35 - Bob Dylan - Blood On The Tracks - 1974

Side One
Tangled Up In Blue
Simple Twist Of Fate
You're A Big Girl Now
Idiot Wind
You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go

Side Two
Meet Me In The Morning
Lily, Rosemary & The Jack Of Hearts
If You See Her, Say Hello
Shelter From The Storm
Buckets of Rain


DISCOVERY; The radio, in this case WCCO in the morning, the folks wake up tool. It sat on top of the fridge blaring away from 5:30 until whenever I started practising my piano lessons. It was on through breakfast, Ma making sandwiches, Dad setting off to work with his grey lunch box and a fairy kiss from Ma at the door. They knew I wasn't watching, too busy mixing Cap'n Crunch with Life cereal or some such sugar concoction. All the while listening to the homespun banter of Joyce Lamont, Roger Erickson, Jergen Nash and Morgan Mundane. They didn't play much music. Mostly just natter. Today however they were slightly animated and possibly even enthused about the new Bob Dylan album. They played the opening track. Maybe because it was recorded in Minneapolis? There had to be a talking point. Normally I disregarded everything they said for being un-hip and completely out of touch with reality, like the time they claimed rock music was more physically addicting than heroin. This morning they said the new Bob Dylan album was the best thing he'd done in years. I figured they wouldn't know a good record if it bit them on the ass but I liked the opening track and needed a Dylan album in the collection so the new one was it.

WHERE & WHEN; This album didn't have the gravitas or the punch Highway 61 had. That was the only record I could compare it to. The only similarity, both records had songs with lots of words and his voice was still an acquired taste. I played the record a lot but always in the back of my mind was the WCCO recommendation, quite clearly aimed at an older generation. Was I actually listening to music for middle aged people? Once you've been and done with those age boundaries it doesn't matter if you listen to old people music. Listen to whatever you bloody well please. At a certain point there are fewer birthdays coming up than ones gone by.

What did I learn from this album? Don't be an ageist. You are only as hip as your latest hip replacement suggests.

HIGHLIGHTS; Tangled Up In Blue - You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go - Meet Me In The Morning - If You See Her, Say Hello - Shelter From The Storm - Buckets of Rain

STATUS; Must Have