Blood on the Tracks

by Bob Dylan

Overview

Following on the heels of an album where he repudiated his past with his greatest backing band, Blood on the Tracks finds Bob Dylan, in a way, retreating to the past, recording a largely quiet, acoustic-based album. But this is hardly nostalgia -- this is the sound of an artist returning to his strengths, what feels most familiar, as he accepts a traumatic situation, namely the breakdown of his marriage. This is an album alternately bitter, sorrowful, regretful, and peaceful, easily the closest he ever came to wearing his emotions on his sleeve. That's not to say that it's an explicitly confessional record, since many songs are riddles or allegories, yet the warmth of the music makes it feel that way. The original version of the album was even quieter -- first takes of "Idiot Wind" and "Tangled Up in Blue," available on The Bootleg Series, Vols. 1-3, are hushed and quiet (excised verses are quoted in the liner notes, but not heard on the record) -- but Blood on the Tracks remains an intimate, revealing affair since these harsher takes let his anger surface the way his sadness does elsewhere. As such, it's an affecting, unbearably poignant record, not because it's a glimpse into his soul, but because the songs are remarkably clear-eyed and sentimental, lovely and melancholy at once. And, in a way, it's best that he was backed with studio musicians here, since the professional, understated backing lets the songs and emotion stand at the forefront. Dylan made albums more influential than this, but he never made one better. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	06/28/2019
Label:	Sony Music
UPC:	0190759506615

Tracks

1. Tangled up in Blue
2. Simple Twist of Fate
3. You're a Big Girl Now
4. Idiot Wind
5. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Album Version)
6. Meet Me in the Morning
7. Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts
8. If You See Her, Say Hello (Album Version)
9. Shelter from the Storm

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Bob Dylan   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Harmonica,Lead Vocals
Eric Weissberg   Guest Artist
Buddy Cage   Guest Artist,Guitar (Steel)
Bill Berg   Drums
Billy Peterson   Guitar (Bass)
Chris Weber   Guitar (12 String)
Paul Griffin   Organ
Tony Brown   Bass
Ken Odegard   Guitar
Gregg Inhofer   Keyboards

Technical Credits

Phil Ramone   Engineer,Mixing
Steven Berkowitz   Reissue Producer
Bette Midler   Composer
Bob Dylan   Composer
Elliot Scheiner   Mixing
Greg Calbi   Mastering
Eric Weissberg   Performer,Coordination
Debbie Smith   Tape Research
Darcy Proper   Mastering
Didier C. Deutsch   Tape Research
David Oppenheim   Illustrations
Pete Hamill   Liner Notes
Ron Coro   Art Direction
Matt Kelly   Tape Research
Paul Till   Cover Photo