1001 Albums Summary

I think everything that's need to be said, is already said about this album. For me the pastoral and experimental sound of the Floyd I loved, is missing in action. What remains is an overblown Roger Waters egotrip partly saved by Dave's voice and playing.

When you say soul, you say Aretha. When you say Aretha, you say soul. Miles above the rest. Aretha is a force of nature gifted with a voice that can split a rock. This record, produced by the legendary Jerry Wexler, has some of her best known songs like Chain of fools and (You make me feel like a) Natural woman and there is not a dud on it. All hail the Queen.

In 1974 Bob Dylan did a succesful comeback stadiumtour with his old mates of The Band. Half a year later he returned to the studio. The sessions in A&R studio's in New York were a stripped down acoustic affair. Dylan was recently divorced from Sarah, something that left a huge mark on his new songs. Together with a few relative unknown musicians he laid down the groundwork for his new album. After which he returned to Minneapolis and showed the results to his brother who made him rethink the album. He decided to re-record 5 of the songs in Minneapolis which led to the released album. Blood on the tracks is one of the best albums Dylan ever made and that says a lot. Every song is a stone cold classic and he sings the hell out of it. Being the best writer of our lifetime, Dylan never just simply sings about my baby left me and I feel sad but draws his inspiration from the old voices of the blues, Melville, even Shakespeare or in case of Tangled up in blue, Dante. Which also happens to be my favourite Bob Dylan song ever.

I don't rate this album very high. Way to slick for my liking and even the hits on this album are not among their best. They certainly are good musicians but this album lacks the adventure and energy to make it the thriling album it should have been.