You could realistically argue that three or four albums Dylan released in the 60s would qualify as his best album from that decade. In the 1970s, however, he released one album which easily surpasses the quality of all the others he released in those ten years. 'Blood on the Tracks' is by far the best thing he's done since 'John Wesley Harding' and probably came as a surprise to critics and fans alike, especially after the relative disappointment of his recent records. There isn't a bad song on the album. Buy it, non-existent reader.
At his peak Bob Dylan was a fucking genius. In 2002 I bought a Greatest Hits compilation and it took me ten seconds of Subterannean Homesick Blues to realise that. Everything about this album is worth discussing - the electric/acoustic split, his voice, the fact that the lyrics piss over anything John Lennon or Paul McCartney could ever dream of writing. This album is the sound of Bob Dylan climbing to the top of the mountain, and he hasn't yet reached the peak.
Rating: 10/10
Favourite Track: Love Minus Zero/No Limit
Bob Dylan is (along with The Beatles) my favourite artist of th 1960s. I think you either love him, or you can't stand him and I'm firmly in the former camp. Everything about this album is iconic. It's not the first Dylan album, but it's the first classic and the is the one that propelled him to stardom (mainly because of 'Blowin in the Wind'). I first heard the album about fifteen years ago during my initial Dylan discovery and I've loved it ever since. It's the album that every other folk artist afterwards tried to make.
There's a book you may or may not have heard of called '1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'. Here is my attempt to do just that. Follow my progress from Frank Sinatra to Arcade Fire as I write my thoughts and feelings about each album.
All errors in this blog are mine, and mine only (unless they're not).