Review Summary: Dylan's most emotional and honest album to date. A must own for anyone that calls themselves a fan of music.
There is little optimism to be found on Blood On the Tracks. The upbeat tracks have a subversive desperation and helplessness to them, and the others are Dylan's most heartbreaking and emotionally raw.
Something clearly wasn't right with the world in Dylan's eyes, and while this was always true for him usually the focus was on external influences, or at least taken from an outsiders point of view. If it wasn't the government it was society and culture, and if not that it was a calculated look at personal pain and failures, always distanced from himself. Not here. This album absolutely marks a turning point in Bob Dylan's career, moving more toward introspection than ever before, and shows a much more honest side of the songwriter. Basically, it's what Another Side should have been. Some of the songs on here are almost hard to listen to, and while the lyrics sometimes verge on the cliche, his delivery and the arrangements make up for them perfectly. Also, unfortunately it seems nigh impossible to completely steer away from cliches when speaking of matters such as these; personal pain, love lost, time wasted.
The opening song is a classic in every sense of the word, a relentless driving beat and Dylan barely containing his wailing voice, there's more emotion evident in this song alone than most of his back catalogue. It's followed by two quite, utterly depressing and perfectly sad songs, both so full of regret and hurt they're almost hard to listen to. Again, the honesty here is something that cannot be overstated. Countless artists have created from pain, but Dylan's way with words and his matured, tired vocals make these offerings so much more than the sum of their parts. "Idiot Wind" isn't the most accessible song here, but once it gets rolling along and the slightly odd rhythm is grasped its payoff is huge, turning from petulance to some kind of existential shout-out, mocking first one and then all. Following are two very folksy songs, their arrangements hiding honest and beautiful lyrics. It seems Dylan's trying to lighten up here in the middle of the album, but his voice gives him away. Even probably the least accessible song here, the epic "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts", while at first sounding like a straight-up country ballad is chock-full of hidden meanings and, as previously mentioned, creeping desperation. Something is clearly not right in this world, and while before he may have blamed the system or society, here it seems the blame lies firmly upon him.
The last three songs here are, without exception, masterpieces. From absolutely the saddest song he's ever written, speaking more honestly than many could ever hope to, the lyrics "she might think that I've forgotten her, don't tell her it isn't so" make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Doubtlessly many can relate, and while there was a time when Dylan would have scorned or made light of these feelings, it seems that here he's fully realized their immensity, and it really is something to hear. "Shelter from the Storm" continues much in the vain of the opener, if it had been beaten and rejected for years. The tiredness and sadness comes fully to the surface, and the metaphors used are both intangible and immensely powerful. His voice quivers, low and quite, no walls up to hide what's really going on inside. The closer is a perfect ending to a perfect album, deceptively simple, with easily some of the best lyrics he ever wrote.
Hope isn't something you'll find much of here, and while acceptance is a theme, it brings with it no relief. In short, an album that will be remembered for a very long time, a classic in every sense of the word, and Dylan's peak. It doesn't get any better than this.
