Title: Blood on the Tracks
Artist: Bob Dylan
Year: 1975
Chronological position: Fifteenth
Previous experience of this artist?: His hit singles only
Why is this considered a classic? Um. Ask a Dylan fan. Luckily, here’s one: Robert Gray, Dylan critic wrote that “it transformed the cultural perception of Dylan, and that he was no longer defined as "the major artist of the sixties. Instead, Dylan has legitimized his claim to a creative prowess as vital now as then—a power not bounded by the one decade he so affected.” Uh, yeah. Another one, an English dude with the unlikely name of Clinton Heylin, agreed. Maybe. “Ten years after he turned the rock & roll brand of pop into rock ... [Dylan] renewed its legitimacy as a form capable of containing the work of a mature artist." Okay. Alternatively, ask Boucning Heart sorry Rubber Soul or Pet_Sounds. They’ll know.
My thoughts
One minute (or thereabouts in) ---- Good, great, bad, meh, still waiting or other? Good
One track in --- Good
Halfway through --- Getting meh now
Finished --- Meh
Comments: This is the first Dylan album I have ever listened to in my life. It may very well be the last. I don’t have anything against Dylan, but I’ve never had any interest in his work. Even I, though, can recognise the genius behind songs like “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall”, “Blowin’ in the Wind” and of course “Like a Rolling Stone”. That’s pretty much all I know about him though in terms of his musical output. I know a lot of people castigated him for having the audacity to move beyond acoustic music, but I don’t care about that, and frankly, if people have that mindset then it’s their fault for remaining stuck in the past, I would think. But as I say, I don’t care.
Some have made the point that this album relates lyrically to the breakup of Dylan’s marriage, among them his children, but the man himself has denied this, and I guess he should know. But again - and I really can’t stress this enough - I don’t care. I’m not getting into the reasons behind why he wrote what he did; I just want to see if the album appeals to me or not. At the moment it’s a kind of shrug, but we’re only on the first track, so we’ll see. Yeah didn’t think much of that. “Simple Twist of Fate” is a lot better. Like the harmonica. Sounds a little Beatles/early Supertramp in the melody. Shut up. Next one is really nice too, the piano adds a lot to the song however the harmonica this time ruins it, sounds all over the place, like he dropped it or something. Suppose it’s deliberate, but I don’t get it.
Good throaty organ (ooer!) is always a good base to build a song on, I feel, and the one on “Idiot Wind” growls and scrapes along with real aggression, but is it that the production is s
hit or what, as the music seems to fade in and out as if there were what we used to call dropouts on a tape? Wasn’t like this on any of the previous tracks. If it is the production, and not just something that happens to be wrong with just this one track on the YT playlist I have, then I have to say it destroys what sounds like it could be a good song. Can’t really hear it properly, so I can’t rate it. Unfortunately it’s also the longest track, nearly eight minutes long. Sigh.
Haters unite against me! I have never believed Dylan could sing. I suppose that’s very arrogant, considering that my singing could be used as an emergency method of clearing a building. Or a city. What I mean is that I don’t like the way he sings; it always seems to me that he’s more shouting the vocal rather than singing. I’ve always felt that way about him. This album just reinforces that view. Note: near the end, the fading production seems to have been sorted, but it’s a little late now. Next track kind of just passed me by, but the one after that is decent. The slide guitar work here is cool. Next one is a kind of country style, quite fast compared to the rest of the album so far, with a thick whining organ. It’s all right, nothing special. Haters unite! Aw hell I was wrong: “Idiot Wind” is not the longest track, this is, by a clear minute. Sigh again.
Yeah overall I’d say it’s not bad but it is pretty boring, to me. Somewhat like the James Taylor album I reviewed yesterday in Bitesize, just not gripping me. I never thought I would be a Dylan fan, and now I’m pretty convinced of that fact. Not that this is a bad album, but it just ain’t for me. In retrospect, it could also be that none of the songs I know are on it. Shrug.
Favourite track(s): “Simple Twist of Fate”, “You’re a Big Girl Now”, “Meet Me in the Morning”
Least favourite track(s):
Final impression --- More or less as expected. Nothing special, not to me.
Do I feel, at the end, A) I wish I had listened to this sooner
B) I'm sorry I bothered
C) I might end up liking this
D) Have to wait and see
E) Bit underwhelmed; was ok but a classic?
F) Definitely enjoyed it, but again would I consider it a classic?
G) Enjoyed this album just purely on its own merits
H) Glad I listened to it
I) Didn’t really affect me.
Think this is a B guys.
