1976 · a landmark

Desire

Blood on the Tracks · 1973–1978

Listen to the album

Why it matters

Made with lyricist Jacques Levy, a violinist named Scarlet Rivera and harmony singer Emmylou Harris, it mixes long story songs with deeply personal ones. It spent five weeks at number one in the US and many of its songs were played on the Rolling Thunder Revue.

Dylan wrote most of these songs in 1975 with the theatre director Jacques Levy, and the partnership pushed him toward long, cinematic stories. They were recorded in New York that summer with producer Don DeVito, after some crowded early sessions gave way to a lean group: Scarlet Rivera's violin, Rob Stoner's bass, Howie Wyeth's drums and Emmylou Harris singing harmony. The violin gives the album its sound, swirling and slightly exotic, with touches of Mexican and Middle Eastern color. "Hurricane" took up the case of the imprisoned boxer Rubin Carter, while "Joey" romanticized a murdered New York gangster and drew sharp criticism. The album closes with a direct, unguarded song addressed to his wife, Sara. Released in January 1976, it was a big commercial success, and many of its songs were already familiar to audiences of the Rolling Thunder Revue, the touring troupe he had launched that autumn.

Track list · 9 songs

Where its songs lead

One More Cup of Coffee · Covered byOne More Cup of CoffeeThe White Stripes · 1999The White Stripes recorded the song on their 1999 debut album.Hurricane · Same theme asThe Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll1964Both tell a real case, twelve years apart, in which a court failed a Black American.Black Diamond Bay · Same theme asTempest2012Both follow a cast of characters swept away in a disaster, an island eruption and the Titanic.Sara · Same theme asSad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands1966A decade later, Sara recalls writing Sad-Eyed Lady for her at the Chelsea Hotel.Sara · Same theme asWedding Song1974Both are addressed to his wife Sara, one in devotion and one as the marriage was failing.

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