I enjoy music with a narrative, but its weakness is that songs easily grow repetitive, especially when instrumentation isn't varied across verses. Most of the tracks on Blood on the Tracks suffer from this. I wanted to enjoy Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts, but it drags on and on with the same instrumental accompaniment and walking bass line. Even when the instrumental texture is a bit more interesting, as it is on Tangled up in Blue, the repetition grows tiresome. Simple Twist of Fate, with its lyrics over a sparse acoustic guitar and bass, is a fine example of song*writing*, but the main variation from verse to verse comes from Dylan's vocal expression, which I cannot say is his strength. I'm sure for some, his vocal quality adds a sense of "authenticity" to his songwriting, but I would disagree. He overuses the same method of emphasizing specific words or syllables in a sort of loud, whining whoop throughout the album, and it doesn't contribute to any powerful emotional affect when coupled with the lyrics. For example: (Idiot Wind) Daydreamin' 'bout the way things sometimes ARE / Visions of your chestnut mare / Shoot through my head and are makin' me see STARS (You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go) I've only known careless love / It always has hit me from BELOW etc, etc, throughout the entire album... Overall, I thought the tracks with electric backing were much more enjoyable than the acoustic tracks. The instrumental textures are more interesting, and there is something to focus on other than Dylan's vocals. Despite suffering from nearly all of the issues enumerated above, Shelter From the Storm proved to be my favorite on Blood on the Tracks. At least, it is possibly the only track on the album in which Dylan doesn't use his annoying whoop to overemphasize unimportant words or rhymes. The lyrics are good, and the acoustic accompaniment works well with them in this case. Stephen Stills apparently said of Dylan, "He's a good songwriter ... but he's no musician." There is no better way to sum up my feelings on Dylan's performance in Blood on the Tracks.