"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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