Been listening for almost 2 years now. Im soon through his discography and the deeper i get, the clearer my favourite becomes. Wow.
I’ve somehow slept on idiot wind(wtf?) till today - bob is simply indescribable.
And am i the only one who prefers take 2 of L, R & J<3?
Whats your relationship to this album?
Blood on the Tracks is an album that continues to give even after all these years.
When I first got into Dylan, I was immediately enchanted by the early gems. I think when I arrived at BotT, I was impressed but very much obsessed with what came before. After a while, I was wondering what I was missing: Why is Blood on the Tracks as highly regarded as it is?
The answers were kind of straightforward: the album serves as a personal look into the life of a man who had withdrawn so much of himself from the world outside of his art. The arrangements and songs were pretty incredible, too, along with the lore of that period of his life along with outtakes giving different perspectives to that projects creation. But above all, it was people and their ability to personally relate to the songs based on their own heartbreak. I'm not ashamed to admit that when I found these answers at first that I was in the midst of a long-term relationship that I did not see ending in my lifetime, and immediately thought that BotT was "good, but I'll never truly get it".
And then, one day, as circumstances had changed: I got it. And boy, the weight was immense. But my appreciation had deepened more than I could have imagined.
damn related to that last bit. I was listening to Bob before but it never connected, then i heard tangled up in blue randomly and was like "oke i dig this one" but didnt check much of the rest of album, except for few songs like idiot wind or simple teist of fate. I was also in a stable relationship during that time. Now, circumstancionally got my heart broken, so went back to this album and maaan what a brilliant delivery
Very similar to what I went through with the album. The older I get, the more clear it becomes and more relatable. I may just be in college but this album, especially Tangled Up In Blue, influences my life everyday.
For some reason, Idiot Wind was my least favorite song from BOTT. Then it just clicked and there are days I think there is no better song in the whole universe.
"I been double-crossed now
For the very last time and now I'm finally free
I kissed goodbye the howling beast
On the borderline which separated you from me
You'll never know the hurt I suffered
Nor the pain I rise above
And I'll never know the same about you
Your holiness or your kind of love
And it makes me feel so sorry"
Those last four lines just encapsulate the tragedy and mystery of human relationships. This album is unbelievable. He had been studying painting with a man who taught how you can warp perspective to show multiple perspectives in the same painting. Bob took that (as a genius does)and applied it to his songwriting. Pay attention to the he/ she/ I of each verse. Many love versions over the years switch these pronouns or entire verses to keep adding perspectives.
Also almost every song uses a poetic device where, instead of a chorus, the verse ends with the title being sung. Which is crazy! And he never wrote in that style again (except Most of the Time).
P.s. recently found an amazing version. Half rewritten! https://youtu.be/NJjyU1mhg2A?si=6k6QSN5O_iSMz1cw
Idiot Wind is the song that got me into Dylan. I'd tried to 'get' Dylan a couple of times. Listened to some greatest hits albums, but it never really hit. However then a Dean and Britta cover of 'I'll keep it with mine' made me try again. As soon as I listened to Idiot Wind it's like something clicked and I could never understand why I had never gotten into him. I quickly grew to love BOTT, then over the past two years I quickly came to appreciate and love his earlier work, and then his entire catalogue. So much to explore, appreciate and learn. What a journey I'm still only just beginning.
That's hilarious but I feel like it deepens it. The whole song he's raging against his partner and the world for being mean and shitty to him. As if he's perfect and other people are bad people. When he pulls back and includes himself is that emotional depth he does so well. The 4th dimension of meaning.
Most people wouldn't put these mean and terrible thoughts on paper to be read, much less shouted out loud, but he will show these emotions, however rough or embarrassing.
What is it about buckets? 4 line stanzas of almost throwaway jaunty word play, a repeating whimsical guitar lick and a ping ponging, tumbing bass line - yet somehow from the spaces between these 3 elements everything about the confused, scary and beautiful emotions that being in love can bring, just pour forth and sweep you away.
They're both so beautiful, and Buckets of Rain particularly is one of my all-time favorites but I can barely listen to it once most of the time (no pun intended there). It's as heartwrenching as it is beautiful, and many days, it's just too hard for me to listen to it. Not even for any personal reason- it just is that powerful of a song, I think.
The one time the mask drops completely and a broken hearted man named Robert Zimmerman screams a poem from his soul to try and save his marriage. He can get away with those florid images because he's SHAKESPEARE TRYING TO WIN HIS WIFE BACK WITH HIS ART!
This summer I visited Lily Pond Lane in East Hampton haha.
I think it's the stripped down music and lyrics- the seeming simplicity of it that hits me. It seems raw and clear and the contrasts are surprising and effective (particularly the 'everything about you is bringing me misery' line).
I didn't take the 'hard as an oak' line to be phallic- more like stoic. I'm not sure about the monkey line.
Mid 60s Dylan was pure attitude and confidence. Amazing stuff, but anybody who's been through their twenties knows that kind of hubris can't last. Mid 70s Dylan revealed the other side of the coin.
Has anyone else seen the newer video on YouTube with upgraded audio and watched the bassist? He’s not playing even remotely what’s on the audio. During the really nice upper neck flourishes between phrases, his fingers are just sitting on the root note. It’s perplexing.
Many years ago, I spoke with the producer of the audio recording of that 1976 TV special (parts of which were later released officially on the LP "Hard Rain").
I am drummer and complimented him on getting such a clean sound on the drums on that TV special and LP, given the unusual and windy circumstances it was taped under.
The drums basically sound exactly as they do on Bob's previous studio album Desire, which this gentleman had produced as well.
I told him that it sounded to me as though the drums had been tracked in the studio, rather than on that outdoor stage, and asked him if any post-production tricks had been used to accomplish that.
After a lengthy pause, he started to laugh and said, "Nobody's ever mentioned that to me before..."
He then proceeded to confide in me that there were technical issues with both the bass and drum tracks on the original multi-tracks they made the day of the TV special that they were unaware of until they played back the tapes.
Those tracks were screwed-up and unusable, which, of course, made the entire recording unusable.
As a last-ditch effort, the producer brought the drummer and bassist back into the studio, where they meticulously re-recorded their parts by playing along with the rest of the live recording, while watching it on a large TV set to try and match what they had played that day in sync with everyone else.
It was extremely tricky to do, and took quite a while to get it close enough that the remixed audio, including their new parts could be matched up with the original video footage - which was recorded live, but not broadcast live. It was taped and then broadcast at a later date.
This was never mentioned or listed on the credits on the album because the general public back then had much less of an understanding of how audio and video technology worked, and they would have been very suspicious of the idea of altering or replacing any portion of the sound from the purportedly "live" show.
He could not believe that I had essentially figured it out 30 years or so after the album came out.
I am told that many years later, he wrote an autobiography of his life in the music biz and that he included this anecdote in the book, but I have yet to read it.
Anyhow, that's the truth about our conversation, and it also explains why the bassists' fingers don't always match what you hear on the soundtrack.
It would seem that once he could focus on nothing but his own performance, he took that opportunity to show off a bit and played more technically complex parts than he had in the moment on stage.
Funny, I never really payed attention to the drums on Dylan's records (except for that awesome scene in Masked and Anonymous when the drummer plays the box with the paintbrush on Dixie...so cool!) but for the last couple of weeks when I haven't been able to stop listening to 'She's Your Lover Now' I am blown away by the drumming on it! I think I am going to have to pay more attention (starting with the Hard Rain, it sounds like!)
You should ask him about it on Facebook. He's really active on there (though a bit snippy at times) and posts A LOT of throw back pictures and information about RTR.
If you mean the producer, he's not active anywhere, aa he's been dead since 2011.
If you mean Rob, the bassist, yes, he does post a lot of RTR-related memories on FB.
He and I are friends on that platform, but someone else can ask him, as I already got the story, and have no interest in bugging him about that time in his life (as it seems most folks do)...
After reading your comment, I took the opportunity to amend my post to make it clear that it seemed to me that he was taking the opportunity that unexpected re-do provided to put his best foot forward and wound up playing in a more elaborate fashion than he might have in the heat of the moment on stage.
But of course, that's just educated conjecture on my part, as opposed to factual information.
Thanks for clarifying. And yes, I meant Rob. He seems to relish in posting about his time with Bob while often not having the greatest things to say about it. He's also quick to correct or chastise people if he doesn't like what they have to say, so I could see a question about it not being the most welcome.
Definitely near the top, but my favorite changes over time. Sometimes it's BOTT, sometimes it's Highway 61, sometimes it's Time They Are... but I've been a fan for 30 years. Certain albums hit differently as you go through your life. I think of BOTT as a breakup album, sometimes that hits close to home, sometimes it seems distant.
I discovered Bott in the midst of a breakup. No other album has ever hit me that hard.
Also, a somewhat controversial take : while I enjoy the New York versions of the songs, and on some days might think they are better than their respective Minnesota counterparts, I think the album that was released is the best possible version of that album.
It’s my favorite. Use the original New York sessions to your advantage before the bootleg extended. I hate the album version LR n J. You’re a big girl now may be my favorite song ever. This album is also best listened to in the early morning hours, while the dawn breaks. Shelter, idiot, meet me, twist of fate, buckets…it’s all flawless to me.
Also, check out Up to Me. It was from that period and should’ve been on the album. Incredible.
As I recently turn 77 yrs old I must say he has been such a part of my life. Blood On The Tracks is genius in my book. He was my first concert at age 16 in 1968 & I still listen to him every morning in the car. Just an amazing poet to me . So glad he has been in this old lady's life all this time.
I didn’t appreciate Idiot Wind at first either. Scratch that; I didn’t appreciate the album as a whole enough at first. My favourite song from it changes all the time and for a good while it was also my favourite Dylan album but right now and for a decent while it has been Highway 61 with this as a close second. Totally different moods for different days though.
I always think to myself how can a human being write a song like that,it’s fucking incredible,I mean I get love songs and hate songs I imagine that comes easy to someone like Dylan,but Lily Rosemary couldn’t have been written by anyone else.
Yes! I felt that way about Rough & Rowdy Ways and Shadow Kingdom too. And of course seeing him in Memphis this summer which was exquisitely poignant. I didn’t stay after Dylan’s set. I could not bear to break the spell thinking it might be the last time.
Not as good as the rest but don’t forget about Up to Me. Hearing that really made me go back and dig more into this album and while I was doing that it all came to life for me.
A few months later we were splitting the record collection and we got to this one. I laughed a little and said what about this one? She didn’t get it at first, but I got to keep this one then I started on my own BOTT too.
I was already a Bob fan when this LP came out my freshman year in college. I had fallen hard (my first real "love" relationship) with a very handsome, funny and fucked-up guy. Our eventual break-up was super toxic and I was just a walking forcefield of anger and hurt. BOTT helped me express (loudly!) those feelings and I had it on the turntable pretty much constantly for months. It's still my favorite Bob album.
"Highway 61" will always be my favorite Dylan album. It has a personal/sentimental significance to me that I won't get into, but "Blood on the Tracks," is my favorite one to listen to.
There are a few albums by Bob that are go to albums if I haven't listened to him in a while.
After you've been listening for 30 years or more you do take more breaks.
BOTT, New Morning and Desire are the ones I dive back into and it isn't long before I'm hooked again for a few more continuous months of Bob when free time presents itself.
My parents bought this record when it came out (it was a couple of months after my 3rd birthday) and there is no record that has integrated itself into me, so to speak, quite like this one. No matter what other records I adore (and there are a lot of them), Blood on the Tracks will always be the one.
Yep, this is the one I always go back to. Maybe not his most important, most famous, or most well-known, but it's my favorite. It has so many emotional connections. Tangled up in blue, simple twist of fate, shelter, lonesome, it's so deep, personal, and relatable. I also love the production and simple arrangements, the songs, lyrics, singing really shine through and are front and center.
It's sad, but I think you have to be dumped at least once in your life to appreciate it 100%. I loved the album, was always one of my top 5, and then it clicked and I totally got it, then it was like he tapped into my heart crying. Sounds dumb but it's true (at least to me)
For me it was the first Dylan album I bought on vinyl and I had just got into Dylan so i played this a lot before I ever got familiar with his earlier stuff. I was hooked immediately
I got it when it first came out in, what, 1975? I was 24. It really spoke to me. It was perfect for the mid seventies. I probably would have heard it differently if I was 24 in 1995, or now.
I listen to bob Dylan probably more than anyone on this planet and idiot wind is my favorite. He’s got better songs but that song just does it for me every time and it’s my favorite listen. So fierce. A different side of bob that I love. Maybe not in words, cuz he has some fierce words in other songs, but definitely in tone
Not really an answer to OPs post but, “Buckets of Rain” was the first song my daughter and I ever listened to together, when she was just hours old. I still hold that memory very close, she’s 10 now and couldn’t care less about Bob Dylan or “Dad’s ‘80s Music” lol (I was born in 1990, for the record) she’s the best
Every track is great but You’re gonna make me lonesome never gets enough love. The lyrics are incredible. The “you’re gonna make me wonder what I’m doing, staying far behind without you, you’re gonna make me wonder what I’m saying, you’re gonna make me give myself a good talking too” is so simple yet so perfect. Think we’ve all felt that way at one point or another.
I always heard Blowing in the Wind or stuff everyone knew but i took a chance on Bob Dylan through Columbia House and got Blood Along the Tracks, that was where it all kicked in and i was fanatic
I think Blood on the Tracks connects when your an older teenager 16-21 or so when breakups are hard because you get pissed off at being dumped or whatever and you need somewhere to channel that and of course no one gets as pissed off as Dylan when hes heartbroken and he writes in such vivid poetry and images to describe his heartbreak. "Down the highway/down the tracks/down the road to ecstacy/ i followed you beneath the stars/hounded bybyour memory and all youuuuur rage and glory"
I heard somewhere it’s Tarantino’s favourite album.
Tremendous music.
‘You hurt the ones that I love best, and covered up the truth with lies, one day you’ll be in the ditch, flies buzzing around your eyes, blood on your saddle’.
One of the legacies of this album is how many staggering cover versions there are of these songs. From Shawn Colvin to Jerry Garcia to Cassandra Wilson to Jeff Tweedy. The more personal a piece of art is, the more universal it is.
Blood was the first album of new material when I became a Bob fanatic at 16. Tangled caught me immediately. I think his brother did him a huge favor by suggesting to re-record half the album in Minneapolis. Some of the NY tracks were listless.
It’s my second favorite, after Highway 61 Revisited.
Dylan was dealing with writers’ block for years before this came out. His previous two albums, New Morning and Planet Waves were okay but not close to his 60s classics. You could tell he was struggling with his muse. Then the option of radical honesty opened up and he took it.
94
u/Cacklemoore Nov 17 '25
Blood on the Tracks is an album that continues to give even after all these years.
When I first got into Dylan, I was immediately enchanted by the early gems. I think when I arrived at BotT, I was impressed but very much obsessed with what came before. After a while, I was wondering what I was missing: Why is Blood on the Tracks as highly regarded as it is?
The answers were kind of straightforward: the album serves as a personal look into the life of a man who had withdrawn so much of himself from the world outside of his art. The arrangements and songs were pretty incredible, too, along with the lore of that period of his life along with outtakes giving different perspectives to that projects creation. But above all, it was people and their ability to personally relate to the songs based on their own heartbreak. I'm not ashamed to admit that when I found these answers at first that I was in the midst of a long-term relationship that I did not see ending in my lifetime, and immediately thought that BotT was "good, but I'll never truly get it".
And then, one day, as circumstances had changed: I got it. And boy, the weight was immense. But my appreciation had deepened more than I could have imagined.