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1975 - Blood on the Tracks
Blood on the Tracks (1975)
The musicians:
Reviews:
From The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia by Michael Gray:
"Blood on the Tracks [1975] In stunning, total contrast to the previous album, Before the Flood,
this 16th Dylan album triumphantly shows more subtlety and nuance than anything he’d ever
done, and as honed a use of understatement as on John Wesley Harding. At the time this was the most
unexpected leap of Dylan’s career. After years of comparatively second-rate work and a considerable
decline in his reputation, here was an album to stand with Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on
Blonde."
Rolling Stone review ...
Best Song: There is no one "best": There are several. "Tangled Up In Blue" and "Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts" are probably the best. The latter, in particular, because it's an interesting, lengthy ballad, and Dylan shows some uncharacteristic vocal styling in a few verses. -- Unattributed
"Idiot Wind"
According to Alias
Favorite Lyric: From "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts": "..The only person on the scene missing was the Jack of Hearts."
"Idiot wind, blowing through the buttons of our coats,
Blowing through the letters that we wrote.
Idiot wind, blowing through the dust upon our shelves,
We're idiots, babe.
It's a wonder we can even feed ourselves"
According to Alias
- Tangled Up in Blue
- Simple Twist of Fate
- You're a Big Girl Now
- Idiot Wind
- You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
- Meet Me in the Morning
- Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts
- If You See Her, Say Hello
- Shelter from the Storm
- Buckets of Rain
Notes and Reviews
The musicians:
Reviews:
From The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia by Michael Gray:
"Blood on the Tracks [1975] In stunning, total contrast to the previous album, Before the Flood,
this 16th Dylan album triumphantly shows more subtlety and nuance than anything he’d ever
done, and as honed a use of understatement as on John Wesley Harding. At the time this was the most
unexpected leap of Dylan’s career. After years of comparatively second-rate work and a considerable
decline in his reputation, here was an album to stand with Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on
Blonde."
Rolling Stone review ...
Best Song: There is no one "best": There are several. "Tangled Up In Blue" and "Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts" are probably the best. The latter, in particular, because it's an interesting, lengthy ballad, and Dylan shows some uncharacteristic vocal styling in a few verses. -- Unattributed
"Idiot Wind"
According to Alias
Favorite Lyric: From "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts": "..The only person on the scene missing was the Jack of Hearts."
"Idiot wind, blowing through the buttons of our coats,
Blowing through the letters that we wrote.
Idiot wind, blowing through the dust upon our shelves,
We're idiots, babe.
It's a wonder we can even feed ourselves"
According to Alias
Latest page update: made by folkrockman
, Aug 6 2006, 6:17 PM EDT
(about this update
About This Update
Edited by folkrockman
2 words deleted
view changes
- complete history)
Edited by folkrockman
2 words deleted
view changes
- complete history)
Keyword tags:
1970s
albums
Blood on the Tracks
More Info: links to this page
| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | |
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| Anonymous | The Greatest Album | 3 | Aug 16 2007, 10:01 AM EDT by Angie17 | |
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Thread started: Jun 1 2006, 1:13 AM EDT
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Not only is Blood on the Tracks the greatest set of songs Dylan ever wrote, but it is possibly the greatest set of songs anyone has written. From a Pop Music History perspective, it hits on what had previously made Dylan's career influential and great(folk-rock, country-rock, confessional lyrics, abstract lyrics, etc...). Additionally, it falls at the pivotal point in music history which separates the old from the new, as the Rock that Dylan and the Stones and the Beatles and everyone else had made was slowly overtaken by punk and other such genres. But, even without that historical context, it still stands as Bob Dylan's single greatest collection of songs.
First off, the instrumentation on the record is amazing, as Dylan's vocals, guitar, and harmonica are in the greatest shape they had ever been. Additionally, the two groups that backed him up in these sessions are sympathetic to the songs, and they feel the groove of each track. This is evident from the ringing guitars of "Tangled Up in Blue" to the Kooper-esque organ on "Idiot Wind." The brilliant instrumentation keeps each song thematically and musically, while still keeping the album varied enough for the listener to have to do his own job of listening. After that, the words strike true. Whether or not this album is about Sara Lownds, Dylan allows every word to sound like it happened to him. However, every song, while feeling specific lyrically, is absolutely universal in the end. The man in "Tangled Up In Blue" is every man who went around the country with his girl and him chasing each other, no matter if he drove a car, or her ex got into dealing with slaves. The line between the personal and the surreal and the universal is blurred, and it doesn't matter anymore to Dylan. They're all the same in the end, and it Dylan finally, truly realizes it. Unlike Blonde on Blonde and Highway 61 Revisted, where the symbolism was druggy, here it is rustic, and thus takes on a quality of truth. |
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| Anonymous | Idiot Wind | 0 | Apr 23 2007, 11:09 AM EDT by Anonymous | |
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Thread started: Apr 23 2007, 11:09 AM EDT
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One of Dylan's all time best. Devastating lyrics and emotion. And the way he turns the phrase in the last line from the personal to the universal. "It's a wonder we can even feed ourselves". Although it is such a personal song, it could be about any one of us. Idiot Wind is also great because of the WAY he sings it. He is just seething with loss and anger and bitterness and sadness. It's All Over Now Baby Blue is very similar in that sense. I love this place by the way. My very first memory is of late afternoon light, a bowl of fruit on a kitchen table, a green armchair and my mother's skirt twirling as she danced me around the kitchen to Just Like a Woman. We played If You See Her Say Hello at her wake. Dylan has been and always will be the soundtrack to my life.
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| Rainydaywoman | Meet Me in the Morning | 0 | Jun 20 2006, 8:37 PM EDT by Rainydaywoman | |
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Thread started: Jun 20 2006, 8:37 PM EDT
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What a beautiful song! It's possibly my all-time favorite and is, in my opinion, one of Dylan's most underrated. It's both blues and rock-inspired, and his mournful voice echoes the sense of rejection and sadness of the lyrics beautifully.
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| Anonymous | You're a Big Girl Now | 1 | May 13 2006, 12:07 PM EDT by Anonymous | |
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Thread started: May 12 2006, 9:59 PM EDT
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For me this is a killer song. The pure raw emotion is so real that if he isn't crying he sure knows how to make it sound like he is .Even his harmonica cries!
It's a song, a story, a love tune that never leaves me. Best of all it is so easy to relate to because who hasn't felt that someone has put a "corkscrew to their heart." in their lifetime. And if not, it'll happen soon enough. No one comes close to Dylan. He was the best when I first heard him some 40 years ago, and he is the best now. Couldn't love or appreciate his work more. |
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