There are many times when this album makes me feel a little guilty. It's indescribable, especially if you like to think in terms of, let's say, what's Dylan's best album. Then I think Blood On The Tracks and I have to shake myself to say that this is not the best Dylan album. It's too mature, the sound is too individual, there's just something about it…

Mainly a romantic work, Dylan has, by this stage, strayed from protest and ventured into acceptance. By the sound on Blood On The Tracks, Dylan seemed to be conscious of what he had become (how strange was it when I saw him presenting something on the Grammies last year? Answer: very strange).

All ten songs are brilliant, but here are a few I've picked out. You're A Big Girl Now has that deep nasal quality to it, seeming to be filled with regret, 'I know where I can find you, in somebody's room, it's a price I'll have to pay you're a big girl all the way'. Idiot Wind starts with Dylan and the media, 'someone's got it in for me, they're planting stories in the press'. Then it goes into an explanation of how this 'idiot wind' had ruined the relationship with his wife, 'it was gravity which pulled us down and destiny which broke us apart, you tamed the lion in my cage but it just wasn't enough to change my heart' and, finally 'idiot wind, blowing through the dust upon our shelves, we are idiots babe it's a wonder we can even feed ourselves'. Dylan's passionate voice and heartbreaking lyrics make Idiot Wind one of the most individual of songs you're likely to hear. Buckets Of Rain is so simple, leaving a haunting feeling about the whole album, 'I like the smile on your fingertips, I like the way that you move your hips, I like the cool way you look at me, everything about you is bringing me misery'.

Blood On The Tracks is so close to reality yet so far away. It's so much more polished in sound, and yet so much more personal. Works in opposites.

Reviewed by

4.5/5