Blood on the Tracks

When I was really into Bob Dylan, I never got this album. Either I never found a copy of it at the stores I was going to or just skipped right over it. Because of that, this is his one great album that I’ve listened to the least. Although I prefer the albums I’ve listened to more, this is still a great record. Sad and beautiful in all the right ways

My third Dylan record in just the past min. This one’s pretty good.

Ugh no more Bob Dylan please. I think this is number 6 or 7 for me. That's way too many Bob Dylan records. Maybe I'm the only one who doesn't like him?
Goddamn that fucking harmonica. I hate it so much. I lasted about 4 minutes into this one before I was irritated and ready to play something else. Some of the songs are actually good, but he just doesn't do them justice. I've heard covers of a few of these and all the covers a better. The Jeff Buckley version of If You See Her Say Hello is magnificent. Bob's version? Lacks any emotion or feeling at all. I just hate Bob Dylan. That's not something I really knew until I started this project so at least I've learned something about myself. 2/5

Mulig jeg er biased alt som gjelder Dylan, men så har jeg Nobel på laget mitt.

Det er vanskelig å si noe som ikke allerede er sagt om dette albumet. Tidenes breakupalbum? Ja sure, gidder ikke problematisere at Dylan var utro og bitterheten som skinner gjennom musikken engang.

Sammen med Desire utgjør dette peak Dylan. Det er mange topper gjennom hele hans virke, men denne perioden midt på 70-taller er nok den aller høyeste.

Selve skjelettet virker å være bygget på de tidlige folkplatene hans, men musikalsk er det mange skritt videre. Når Dylan har med seg musikere har han ingen andre enn de beste, og de gjør en knakende god jobb med å bygge alt som skal være rundt et skjelett. Men for all del så funker de mer nedstrippa låtene vel så bra også. Bassen bare lurer i bakgrunnen på «Shelter of the Storm» mens kassegitaren ruller forbi som vindkast, ja litt som en storm i emning…?

Dylan har så mye å si, og han uttrykker seg på mange måten. Enten det er med intensiteten i «Idiot Wind», underfundigheten på «Buckets of Rain», melankolien i «If You See Her, Say Hello» eller hyperaktiviteten på «Lily, Rosemary….». Det er jo selvfølgelig låtskrivingen som er Dylans kunst og det er ikke noe annerledes her. Blood on the Tracks er en plate det er vanskelig å bli lei av.

Bob Dylan truly at the peak of his powers. One of the greatest albums ever made.

Музика Ділана - загадка для мене. Не люблю.

Absolutely essential (perhaps last great) collection of songs by the most important writer of his generation.

Not really much to say other than its a great album. Some of the songs are a tad long for my tastes, but thats an extremely minor gripe. It's been a minute since I listened to Freewheelin', but I think I slightly prefer that one? I'll have to relisten sometime.

You'd think an album named 'Blood on the Tracks' would sound at least A LITTLE more badass

4.5

“People see me all the time and they just can't remember how to act.” It must be very weird being Bob Dylan, but this album is so good, I can kind of see where the obsessives are coming from.

Das Album zeigt Dylan von seiner verletzlichen Seite – lyrisch stark, aber musikalisch nicht immer überzeugend. Einige Songs berühren tief, andere wirken unfertig. Ein ehrliches, aber nicht makelloses Album.

List seems insistent on pushing Bob Dylan to me lately, and I'm STILL not onboard. This is quintessential Bob Dylan. Other albums have surprised me some but this one is 100% what I expect when I hear his name.

Well, Bob, that's an improvement from last album for sure.

Great album - one of Dylan’s finest.

I long since past having an issue with Dylan’s vocals and instead now appreciate the character it brings to his music.

This feels like quite a tuneful Dylan album and is just generally enjoyable, despite there not really being a bit hitter in its tracklist.

Second Dylan album the generator has served up, and I assume one of the few (only?) that spawned two cover albums (Mary Lee's Corvette and Ryan Adams*).

I still dislike Dylan's vocal delivery although possibly a bit less so on this album than the previous one (maybe I'm accidentally conducting exposure therapy). I still dislike his harmonica playing.

Meet Me In The Morning had a nice groove I liked. I was not really into much else.

2/5

* I had a quick skip through and of all the versions I think I'd pick Mary Lee's Corvette.

Might be my favorite Dylan album.

After being surprised by the opening track of Blonde On Blonde, I was much more familiar with the opening track of this album, "Tangled Up in Blue", having played it on Rock Band 2. Not only do I still enjoy that track all these years later, but the rest of Blood on the Tracks turned out to be stellar.

The songwriting throughout this record was top-notch, delivering more lived-in character stories from different perspectives, as Dylan strummed pleasant acoustic guitar melodies and blew on his harmonica in between verses. While most of the songs tend to describe relationships that erode, Dylan approached these tales from various angles. The passage of time on "Tangled Up in Blue", the shift from third-person narration to first in "Simple Twist of Fate, the emotional maturity and acceptance of dissolution on "You're a Big Girl Now", the vehement vocal delivery on "Idiot Wind", the reckless abandon to venture out on "Meet Me in the Morning", the string of poker metaphors to describe such incriminating behaviors on "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts", the direct plea to the listener to pass on the message of lost love on "If You See Her, Say Hello", the quiet-storm seclusion of the narrator as they reconcile with their broken heart on "Shelter from the Storm". These different narrative and vocal techniques give each track its distinct flavor, never overstaying their welcome, all while scaling back other session personnel to keep Dylan and his guitar a persistent presence in the mix. It is a deliberate choice that worked well to showcase the leaps and bounds he made in writing and performance.

Suffice it to say, Blood on the Tracks is a spectacular album that helped cement Dylan as a creative force to be reckoned with.

Bob Dylan sure knew how to write a song, they oughta give that feller an award or something for it.

Shelter from the Storm has a special memory for me. Idiot Wind was fun too. Solid album.