Blood on the Tracks | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | January 20, 1975 | |||
Recorded | September 16–19 and December 27–30, 1974 | |||
Studio | ||||
Genre | Folk[1] · folk rock | |||
Length | 51:46 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Producer |
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Bob Dylan chronology | ||||
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Singles from Blood on the Tracks | ||||
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Blood on the Tracks is the fifteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on January 20, 1975,[3][4] by Columbia Records. The album marked Dylan's return to Columbia after a two-album stint with Asylum Records. Dylan began recording the album at an A & R studio in New York City in September 1974. In December, shortly before Columbia was due to release the album, Dylan abruptly re-recorded much of the material in Sound 80 studio in Minneapolis. The final album contains five tracks recorded in New York and five from Minneapolis. The album’s songs have been linked to tensions in Dylan's personal life, including his estrangement from his then-wife Sara. One of their children, Jakob Dylan, has described the songs as "my parents talking."[5] In interviews, Dylan has denied that the songs on the album are autobiographical.[6]
Although Blood on the Tracks initially received mixed reviews from critics, it has retrospectively been acclaimed as one of Dylan's best albums by both critics and fans and various publications have since listed it as one of the greatest albums of all time. It was a commercial success, peaking at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart, with the single "Tangled Up in Blue" peaking at No. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100. It remains one of Dylan's best-selling studio releases, with a double-platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for at least two million copies sold in the United States.[7] In 2015, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[8]
Blood on the Tracks was voted number 7 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's book All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).[9] In 2003, the album was ranked number 16 on Rolling Stone's list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time”, rising to number 9 in the 2020 revision of the list. In 2004, it was placed at number 5 on Pitchfork's list of the "Top 100 Albums of the 1970s".[10] A high-definition 5.1 surround sound edition of the album was released on SACD by Columbia in 2003.[11]