Blood on the Tracks (1975)

You hurt the ones that I love best
And cover up the truth with lies
One day you'll be in the ditch
Flies buzzin' around your eyes
Blood on your saddle

1. Tangled Up In Blue (5:41)

2. Simple Twist of Fate (4:17)

3. You're A Big Girl Now (4:34)

4. Idiot Wind (7:47)

5. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (2:55)

6. Meet Me in the Morning (4:21)

7. Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts (8:52)

8. If You See Her, Say Hello (4:47)

9. Shelter from the Storm (5:00)

10. Buckets of Rain (3:22)

REVIEW: Blood on the Tracks is Bob Dylan's greatest masterpiece.  Written in 1974, while Dylan and has wife Sara were ending their marriage, the album reflects Dylan's inner turmoil.  Released in 1975, after re-recording the tracks with a full band, the album is a "Divorce Album," full of separation and love gone wrong.

Tangled Up in Blue is the most famous song from the album, and the only song you might hear on the radio.  But like masterpieces by his contemporaries, such as Van Morrison's 'Astral Weeks' or Leonard Cohen's 'Songs of Leonard Cohen', this album should be listened to in its entirety, front to back.  Tangled Up In Blue leads off the album.  An instantly contagious melody, backed by pleasant guitars, bass and drums, the song tells a tale of love lost, but it ends on a hopeful note: "Now I'm goin' on back again, I got to get to her somehow / All the people I used to know are an illusion to me now."  The rest of the album rarely gets this lyrically hopeful.  Simple Twist of Fate is a spoken-word / half singing piece that has been a highlight of Bob's live performances on many occasions.  Rounding out the first three songs is You're A Big Girl Now.  All 3 of these songs received lots of live play from Bob, mostly from his Never Ending Tour (1988 - present).  You're A Big Girl Now is another tale of woe from Bob.  The title relates Bob's feelings of dismissiveness to his former partner, while at the same time the lyrics convey how devastated Bob is over the breakup: "Oh, I know where I can find you / In somebody's room / It's a price I have to pay / You're a big girl all the way."  But mostly, the song is a Positively 4th Street-like mockery of his ex.

Next, Idiot Wind is an important song to the album.  At 8 minutes, it clocks in above the nearly 6-minute title track, and just a minute short of Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts.  Idiot Wind, aside from notable performances in 1976 and 1992, was largely ignored in Bob's live shows.  The song is an epic of heartbreak and bitterness, combining Bob's musical and lyrical talents with the pain of his decaying marriage.  The performance was a highlight of the Rolling Thunder Revue, and indeed, a highlight of the live album 'Hard Rain'.  It is a downer of a track - the listener feels Bobby's pain as he or she listens to Bobby spit out the words of his broken love.  Still, even at the end of the track, after Bob reveals he has been double crossed "for the very last time, and now I'm finally free", Bob concludes that both him and his ex "[are] idiots, babe, it's a wonder we can even feed ourselves."

After the extreme seriousness of Idiot Wind, Bob relaxes a bit for You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go.  Opening with acoustic guitar chords and easy, pleasant harmonica, the song has one of the best melodies on the entire album.  Clocking in under 3 minutes, the song is often overlooked, but is truly a great one - an ode to the ending of a relationship that any singer songwriter would be proud of.

Bob continues this easy-going attitude on Meet Me in the Morning.  A pure blues, one of Bob's best, and one of the best in all of rock music.  A deceptively simple guitar riff, some slide guitar, drums and bass introduce some of Dylan's best singing.  When I first heard this song some years ago, I recall it being described as a "perfect blues".  I cannot disagree.

The tempo is livened up for the rollicking hoedown "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts."  This track is another of Dylan's "great long epics", as well as a "story song", similar to "Black Diamond Bay" from his next album.  What is the song about?  You could examine it until the cows come home.  Regardless, it is a nice change of pace from the usual romance-and-pain songs of the rest of the album.  For such a long song, it never overstays its welcome, as Bob's melodic and lyrical gifts are on full display.

Back to the pain with If You See Her, Say Hello.  This is a painful song but it is so powerful, it just might be the best song on the album.

Another contender for top song of the album is Shelter From The Storm.  It made the Jerry McGuire soundtrack (as a wilder alternate take).  The version presented here is quieter, more introspective.  It is among the more enduring non-greatest hits songs in Bob's canon.  Bob turned it into a magnificent rollicking barnstormer during the 1976 Rolling Thunder Review (one cut was released on Hard Rain), a flat droning ballad in 1978, a wild rocker in the early days of the NET, and then back to a hymn-like singalong by 2002.  It is probably one of Bob's highest approval ratings - I have never heard of someone disliking it.

And we conclude with Nuggets - sorry Bette Midler - BUCKETS of Rain.  A rather perfect closer, Bob is introspective again, solo, just singing for himself while he takes his best stab at some complicated acoustic licks.  Bob rhymes throwaway lyrics like "Buckets of rain / buckets of tears / got all these buckets comin' outta my ears" with more meaningful couplets such as "Life is sad / life is a bust / all we can do is do what we must."

And with a quiet conclusion, Bob's single greatest achievement, the best album of heartbreak ever created, is over. 

Me, I'm still on the road headin' for another joint.  We always did feel the same we just saw it from a different point of view.

RATING: 10/10 **********

BEST 3 SONG RUN: PICK ANY 3 SONGS ON THE ALBUM THAT RUN TOGETHER.

SONG TIERS:

A+: Tangled Up in Blue, Idiot Wind, You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go, If You See Her, Say Hello, Shelter From the Storm.
A: Simple Twist of Fate, You're a Big Girl Now.
A-: Meet Me In the Morning, Buckets of Rain, Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts.