Bob Dylan’s 1974 Planet Waves was released between the album widely considered his worst (1973’s Dylan) and one widely considered his best (1975’s Blood on the Tracks).
Planet Waves definitely falls closer to the Blood on the Tracks side of that continuum, even if it doesn’t come close to the heights of that classic. Its songs are thoughtful meditations on love and death with rich backing music provided by The Band, and it fits nicely just below the top tier of Dylan albums.
The best-known track here is ‘Forever Young,’ written for his kids, while other songs touch on the failed marriage that would also memorably inspire so much of Blood on the Tracks.
Commercially, Planet Waves helped Dylan rebound from a few middling releases, becoming his first ever #1 album, a feat he’s achieved just five times through 39 studio albums.
I’ve just reached a place
Where the willow don’t bend
There’s not much more to be said
It’s the top of the end
I’m going
I’m going
I’m gone
[Verse 2]
I’m closing’ the book
On the pages and the text
And I don’t really care
What happens next
I’m just going
I’m going
I’m gone
[Verse 3]
I been hanging on threads
I have been playing’ it straight
Now, I’ve just got to cut loose
Before it gets late
So I’m going
I’m going
I’m gone
[Verse 4]
Grandma said, “Boy, go and follow your heart
And you’ll be fine at the end of the line
All that’s gold isn’t meant to shine
Don’t you and your one true love ever part”
[Verse 5]
I been walking the road
I been living on the edge
Now, I’ve just got to go
Before I get to the ledge
So I’m going
I’m just going
I’m gone
Meet Me In Montauk 
While I know well and love Blood on the Tracks, the same cannot be said for Planet Waves, and, based on what I have heard from this album (including today’s SOTD and Forever Young), Planet Waves pales in comparison to Blood on The Tracks.
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