EDITORS’ NOTES

Dylan all but invented the concept of the modern singer/songwriter, but few of his early albums offer the genre’s signature intimacy. Blood on the Tracks—his honest and deeply personal eulogy for a failed relationship—changed all that. With a mellow strum of acoustic guitars, the songwriter offers bitterness ("Idiot Wind"), sorrow ("Simple Twist of Fate”), and tenderness ("Shelter from the Storm”). Mostly, though, he shows a deep appreciation for the beauty of what he once had.