The year is 2025 and Bob Dylan is, yet again, having a moment.
Between Dylan's curious social media presence and Timothée Chalamet's high-profile turn portraying him in the biopic A Complete Unknown, a whole new generation is discovering the now-83-year-old songwriter.
Today marks the 50th anniversary of Blood on the Tracks, which came out on January 20, 1975, and is one of several albums that are considered among his greatest ever. It marked a return to form for Dylan's classic folk sound following his mid-'60s shift to rock, and his questionable output in the early '70s.
Recorded amidst the breakdown of his first marriage and a new relationship, fans and critics have often seen Blood on the Tracks as a divorce album — one of the definitive breakup albums, in fact. And while Dylan has resisted autobiographical readings of his work, there's no question that Blood on the Tracks cuts deeper than most of his work, often setting aside cryptic complexity for raw-nerved reflections on lost love, a sense of sadness tempered by bittersweet gratitude.
To mark the anniversary of this masterpiece, we've ranked the 10 songs on Blood on the Tracks from worst to best — although this is one of the greatest albums ever, so it's more like "slightly less great" to "most great."
10. "If You See Her, Say Hello"
I've never quite understood why she might be in Tangier of all places — but with delicate arpeggios and Spanish guitar leads, this is a pleasant sleeper track amidst a triumphant run of a classics.
9. "You're a Big Girl Now"
Curiously prominently placed at Track 3, "You're a Big Girl Now" is a snoozy ballad, the melody of its lyrics contrasted by the peaceful resolution of its melody.
8. "Idiot Wind"
Perhaps the closest Blood on the Tracks gets to a full-blown rocker, the blustery "Idiot Wind" has a big chorus that blows in like a rolling stone, although I'm not quite sure there's quite enough lyrical or musical content here to merit the eight-minute runtime.
7. "Meet Me in the Morning"
A timeless riff anchors a 12-bar number rooted in blues tropes and absolutely nails the form. With a bright groove and glimmering electric leads, it sounds like the arrival of dawn.
6. "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts"
The famously cryptic Dylan is uncharacteristically emotional throughout most of Blood on Tracks. "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts," on the other hand, is a twist-filled murder mystery that's the album's most fanciful moment.
5. "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go"
Dylan loves to claim that his songs are inspired by literature — anything to steer listeners away from autobiographical readings of lyrics. But let's be real: "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go" is a sweet but sad account of Dylan's crumbling marriage, and nothing he can say will convince me otherwise.
4. "Simple Twist of Fate"
"Simple Twist of Fate" is a brilliantly detached look at a breakup; not steeped in anger or regret, but as a story with characters torn apart by fate, with a romance that doesn't work out simply because "She was born in spring / But I was born too late."
3. "Buckets of Rain"
People love to poke fun of Dylan's voice, but what makes "Buckets of Rain" so drop-dead gorgeous isn't its lyrics. Rather, it's the songwriter's nimble finger-picking, the enchanting interplay with bassist Tony Brown, and the cocoon of reverb draped over Dylan's expressive croon.
2. "Tangled Up in Blue"
Narratively, I can't quite follow what's going on across the lyric-stuffed five and a half minutes of "Tangled Up in Blue, but the gist is clear: a star-crossed relationship plays out across an ever-changing backdrop fishing boats, topless bars and in a basement down the stairs. The lovers never find their happy ending — but, with the narrator still on the road and heading for another joint, they never escape each other, either.
1. "Shelter from the Storm"
Blood on the Tracks may be known as a breakup album, but instead of being scathing or bitter, its greatest track is a fond reflection on "another lifetime, one of toil and blood." And even though the love story doesn't seem to have a happy ending ("Now there's a wall between us, something has been lost / I took too much for granted, I got my signals crossed"), "Shelter from the Storm" is a warm and generous memory of when the narrator "came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form" and found shelter in another.