Song · Bob Dylan
“Idiot Wind” by Bob Dylan
From the album Blood on the Tracks (1975)
“Idiot Wind” by Bob Dylan appears on 7 radio countdowns from 4 stations between 2001 and 2020. It was first released in 1975 on the album Blood on the Tracks. Its best result is #376 on the WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #1,294 indie & aaa song of all time.
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Fresh off the road with the Band, Bob Dylan began work on "Idiot Wind" in 1974, and it landed on Blood on the Tracks in January 1975 as that album's most venomous stretch. He cut it that September, cut it again in December and kept reworking the words in between. The credits list Bill Berg on drums, Tony Brown and Billy Peterson on bass, Buddy Cage on steel guitar, Greg Inhofer on piano and Chris Weber on acoustic guitar, with Dylan himself on acoustic guitar, Hammond organ and harmonica, producing.
It's a snarling, organ-soaked tirade, and some reviewers heard his marriage to Sara Dylan falling apart in it, though Dylan has denied it's autobiographical. Reviews were mixed at first; the years have been kinder, and some critics now rank it among his best. A live take turned up on Hard Rain in 1976.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 1761 | WFPK | WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2000 |
| 2004 | 556 | WXPN | WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) | 885 |
| 2007 | 506 | WTMD | WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time | 897 |
| 2009 | 589 | WXPN | WXPN 885 Desert Island Songs (2009) | 885 |
| 2014 | 376 | WXPN | WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) | 885 |
| 2018 | 728 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs | 892 |
| 2020 | 841 | WXPN | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2020 |
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