Rough Patch

For years I avoided Bob Dylan’s music mostly because of his fans. In college there were all these young, pony-tailed neo-hippies smoking pot, wearing sandals, and referring to Bob Dylan as a prophet- and that just scared me off (it scared Dylan, too). At some point in the ‘90s I purchased the educational box set Biograph and for years it was the only Dylan music I needed in my collection. Although I've tried listening to Dylan's studio albums over the years there is only one I have ever really enjoyed from beginning to end: Blood on the Tracks. I’ve heard different things about Blood on the Tracks: Dylan recorded it in his home state of Minnesota; Joni Mitchell’s Blue inspired it; it’s about the break up of Dylan’s first marriage; it was his last great studio album.

Perhaps all these things are true but for me Blood on the Tracks is just a good collection of timeless songs that doesn’t really sound like any other Dylan album. I first heard Blood on the Tracks in the late ‘90s when I moved back home to live with my parents and attend graduate school on Long Island. I used to take long bike rides at night with my Walkman listening to Blood on the Tracks on my headphones. As I rode through the dark, quiet streets of my hometown the songs from Blood on the Tracks flowed together like a story or like a man looking back on his life and though I was young at the time and looking ahead to the future the wistful songs still resonated with me.

So, does the album still hold up for me twenty years later? Yes, I think if one is in the right mood Blood on the Tracks can still serve as a proper break up and/or looking back on your life album- or just some chill late night background music. It's not a folk album, it's not a rock album, it's just a thirty-something Dylan trying to get through a rough patch and doing the only thing he knows how to do. Grade: B+

Listen to the album on Spotify...