Blood on the Tracks: Canonizing Bob Dylan’s Human Opus

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The Opus is a podcast series that explores legendary albums and their ongoing legacy: how they shape lives, shake rafters, and ingrain themselves into our culture. Maybe you’re a longtime fan who wants to go deeper. Maybe you’re a first-time listener curious to hear more. Either way, you’re in the right place.

Our debut season revolves around Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks, his 1975 fifteenth studio album that set the gold standard of sharp, heart-wrenching songwriting, spawning classics like “Tangled Up in Blue” and “Shelter From the Storm”.

Host Paula Mejia kicks off the series with guests Jill Sternheimer, the Director of Public Programming at Lincoln Center, and Ann Powers, NPR Music’s critic and correspondent. Together they decode the notion of an “opus” in popular music and in the context of Dylan’s songwriting and canon.

Listen above and return next week for the second of four episodes revolving around Blood on the Tracks, specifically how the songs have evolved over time, the way they’ve inspired other mediums, and even created an entire bootlegging culture.

For more Dylan, check out More Blood, More Tracks, the latest installment in Dylan’s Bootleg Series, which is currently on sale and streaming. The deluxe edition includes more than 70 previously unreleased recordings from the sessions behind Blood on the Tracks, specifically outtakes, studio banter, false starts, and alternate versions of “Tangled Up in Blue”, “Simple Twist of Fate”, and “Shelter From the Storm”.

The Opus is a co-production of the Consequence Podcast Network and Sony.

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