Blood on the Tracks

Blood on the Tracks is a 1974 (see 1974 in music) album by American folk-rocker Bob Dylan. After a few artistically weak albums Dylan entered the studio with a clutch of new songs inspired by his recent estrangement from his wife, Sara, of eight years. Each song, from the slow blues "Meet Me In The Morning" to the lengthy "Idiot Wind," shines an intriguing light into their relationship, and Dylan's talent is to stretch the personal until it appears universal and use the universal to elucidate the intensely personal. The writing is extremely strong. Dylan was by then a master of the popular form. The band, who, although lacking the edge of Dylan's mid-1960s bands, are tight and proficient, work hard to show the strengths of each song.

Note: The original recordings were deemed unsatisfactory, the sessions were scrapped and most of the songs re-recorded with a new group of musicians.

Told of the album's lasting popularity, Dylan was later to say: "A lot of people tell me they enjoy that album. Its's hard for me to relate to that. I mean, it, you know, people enjoying the type of pain, you know?"

Blood on the Tracks was a #1 Pop Album on the Billboard Music Charts. The single "Tangled up in Blue" peaked at #31 on the Pop singles chart.

Track listing

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
6. Meet Me In The Morning
7. Lily, Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts
8. If You See Her, Say Hello
9. Shelter From The Storm
10. Buckets Of Rain

Personnel

• Bob Dylan - Guitar, Harmonica, Keyboards, Vocals, Producer
• Billy Preston - Bass
• Eric Weissberg - Banjo, Guitar
• Tony Brown - Bass
• Charlie Brown - Guitar
• Bill Berg - Drums
• Buddy Cage - Guitar (Steel)
• Barry Cornfield - Guitar
• Richard Crooks - Guitar, Drums
• Paul Griffin - Organ, Keyboards
• Gregg Inhofer - Keyboards
• Tom McFaul - Keyboards
• Ken Odeguard - Guitar
• Bill Peterson - Bass
• Phil Ramone - Engineer
• Chris Weber - Guitar, Guitar (12 String)
• Kevin Odegard - Guitar
• Pete Hamill - Liner Notes
• Barry Kornfeld - Guitar
• Ron Coro - Art Direction

Chart positions