Blood on the Tracks

After John Wesley Harding, I kind of lost interest in what Dylan was doing. He put out a few albums which were not too bad, but I expected more. Then I got it.  Blood on the Tracks. I was talking to a friend on the phone and he told me how good it was. The next day, I was in a store, the album was on sale, so I took it home.

When I got home, I poured a glass of wine, put something tasty in a pipe, and settled back to listen, When I heard the opening lyrics of Tangled Up In Blue, I though, wow, it's story time, put up my feet and settled in. I'm a sucker for stories.

Tangled Up In Blue sets the tone. It is a fine story of love lost, and love, possibly regained, set against the atmosphere of the era. Your a Big Girl Now is a song to a lost lover, who the singer realizes has come into her own; a sort of bitter sweet congratulation. If You See Her Say Hello has a similar theme and one of the prettiest guitar backings you will ever hear.

Meet Me In The Morning is an odd song, just as the title suggests, it is an invitation to a get together, in which the singer seems hopeful, but not too sure and, not really all that concerned about the affair. Your Gonna Make Me Lonesome is one of my favorite songs ever. It is a break up song, but the singer, while not wanting to separate, realizes that it is inevitable and refuses to be sad. Instead he chooses to celebrate the time he and the woman were together and the fact that he will have fond memories, He also accepts at least some of the responsibility for the break up. It is a joyful song and a truly mature response to the end of a love affair.

In Shelter From the Storm, the singer finds at least temporary refuge from the travails of his life.

Idiot Wind is a brutal attack on modern society in which the singer spares no one, including himself. Buckets od Rain, has a similar theme, without the vitriol. It is a gentle, almost whimsical song. The singer seems to be using his view of life's woes ("life is sad, life is a bust") as a seduction technique.

Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts is a western tale, In fact, it very closely follow the story line in Marlon Brando's fine Western, One--eyed Jacks. The song moves at breakneck speed, Dylan is obviously having a great time telling the story, and it is very funny. People too often forget how very funny Dylan is at times.

That leaves one of my favorite song ever, by anyone, Simple Twist of Fate. Dylan tells a tale of a one night stand, and the pain of the man who wanted more from the night. The song is beautifully played and the vocal is perfect, heartbreakingly sad, the lyrics are honest, but it is an honesty that longs for a more romantic World. The song is about as good as anything Dylan has ever done. It is a song for grown ups, but the grown up remembers the hope of romantic youth. Things just don't work that way, but it would be nice if they did. I cannot tell you how much I love this song.

No one but Dylan could have written this album. He is at the top of his game as a writer and performer here, and it would be a while before he again reached that level. Next post, I will write about his later high point.