Blood on the Tracks is the fifteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan , released in January 1975 on Columbia Records . The album marked Dylan 's return to Columbia after a two-album stint with Asylum Records . Most of the lyrics on the album revolve around heartache , anger , and loneliness . The album , which followed on the resurgence of critical acclaim for Dylan 's work after Planet Waves , was greeted enthusiastically by fans and critics . In the years following its release it has come to be regarded as one of his best albums ; it is common for subsequent records to be labeled his `` best since Blood on the Tracks '' . It is also commonly seen as a standard for confessional singer-songwriter albums ; though Dylan has denied that the songs are autobiographical , his son Jakob Dylan has stated : `` The songs are my parents talking '' . In 2003 , the album was ranked number 16 on Rolling Stone 's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time , and in 2004 , it was placed at number 5 on Pitchfork Media 's list of the top 100 albums of the 1970s . The album reached 1 on the Billboard 200 charts and 4 on the UK Albums Chart . The single `` Tangled Up in Blue '' peaked at 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart . The album remains one of Dylan 's best-selling studio releases , with a double-platinum US certification by the Recording Industry Association of America -LRB- RIAA -RRB- . Prior to recording , and while details regarding his return to Columbia Records were being fleshed out , Dylan previewed the songs that would make up Blood on the Tracks to a number of friends and peers in the music world . According to biographer Jimmy McDonough , Dylan visited Neil Young in his home in Florida to showcase the songs on the album and seek out Young 's opinion , and even run through some of the songs with Young 's group Crazy Horse . Dylan also previewed the songs to David Crosby , Graham Nash , Stephen Stills , Tim Drummond , and Peter Rowan . Notably , Graham Nash recalled that Stephen Stills disliked Dylan 's private performance of his new songs : immediately after Dylan left the room , Stills remarked to Nash , `` He 's a good songwriter ... but he 's no musician '' . Initially , Dylan considered recording Blood on the Tracks with an electric backing group , and even contacted Mike Bloomfield , a guitarist who had worked with him on Highway 61 Revisited . The two met , and Dylan showcased the songs he was planning to record , but he played them too quickly for Bloomfield to learn . Bloomfield later recalled the experience : `` They all began to sound the same to me ; they were all in the same key ; they were all long . It was one of the strangest experiences of my life . He was sort of pissed off that I did n't pick it up '' . In the end , Dylan rejected the idea of recording the album with a band , and instead substituted stripped-down acoustic arrangements for all of his songs . Dylan arrived at Columbia Records ' A&R Recording Studios in New York City on September 16 , 1974 , where it was soon realized that he was taking a `` spontaneous '' approach to recording . The session engineer at the time , Phil Ramone , later said that he would `` go from one song to another like a medley . Sometimes he will have several bars , and in the next version , he will change his mind about how many bars there should be in between a verse . Or eliminate a verse . Or add a chorus when you do n't expect '' . Eric Weissberg and his band , Deliverance , originally recruited as session men , were rejected after two days of recording because they could not keep up with Dylan 's pace . Dylan retained bassist Tony Brown from the band , and soon added organist Paul Griffin -LRB- who had also worked on Highway 61 Revisited -RRB- and steel guitarist Buddy Cage . After ten days and four sessions with the current lineup , Dylan had finished recording and mixing , and , by November , had cut a test pressing on the album . Columbia soon began to prepare for the album 's imminent release , but , three months later , just before the scheduled launch , Dylan re-recorded several songs at the last minute , in Minneapolis ' Sound 80 Studios , utilizing local musicians organized by his brother , David Zimmerman . Even with this setback , Columbia managed to release Blood on the Tracks by January 20 , 1975 . All personnel credits adapted from the album 's liner notes . ; Additional musicians ; Technical personnel ; Singles .