Some of the greatest songs Bob Dylan ever wrote have only been performed once or twice.
The legendary songwriter behind the likes of Mr. Tambourine Man, Desolation Row, and Murder Most Foul has no short supply of all-time greats. But with so many songs to choose from, Dylan sometimes leaves his very best off stage. He hasn’t performed Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door since 2003, while the likes of Idiot Wind and New Morning are, for one reason or another, completely absent from his set. But Dylan is full of surprises and sometimes pulls an all-time great out of the blue. On this day in 2007, Dylan performed a Blood on the Tracks classic for the first, and so far only, time.
It’s unlikely that Dylan will ever play Meet Me in the Morning again, and he’s yet to play it without a special guest. The White Stripes’ Jack White appeared with Dylan back in 2007 during a show at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville to perform Meet Me in the Morning. It was a show filled with some of Dylan’s very best songs, with another Blood on the Tracks song also featured.
A full setlist for the Nashville Auditorium show from Dylan and his band can be found below.
- Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
- Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
- Watching the River Flow
- You’re a Big Girl Now
- The Levee’s Gonna Break
- Spirit on the Water
- Desolation Row
- Workingman’s Blues #2
- Things Have Changed
- Most Likely You Go Your Way and I’ll Go Mine
- Meet Me in the Morning (with Jack White, live debut)
- Highway 61 Revisited
- Nettie Moore
- Summer Days
- Masters of War
- Thunder on the Mountain
- Blowin’ in the Wind
Blood on the Tracks has since been named the best Dylan album following a poll by Cambridge Audio. Dylan ranked higher than The King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley, as well as Johnny Cash, Black Sabbath, and Taylor Swift, when it comes to musical influence. Polling five thousand music lovers, the poll also found the most popular Dylan song of all, as well as the highest-rated album among those questioned.
The survey had Dylan appear in 50.3% of polled members’ all-time top five most influential artists. Topping the list, though, were The Beatles, who appeared in 82.9% of people’s top five.
Dylan placed above Presley, who was mentioned by 45.9% of those polled, as well as Black Sabbath (24%), Cash (21.4%), and Swift (14.4%). But the Mr. Tambourine Man songwriter ranked fifth overall, with David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, and Jimi Hendrix all beating Dylan to the top spots.
When it comes to Dylan’s best album, those polled all agreed the classic period, pre-Street-Legal, is where his best work appears. Blood on the Tracks took the top spot with 21.6% of those polled ranking it as their favourite album from the legendary musician.
Highway 61 Revisited was a close second, with 20.6% of those polled naming it their favourite, while Blonde on Blonde came in third with 16.4% of the vote share. The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan was named in fourth with 13.7% of the vote, and in fifth came Nashville Skyline, with 7.7% of those polled suggesting it was their favourite of Dylan’s discography.
Those polled, while aware of Dylan’s hits, were not aware of other artist’s covers of his work. Just 5% polled realised Adele’s hit, Make You Feel My Love, is a cover of Dylan. The song featured on his Time Out of Mind album from 1997.
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