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Tangled Up in Blue
Bob Dylan
Blood on the Tracks
Blood on the Tracks
RaitingSR
Supervision Recommended
Information
Released 1975
Genre Classic Rock
Language English
Source Rock Band 2
Available September 14, 2008
Playable in
Rock Band 2
Rock Band 3
Rock Band Blitz
Difficulty
Band 5FcircleFcircleFcircleFcircleFcircle
Basic Pro
Guitar 4FcircleFcircleFcircleFcircleUFCirlce 4FcircleFcircleFcircleFcircleUFCirlce
Bass 2FcircleFcircleUFCirlceUFCirlceUFCirlce 2FcircleFcircleUFCirlceUFCirlceUFCirlce
Drums 1FcircleUFCirlceUFCirlceUFCirlceUFCirlce 1FcircleUFCirlceUFCirlceUFCirlceUFCirlce
Keys NoNo Part NoNo Part
Vocals redReddevilReddevilReddevilReddevilReddevil NoNo Part
Details
Male singer
Vocal Tambourine




"Tangled Up in Blue" is a song by Bob Dylan who wrote this in the summer of 1974 at a farm he had just bought in Minnesota. He had been touring with The Band earlier that year.

Blood On The Tracks was Dylan's first album under his new contract with Columbia Records. He left the label a year earlier to record for David Geffen's label, Asylum Records.

This was influenced by the art classes Dylan was taking with Norman Raeben, a popular teacher in New York. Dylan credits Raeben for making him look at things from a nonlinear perspective, which was reflected in his songs.

This is a very personal song for Dylan. It deals with the changes he was going through, including his marriage falling apart.

Dylan sometimes introduced this on stage by saying it took "10 years to live and 2 years to write."

First recorded in New York with producer Phil Ramone, Dylan delayed the release and re-recorded it in Minnesota while visiting his brother, David, for the holidays. David organized the sessions and helped produce the version that went on the album.

At the Minnesota sessions, the key was changed from G to A at the suggestion of Kevin Odegard, a local singer and guitarist who was brought in to play with Dylan.

Among the musicians who recorded this in Minnesota were Billy Peterson, who became the bass player for Steve Miller, and Bill Berg, who became an animator for Disney. Some of the films Berg has worked on include Beauty And The Beast, The Little Mermaid, and Hercules.

Dylan's brother, David, came up with the idea for the hi-hat cymbals at the beginning.

This was the basis for the 1995 Hootie & the Blowfish song "Only Want To Be With You." It is a tribute to Dylan, but he still sued the band for stealing his song.

Dylan and his first wife, Sara Lowndes, divorced in 1977. As part of the settlement, she got half the royalties from the songs Dylan wrote while they were married, including this.

The session musicians in Minnesota were not credited on the album because the packaging had already been printed.

"Montague Street" is in the nice area in Brooklyn. Montague is also Romeo's last name in Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet.

When Dylan performs this song in concert, he uses the third person perspective (He and She) that is on the version found on The Bootleg Series Vol 1-3 album instead of the first-person perspective that is on Blood On The Tracks. He also alters some of the lyrics, for instance: "One day the axe just fell" is changed to "One day it all went to hell."

The book Simple Twist Of Fate by Andy Gill and Kevin Odegard, documents the recording of Blood On The Tracks (in particular the genesis of this song). It explains how 2 different sets of musicians were used in New York and Minnesota, but the Minnesota musicians not only did not receive credit, but also have never received royalties. Obviously, they are not happy about this since the album has sold millions of copies. (Thanks, Brian - Massapequa Park, NY)

Dylan mentions the titles of two Beatles songs in the lyrics: "Pouring off of every page like it was written in my soul, From Me to You," and "There was music in the cafes at night and Revolution in the air." Dylan and The Beatles shared a great deal of mutual admiration. (Thanks, Chris - Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom)

Dylan on Blood on the Tracks: "A lot of people tell me they enjoy that album. It's hard for me to relate to that. I mean, it, you know, people enjoying the type of pain, you know?"

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