The original version, produced by Daniel Lanois, was recorded on March 23, 1989 for (but ultimately omitted from) Dylan's 26th album Oh Mercy.

Music critic Tim Riley would echo these sentiments, writing that "'Series of Dreams' should have been the working title song to Oh Mercy, not a leftover pendant.

An article accompanying the list called it one of the "best songs" recorded for Oh Mercy, noting that it contains "a flow of fragmented images ('In one, the surface was frozen/In another I witnessed a crime') delivered with a striking just-woke-up frankness".

In an article accompanying the list, critic David Harris noted that it "grips the listener from the start with its rollicking and inviting sound, never letting up throughout.

"[6] The Big Issue placed it at #32 on a 2021 list of the "80 best Bob Dylan songs - that aren't the greatest hits" and called it "Music with momentum pushed along by producer Daniel Lanois".