Hello, my name is Ben Burrell and welcome back to Bob Dylan album by album, a podcast that takes

an in-depth look at each Bob Dylan studio recording record by record. If you haven't heard the first

two parts to this episode, I'd advise you go back and listen to them first, just so we're all

on the same page and part three is coming up very, very shortly. First, though, let me quickly

remind you, we have a website on there at the

moment. There's some Bob Dylan playlist we've tailor made. You might want to have a look at. You can find

them, bobdillumpodcast.com. And of course, we are on Instagram and Twitter. If you haven't

followed us already, give us a follow. It really helps us out. You can find us at Bob Dylan podcast. So on with part number three, which concerns a record that for many is one of the greatest

albums ever made.

It will become an icon's masterpiece, but will be borne out of some heartache.

This is Blood on the Tracks.

The festival was over and the boys were all planning for a fall.

The cabaret was quiet except for the drilling in the wall

the careful have been lifted

and the gambling wheel shut down

anyone with any sense

had already left town he was standing in the doorway looking like the jack of fire

as we heard on the first two parts of this episode this album feels like a personal story of woe and it's all about the

breakdown of a relationship with more than a hint that it details the breakdown of a marriage.

On first inspection, it's easy to link these songs to Dylan's own marriage, which would end in divorce in 77. While that's a two-year gap between the album's release and the divorce,

it's fair to say that Dylan and his then-wife Sarah were definitely experiencing problems

around the time of the album cycle. In fact, in an interview talking about his

...