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Inevitably, when critics praise a new Dylan album, they label it the "best since Blood on the Tracks," and with good reason. Inspired by a crumbled marriage, and recorded after a tour with the Band had apparently re-ignited his creativity, Blood is among Dylan's masterpieces. The album's epic songs are well known, but its real high points are the shorter numbers--"You're a Big Girl Now," the flawless blues "Meet Me in the Morning," and the sweetly devastating "Buckets of Rain." These are songs of "images and distorted facts," each expressed through tangled points of view, and all of them blue. --David Cantwell
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 Bob Dylan's masterpiece |
| Review Date: July 3, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Archer Books, Hemel Hempstead, UK |
36 years after "Blood on the Tracks" (BOTT) was recorded in 1974, it stands out as the greatest masterpiece in a long career of excellence rarely equalled by any other performer. The songs are as poignant and powerful today as they were in those long-gone Nixon-Ford days when in 1975, the original 33rpm vinyl record hit the streets to the delight of Dylan's millions of devotees and won new converts to his lyrical songwriting and powerful delivery. It's a great, great album, and it hasn't even aged.
Much has been made of the marriage break-up of Dylan and Sara Lownds/Nozinsky in 1974 as the background to the extraordinary poignancy of the writing on "Blood on the Tracks" and it's even been stated that several of the songs are specifically about her. Dylan - and other people close to him - deny this. But for sure, something in 1974 caused him to look deeply into his soul and struggle to give birth to some of the most poignant, poetic, extraordinary and enduring lyrical writing ever to grace an album of songs. Take this, the concluding lines from "If you see her, say hello":
"If you get close to her, kiss her once for me...
Always have respected her, for doing what she did and getting free...
Tell her that I'm alright, but things are getting' kind of slow
She might think that I've forgotten her...
Tell her it isn't so..."
Not about Sara? Come on Bob, who you kidding? The undercurrent of heartbreak is there: deny it if you like, we're not fooled. Just listen to the way he sings it.
The follow-up album "Desire" even contains a track "Sara." If you want to know how Bob felt about her a year or two following the break-up, listen to it. They even considered re-marriage in the 1980s - no surprise there.
BOTT is best listened to as a complete work of art, from beginning to end: don't "randomise" the tracks, or selectively download a couple of songs. Listen to is as a whole, and the effect builds from one poignant, heartfelt song to the next like a symphony.
There's humour too. Just listen to the whole of "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts." With its catchy, upbeat rhythm as backdrop to the unfolding narrative told through the eyes of Bob-the-storyteller, Bob-the-observer he wryly describes the life-changing consequences a cleverly planned bank raid in a small town have for three characters as their lives are impacted by the gang-leader, the "Jack of Hearts." Supreme economy of lyrical writing; witty, clever, it brings a smile to your face every time you hear it and is a rare example on BOTT of writing not deeply personal; an attempt to showcase Dylan's literate, clever observational storytelling and to offset the deeply felt anger and heartache which accumulates through many of the other songs.
How about this, form "You're gonna make me lonesome when you go":
"You're gonna make me wonder what I'm doin'
Stayin' far behind without you...
You're gonna make me wonder what I'm sayin'
You're gonna make me give myself a good talking to..."
All delivered with that wonderful, rich, full-blooded drawl that is Dylan's unique and instantly recognisable singing voice. The music is clear, energetic with nothing extraneous; a strong underlying bass line, predominant use of minor keys and superb production values.
There's not a mediocre track on the album: it's all pure gold. If you're of a later generation and you don't know Bob Dylan's work, start here and be prepared for a delight and a revelation. If you heard Dylan's music before - perhaps something less mature, less poignant, less truly brilliant than BOTT (let's face it: Bob's career, though always interesting, contains a few best-forgotten moments) - it's high time you heard this album. You will never regret it.
"Rolling Stone" lists BOTT as number 16 in the 500 greatest albums ever in history, by any artist. You bet.
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Another New Discovery
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| Review Date: April 22, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Lindazo, Florida |
| Reviewing Dylan's lyrical manipulations and marveling at the unique, natural rhythmic flow. Another fantastic album. He is truly a national monument, though he could never explain what or why. |
Songs of Love and Pain
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| Review Date: March 19, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Island Dreamer, Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii |
| You can really feel the emotion in these songs, especially "Tangled Up in Blue" and "If You See Her, Say Hello." But for me the song that really sums up the way Bob Dylan was feeling when he put out this album is "Buckets of Rain," because this album is certainly full of buckets of tears. Bob Dylan's voice is in pure form on this album and the two bands that back him on the songs really seemed tuned into what Dylan is singing about. These songs of love and pain are certainly some of Bob Dylan's best work. |
Not Enough Stars to Rate this Dylan Classic!
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| Review Date: February 11, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Carl R. Berner, |
Comparing to Dylan to Dylan is a dangerous thing to attempt. So I wont do that. I'll just say that this cd is so good, there's not enough stars to rate it adequately. If there's another poet/singer around today that comes close
to the genius of Dylan, I would sure like to know who it is. Blood on the Tracks stands in a class by itself and Rolling Stone Mag. should reconsider it's placement and jump it up to #1. |
Sad, Haunting, Exciting, all at the Same Time
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| Review Date: January 27, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Ruthie Ramirez, San Diego |
| Where as I thought "Another Side" showed an angry poet, this record shows us the same man, grown older and full of pain. Some of the songs just want to make you cry, they are so good, so personal. It's really hard to praise "Blood on the Tracks" enough. It's one of the best records ever made. The imagery in "Tangled Up In Blue," will stay with you long after the record ends. "If You See Her, Say Hello" will move you as will "You're a Big Girl Now." "Idiot Winds" will haunt you and "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts," will excite you. I love this record. |
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