It is befitting Most of the Time is the first song to be presented from Bob Dylan’s Oh Mercy record, because it is my favourite song from it. If the outtake Series of Dreams made it onto the record, then the decision would have been a lot more difficult. Series of Dreams would become the final track on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991 and was later included on 1994’s Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Volume 3, but never released on a studio album.

Most of the Time was released as the sixth track (or the first song on Side Two of the vinyl) of his 1989 album Oh Mercy which was produced by Daniel Lanois and seen by critics as a comeback to form for Dylan after disappointing sales with Knocked Out Loaded and Down in the Groove. Daniel Lanois would produce Dylan’s Time Out of Mind 8 years later which won three grammy awards, so they obviously did something right! Here is Daniel Lanois speaking about the making of Oh Mercy.

[Verse 1]
Most of the time
I’m clear focused all around
Most of the time
I can keep both feet on the ground
I can follow the path, I can read the signs
Stay right with it when the road unwinds
I can handle whatever I stumble upon
I don’t even notice she gone
Most of the time

[Verse 2]
Most of the time
It’s well understood
Most of the time
I wouldn’t change it if I could
I can make it all match up, I can hold my own
I can deal with the situation right down to the bone
I can survive, I can endure
And I don’t even think about her
Most of the time

Daniel Lanois on Most of the Time:

I had been to Bob’s house..and he had played me a few songs..he already had the song Most of the Time which I loved. A beautiful love song…I thought it was a very tender way of looking at love and looking at missing somebody. That was beginning of it and he had a few others.

Daniel Lanois on ‘The Making Of’ Bob Dylan’s ‘Oh Mercy’

For me, Most of the Time is one of Bob Dylan’s most restrained, but atmospheric tracks. Like so many of his songs I never grow tired of hearing it. The contemplative instrumental sounds combined with Dylan’s voice and phrasing really envelopes the listener. The synchronisation of the two is masterful and it’s what Dylan doesn’t say in this song that makes it a treasure-trove unlocking a wide range of emotions. It’s just irony, plain and simple. After his involvement with the Traveling Wilburys, Dylan had started constructing what he referred to as “stream-of consciousness songs“. Most of the Time and Series of Dreams couldn’t demonstrate his intention better.

From Wikipedia for all the Dylanholics out there:

The lyrics of “Most of the Time” were written before the music. In his memoir Chronicles: Volume One, Dylan describes not having a melody for the song when he first went into the studio to record it and trying to find one while strumming an acoustic guitar in front of Lanois: “Dan thought he heard something. Something that turned into a slow melancholy song”. Lanois’s recollection differs from Dylan’s, as he told an interviewer in 2014 that he first heard the song at Dylan’s house, with Dylan playing piano. In the same interview, Lanois said that the song “It stood out to me as a very powerful expression of love. I was determined to frame that song the best I could.” In their book Bob Dylan All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track, authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon praise Lanois’s production for “putting magic into the essence of the song” and creating “an amazingly dreamlike and haunting atmosphere. Very deep reverb, omnipresent delays, saturated guitar sounds (with or without vibrato), a Roland TR-808 drum machine set in a loop, percussion, a sonic blanket, bass and acoustic guitar give the song one of the strongest vibes on the album. Dylan provided a superb vocal performance”. Lanois played bass on the track, and overdubbed four Les Paul parts to produce a “string quartet effect”. Dylan said that Lanois was able capture his “stage voice” during the Oh Mercy recordings, and that he appreciated Lanois’s willingness to make suggestions, stating “You need help to make a record … People expect me to bring in a Bob Dylan song, sing it, and then they record it. Other people don’t work that way. There’s more feedback”

References:
1. Most of the Time – Wikipedia
2. Oh Mercy – Wikipedia