Best Albums !: Bob Dylan. Blood On The Tracks (1975)

Blood on the Tracks is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's 15th studio album, released in 1975 by Columbia Records, which marked Dylan's return to Columbia after a two-album stint with Asylum Records.

The album, which followed several years of lukewarm reception for Dylan's work, was greeted respectably by fans and critics. In the years following its release, it has come to be regarded as one of his very best albums - making it quite common for subsequent records to be labeled his "best since Blood on the Tracks." It is also commonly seen as a standard for confessional singer-songwriter albums, though Dylan has denied that the songs are autobiographical, his son Jakob Dylan has stated: "The songs are my parents talking." Most of the lyrics on the album revolve around heartache, anger, and loneliness.

The album reached #1 on the Billboard U.S. pop charts and #4 in the UK. The single "Tangled Up in Blue" peaked at #31 on the Pop singles chart. The album remains one of Dylan's all-time best-selling studio releases, with a double-platinum US certification to date

In 1975, Dylan was en route toward a divorce from his wife Sara, and after the protest era of the '60s had gone off into musical limbo. He wasn't irrelevant, but the fire around him seemed to be fading out. All that changed when "Blood" came out and reinvigorated his career. This release was a throwback to his earlier, primarily acoustic work and again put the focus on his sublime storytelling ability. The two most recognizable selections are "Tangled Up In Blue" and "Shelter From The Storm," both of which are Dylan at his most personal, introspective and cathartic. But equally moving and powerful are "Simple Twist of Fate," "Idiot Wind" and "If You See Her, Say Hello." This is Dylan's most mature collection of poetry and music, and audiences seemed to agree because it soared to No. 1 on the album charts shortly after release and eventually went platinum.