. 3/5

The first lp in this ist i couldnt listen to the end - his whining makes me sick

Un clasico, pero no me gusta Bob Dylan

Dylans beste, og topp ti i vinylhylla. Alle må eie denne.

Honestly loved it. Songwriting was great and the overall sound was so raw and emotional, though it ran probably 5-10 minutes too long. I’ll give it a strong 9

Never really listened to Dylan, but I enjoyed this a lot.

40 minutes of perfect music and also a song about playing cards or something

One of my favourite albums

Grande Dylan. O Raul Seixas dos estates

And I was listening to each side of the disc Words falling in my ears Hearing an album of pain and grief Lord knows there's some amazing tunes getting through Tangled up in Bob

Just the fucking best.

Top 5 dylan easily. 10/10

Never heard this album all the way through. Loved it.

Tangled up in Blue, the first track is a great example of amazing storytelling and song writing. The instrumentation is also really good with the 12 string guitar shining throughout the whole song. Idiot Wind, contains some great songwriting. The song seems autobiographical but Dylan has denied it. Regardless, it conveys bitterness or anger and in another version that I found online I hear a bit of sadness as well. The chorus contains a little of Dylan's humor and the harmonica solo at the end is a blistering exclamation point on it all. "A lot of people tell me they enjoy that album. It's hard for me to relate to that. I mean... people enjoying that type of pain, you know?" - Dylan 1975 You're gonna make Me Lonesome when You Go is a nice western style country rock that throws in a bit of blues.

The first time I heard this record was a shocking, exciting, revelatory, coming-of-age experience. I was just a kid, and I knew Dylan, but I had no idea of the significance and history surrounding the album, I had never heard of it in fact. It became one of my favourite records from the very first time I heard it. A few hundred times later it is still a fantastic, astonishing, breathtaking listen. There's an enduring magic about these songs that never makes them sound dated; on the contrary, it makes them eternal, somehow

How have I not heard his before! This is why I do this list..

Utterly unparalleled in quality, coherence, depth and range of emotion, plus epic singalongs, (personal) protest anthems twinkling tunes and tender – even heart-breaking – ballads. Not only are there no filler cuts, there’s nary a wasted note and Dylan’s voice has never been stronger nor clearer, and never more assured in delivery. One of the best records of all-time …. Easily top 5.

10/10

An intensely personal album about being in and out of love. More direct than other Dylan albums, this has a strength that I didn't appreciate when I was a callow youth. Now, I get it.

This is not the best Dylan for me, but I should say that the Wikipedia article on the page helped me to understand a little bit more of the importance of this album. Being the "most" personal of Dylan's work, it's increasing my evaluation of it. Musically, it's too much country for me, but it's still Bob Dylan and it counts!

Might be my favourite Dylan album and possibly emotionally the polar opposite of another favourite, Blonde on Blonde. Accessible and really good songs. Yes, it's about heartbreak, but good music just gets you.

Thorns: I'm not a huge fan of the way Bob Dylan sings. There are some singers where they no doubt have an amazing voice even if perhaps you don't like the song. In general I don't think Dylan is a great singer, when listening to the album at times it didn't bother me while other times it did. Often times the best part of folk songs are the lyrics but for me it's hard to focus on the lyrics if the melody is overly repetitive and doesn't hook me. Many of the songs on the album were too long and repetitive that my mind wandered off and I wasn't listening to what he was saying. Roses: There were catchy moments and none of the songs were bad to listen to, at worst they were repetitive or unmemorable. Standout songs: Tangled Up in Blue, Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts

Goddamn this list for making me appreciate Bob Dylan. Ok, 5 songs in and I’m back to being annoyed by him. I think Dylan is just one of those musicians I can take in small doses, but more than 15 minutes and it starts to become excruciating.

Two rules, every line must rhyme no matter how nonsensical and every track must end in a harmonica solo. Only slightly better than the live double album that I was forced to skip.

Bd is lame

This is tough because it's Bob mfckn Dylan. I went through a Dylan phase in college and really loved his poetic ramblings. I guess my tastes have changed since I really don't have the patience for his nasal inflections and longass songs. I do like "Tangled Up in Blue" and other singles, just not a whole album at once.

Yawn. I know I’m supposed to love Bob Dylan and particularly this album. I don’t. It’s boring to me.

It's Dylan. I swear I hear a completely different thing than everybody else who listens to him, because I can't get into him at all. His albums are too long, the songs all sound the same, and his legendary (Nobel prize winning!) songwriting just does not speak to me at all.

I do not like Bob Dylan.

Not a fan. Don’t like his voice and the music just too dull. Just don’t understand the hype.

Not for me

I discovered I do not like bob Dylan, or at least this album. Bonus: my headphones disconnected while I was in the bathroom, so my office heard a track or two and died of second hand embarassment

God were all the “great” songwriters mediocre fucking hacks? I swear to god, every one of the “great” albums on this list are tedious, mind numbing exercises in unmusical repetition. What the actual fuck am I supposed to take away from this album? Does ol’ bob know that there are more instruments than just the guitar? His Spotify calls him “One of the greatest figures of the 20th Century”. I wanna vomit. Stalin, Mao, Roosevelt, step outta the way! This nasally overrated fuck is here to spew pretentious nothing at you for an hour. Fuck rock & roll, fuck folk music, and fuck the baby boomers who ate that shit up, consequently forcing me to listen to all of it due to its “historical significance”. “Greatest songwriter of all time” my ass. The music is utterly unremarkable. And I’m not listening to the lyrics, you have to bribe me with good tunes first. Schumann was a real first rate songwriter, and you actually want to listen to his music even though it’s all in German. God this entire culture of ranking fucking albums based on historical significance is so goddam tedious, a way for musically illiterate tools to learn what they’re supposed to like and what they aren’t. AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I FUCKING HATE BOB DYLAN

At first I wasn't sure if I liked it, but by the time I reached the song Idiot Wind I decided that I did. It's sooooo good, especially the back half of the album. Lily, Rosemary and The Jack Of Hearts is my favourite song off the album, it's length wasn't a problem as I was captivated the entire time.

JA!!

I LOVE folk music and folk sensibilities. This has that in spades. Dylan’s crafts catchy tunes and is unflinching in his ability to discuss his topics and message while make it enjoyable to audiences.

While the 70s Dylan is a bit a hit or miss this one is a pure hit. Tangled up blue, Simple Twist of Fate, Shelter from the Storm all amazing. Just great stories.

One of my all time favorites. I still remember the first time I heard it smoking a bowl in my cousins car.

GOAT album.

Caught me from the first track and kept me interested throughout. Music and lyrics are brilliant.

Wow. Incredible album. Never been much of a fan, though I've seen him live. Still didn't walk away a fan. But this album. Just wow. Every song, so great.

that good i even grew to love idiot wind.

This has most of my favorite Dylan tracks on it.

Lyrically genius and musically soothing

En nuestro tercer Dylan (porque el en vivo realmente no lo cuento)... Blonde on Blonde me pareció como si fuera un excelente buffet que muestra la versatilidad y todo lo que puede hacer Dylan, aunque un poco exagerado y algo abotagado en el resultado final (aparte de lo cansado de lo exagerado del maullido), Freewheelin lo mostró en un plan totalmente mostrando sus inicios y la canción de protesta, su habilidad lírica e incluso en un marco más... "inocente" diría. Este disco... creo que excepto que saliera alguno otro de sorpresa será mi disco favorito de Bob Dylan. Es un disco con canciones llenas de peso y que se siente personal; se siente una persona que ya tiene tiempo pero te demuestra que no se le ha acabado la gasolina. Durante mucho del disco se siente, incluso sin la necesidad de leer la historia del disco, la forma en que habla de su divorcio, la mirada nostálgica a romances pasados y en general el hilo que une a todo el disco creo es el dolor de los amores que ya no están. Es un Dylan mucho más fuerte, musicalmente en forma perfecta y, a riesgo de sonar cínico, ese pesimismo y grado de miseria le viene muy bien. A pesar de lo anterior y de todo lo bueno que tiene en esos sentidos creo que la joya de todo el disco es Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts. Si alguien duda o pregunta a qué se refieren sobre la maestría de Dylan para contar una historia solo tienen que escuchar esta canción. Literalmente podrían hacer una película sobre la historia e incluso la ambigüedad del final me deja con ganas de que existiera una segunda parte para saber la continuación de la historia. Con esa simple canción el disco sería excelente, con el resto creo que encontré mi disco favorito de Bob Dylan.

You don't often get a divorce album that leaves you 100% on the side of the artist's ex. Just picture Sara Dylan playing "Idiot Wind" at the filing. Every time Bob goes "whoooaaaaaaaaaaa" on "You're a Big Girl Now" I picture him going down a really steep roller coaster. And now you'll hear that every time too.

I absolutely love the lyricism bob dylan shows throughout each song. He deals a lot with relationship issues in such a poetic way. Pair that with folk production it's an incredible experience. This is my first project with bob dylan I am excited to dive into his discography

One of my favorite Dylan albums! Some of his best writing

Another one that has gotten me one or two steps closer to understanding the enigma that is the Dyl man. I think I said this about the last one but this one is my new fav. This is where he starts making sense. Highly emotive, not too abstract and very engaging storytelling.

Every time I listen to this masterpiece I notice something new. This time it was that jump from the sheer fun of Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts to the wistful wonder of If You See Her, Say Hello. I've heard the latter song many times but it is so much more effective in the album. It's a phenomenal album. There is a reason why he's a Nobel laureate. This is a big part of it.

Wonderful! 🔆

A beautiful Album - One of my faves

Just one of the most perfect albums ever made. Heartbreak and bitterness with a dash of love thrown in. BT: Tangled Up In Blue, Idiot Wind, Shelter From The Storm

I listened to this on cassette in my car when I was a teenager. I remember liking the lyrics, the funny turns of phrase, the obscure things he'd say to make something rhyme. I like them even more now, especially since they're Nobel Prize material. I find myself listening intensely to every song to find out how it’s going to end. So many songs about relationships that stopped and started again! Unlike much of the 70s folk music we’ve been sent, every song here seems to have its own personality. My co-judge says “Jack of Hearts” is her favourite, but I find the cast of characters hard to keep track of. “Idiot Wind” is mine. With Jacques Brel, I felt I was missing a lot by not speaking French. Today I’m happy to speak English.

El puto Bob Dylan

This album is sweeping and lively. It features some of Dylan’s best and most confessional vocals (though Dylan himself would say otherwise). The music itself is textured and warm lending a nostalgic folk rock feel to the album. In the aftermath of the singer songwriter phenomenon on the late sixties early seventies, this album shows that Dylan was still very much his own force, and simply a cut above the rest

Finally! Only 138 albums in and I finally get some Bob! I’ve waded through so much shit to get here. Anyways… This is a more seasoned Bob, a reflective Bob. We still get plenty of his folksy charm, but there’s more effortless polish on this album. It’s cohesive in tone throughout and it flows beautifully from one track to the next. It’s confessional and self-aware even if Bob insists that it’s not meant to be. He can’t help it, he writes from the very base of his soul. He doesn’t just leave blood on the tracks he leaves his whole heart. It’s at an interesting new place in his life and I dig his perspective on it at this point in his career. It’s impressive and inspiring.

One of my favourite albums. Excellent from start to finish.

I really love Bob Dylan's songwriting, and particularly the more narrative songs. It does a lot to offset a very samey singing/musical style that starts to drag on for such a long album. Gets a 9/10 because it still has a good number of strong songs on it, but I probably wouldn't listen to it straight through again.

Annoying I can't vote higher than 5

Blood on the Tracks genuinely moved me in a way other Dylan albums have not. Beautiful, poetic, personal and emotional, you can feel the anguish and longing through Dylan’s expressive singing and sparse arrangements. A marvellous achievement and one to surely offer greater rewards the more life you have lived.

One of my favourite albums

Wonderful storyteller.

One of Dylan's best.

Bob Dylan practically invented the narrative 'folk pop' genre, often to great heights. The principal component of 'Blood On The Tracks' is in its storytelling; the lyrics superbly painting his tragic life journey against the emotional backdrop of an acoustic guitar. A number of Bob Dylan's albums definitely need to be listened to before you depart this world - 'Blood On The Tracks' is no exception, with its vulnerable lyricism and musical intricacy epitomizing the divine spirit of music as something to be shared.

Sorry, Curt, I think this is a solid album.

Veldig bra album

Canciones de trovador de Dylan.

Uncle Robert’s most personal and powerful album. An all time classic through and through and probably my favourite album of all time.

Excellent. Big Dylan fan.

meh

Шо Надо!

9 years after Blonde on Blonde, Dylan returns to his crown as one of the greatest songwriters out there by looking back at his roots. Despite what he says, this is 100% influenced by his relationship with Sara and you can feel that in his voice and in his words in many of the tracks, especially the lengthy "Idiot Wind". "Tangled Up in Blue" is a masterpiece of a song, and it's on my playlist of what to show aliens. "Simple Twist of Fate" and "If You See Her, Say Hello" are other favorites of mine. Each song pulls the audience into the singer's introspection as he responds to life's problems with mature responses.

9. Could be a bit of nostalgia, but this was fantastic. Also 'if you see her, say hello' is basically the same plot as the Simon and Garfunkel 'scarborough fair' lol

One of my all time favourite albums. Bought it around 1979 and still play it regularly.