Blood on the Tracks [Music CD]

Blood on the Tracks by Bob Dylan

Once this guy I knew split up with his girlfriend and then he was gone for a while. I think he went to his uncle's farm out in Kentucky or somewhere. When he came back, he had a beard and seemed a bit more serious. I asked him how he was feeling and he softly replied, "I've been listening to a lot of Blood on the Tracks, man."

Blood on the Tracks? I had heard of that, but I was in the twilight of my teenage years: I was still thinking of and enjoying Dylan with the big curly hair, polka dot shirt, pointy shoes and Al Kooper playing groovy organ riffs. Still, I sought out this folky record.

Dylan at that time was going through the break up of a marriage and though the author denies any trace of autobiographic tendencies, the songs appear to reflect this time of his life. The album opens with "Tangled Up in Blue", a lyrical bombast about two lives crossing. Other highlights include "Idiot Wind", the eight minutes and change "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts" and "Shelter From the Storm".

Like the majority of his work, the lyrics read like poetry on Blood on the Tracks and here we find Dylan with his heart on his sleeve and at his most tender and delicate state. When I went through break-ups as a younger lad, I tended to go with early Beach Boy albums. They had those beautiful harmonies that are underlined with melancholy. It's easy to wallow and hold onto sadness like a serpent to the neck with this sort of music. On Blood on the Tracks, Dylan is presenting a more mature and grown up outlet for heartbreak, man.