Expecting Rain

I didn't dare post this one in the middle of the night. I wanted to be sure of a safely lit bright day during the unearthing of this most difficult question. but, it had to come sooner or later. The rest of this survey should be a cakewalk after this. That is, if we survive.


I've recently grown to appreciate the difference in attending to one side of a record, versus popping in a long CD that i pass in and out of attention with. and many dylan albums seem to be structured around these segments. so, i'm starting a poll series about preferred sides on vinyl. i'm not really centering on the value of any one song over the other, but rather how each side flows and stands coherently.

.....i can hardly utter the words. In fact i cannot. I will try to squeeze out the Acronym: PICK YOUR PREFERRED SIDE OF BoTT!!!!
< cue the thunder. >

A tough one, indeed. Side 2 contains two tracks which I consider the "weakest" (how dare I... ) of that album, "Meet me" and "Buckets"; on the other hand, the other songs on this side are just superb, among the best Dylan ever recorded. Aaaaahhh, shame on you, Mr. Troubadour, for forcing us into this mother of all moral dilemmas.

How dare you indeed? Regret for the loss of "Buckets" was what made this one painful for me. I think if the memory of Maria Muldaur over-drawling "moonbeams" on her version didn't sully the song ever-so-slightly, I couldn't have made the choice.

In the end, Tangled & Twist could not be resisted.

Sorry to say that, but anyone who prefers one side of Blood on the Tracks over the other is insane.

In my opinion, this album is Dylan's biggest achievement. It is not a masterpiece, it is THE masterpiece. There are no weak tracks on it, no fillers, just a lot of heart and fantastic music. No power on this earth will make me say that one side of Blood on the Tracks is better than the other. The first side of this album is perfect. The second side of this album is perfect. As the word "perfect" is a superlative, you cannot say one is better than the other. Hence, I will not participate in this poll.

I voted for Side 1, but it is impossible to play Side 1 without flipping over to Side 2. BOTT, along with Abbey Road, worked brilliantly when CDs came out so we could listen to the album as a whole.

Spot on.

BOTT and TOOM are Bob´s most realized albums (as opposed to a collection of songs) and it´s plain silly to divide them into sides or songs.

yikes, these are only the early warning tremors and people are already flipping out. make no mistake, only the bold will be able to step forward. i played it nearly 12 times yesterday, in broad daylight, before i could even consider taking this on.

today the choice was actually quite easy. one listen to resolve any issues i had. (get ready for some shattering plate techtonics). simply put, side 1 reminds me that there are at least two great songs, (and one that goes back and forth), that could have been recorded better. side 2 is flawless, for a Jack of hearts fan, anyhow.

Side B.

No need to defend my choice.

I can listen to this over and over and over and over again and never get tired or bored with it.

Side A, in my opinion, is not as perfect as some propose. I've always found "You're A Big Girl Now" and "Simple Twist of Fate" too similar and monotonous.

Go on and throw your pitchforks - I'm feeling agile today.

that's exactly the kind of gusto this enterprise needs!

yes, i feel the same on Big girl and, well idiot wind from new york. just to know that it's out there looming behind the one we have on record here.

now if i had to be real tough i would ask people to choose between never hearing Tangled or Jack of hearts again. I don't think i could do either. I would rather Van Gogh my ears i think.

Now c´mon, we´re talking about the album as it is, aren´t we? Not about the one that could have been if he had used the New York tracks, aren´t we? This would be another dicussion alltogether, wouldn´t it?

umm... we are talking about the album as it is, and in the world we live in. and i am saying that when i listen to the album as it is, it makes me long for something out there, that i know exists in the world (more specifically in my living room) that is better. these are the only mildly disappointing feelings i encounter when i listen to the album, as it is. as opposed to the only sad feeling i get from side 2 (that is not intentionally caused by the power of the album), which occurs when the last notes of buckets of rain are played.

and if you are somehow suggesting that there is one correct option here, that should be universally true for everyone that ponders this weighty question, being the b*strd of a question that it is, i'm not sure what world you are living in...

i guess they should just start making one-sided albums then....

*throws pitchfork*

Actually, I used to feel the same way about "You're A Big Girl Now" and "Simple Twist of Fate" when I discovered Blood on the Tracks a couple of years ago. Now that's different. I guess you really need to get your heart broken to appreciate these tracks fully. Trust me, if you are in that state, you definitely wouldn't want to miss them.

*throws another pitchfork*


Sounds like an idea! Let's call them ... CDs

side one, not by much but side 2 ends with buckets, my least favorite tune on the record

Let me shake your hand, henrypussycat. And now let's better duck away - I smell pitchforks...

No pitchforks here. Just buckets of sympathy for folk who can't hear this gem of a song through my ears.

I applaud both the candor and the civility expressed on this thread so far...

I know what you're up to.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judgment_of_Solomon
Two young women who lived in the same house and who both had an infant son came to Solomon for a judgement. One of the women claimed that the other, after accidentally smothering her own son while sleeping, had exchanged the two children to make it appear that the living child was hers. The other woman denied this and so both women claimed to be the mother of the living son and said that the dead boy belonged to the other.

After some deliberation, King Solomon called for a sword to be brought before him. He declared that there is only one fair solution: the live son must be split in two, each woman receiving half of the child. Upon hearing this terrible verdict, the boy's true mother cried out, "Please, My Lord, give her the live child—do not kill him!" However, the liar, in her bitter jealousy, exclaimed, "It shall be neither mine nor yours—divide it!" Solomon instantly gave the live baby to the real mother, realizing that the true mother's instincts were to protect her child, while the liar revealed that she did not truly love the child. The reputation of the king greatly increased when all the people of Israel heard of this wise judgment.

Trust me, friend, I've had this ol' heart broken a time or two. Pretty sure all us Dylan fans have (I've noticed the depressed, dispossessed, and estranged gravitate towards Dylan ). Doesn't change my opinion of those tunes. However, I will definitely say that the album wouldn't be the same if they were absent or replaced with something else. No, sir - even though I don't rank them high on my favorites list, I wouldn't touch a hair on their head. Leave 'em as they are and where they are.

Having said that, we're voting for the superior side of Blood On The Tracks and I don't see how anything can - or ever will - compete with Side B. All this talk has me thinking that I'll be putting on my vinyl copy later tonight.

Little rooster crowin', there must be something on his mind...

I was thinking of the Seinfeld episode where both Kramer and Elaine want a bicycle. Anybody else?



Not one-sided albums, but they (bastard musicians) should definitely start making shorter albums. I've been suggesting for years that albums should not exceed 60 minutes. Lately, however, I'm starting to think that 60 minutes is still a bit too long. Let's make it 45 to 50 minutes then.

Newman gets the bike, right?

It's rewarded to Kramer because he'd rather let Elaine have it then see it destroyed...

For the life of me I can't recall the fate of the bike after that, though. http://haphappy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/bikemovie4.jpg

Ha! I remembered Newman riding it at the end of the episode. You are right, Kramer gets the bike, but Newman buys it from him


http://www.dailyseinfeld.com/post/13749306543


On topic: I can't choose. My heart won't let me and I don't have to!!

Trev, if you don't mind me saying, for the first time, i am slightly curious to see your loft.

just keep listening to it, you'll figure it out!