COCKTAILS WITH TERRY

and to my mind is infinitely superior to the original, finding a level of emotional engagement and depth in its intimate folk rendition absent from the synthpop original (although my friend Fritz would argue for the original’s superiority, and passionately).

This raises the spectre of the “first heard version is most often best liked” effect, in that I became aware of “Such Great Hights” in the cover version, falling in love with it at the same time I was completely devoted to the Iron and Wine’s album out at the same time, which seems to dwell on the melancholy, if not gently macabre, in a way that resonated deeply with me, reflected in the album’s title, “Our Endless Numbered Days.” While Fritz knew and loved first both the song and the album from which it comes, “Give Up.”

Other great examples of covers that effectively are remakes and the artist who recorded them taking ownership of a song include (and in no order, because how could you… with original recording artist / cover artist):

• “All Along the Watchtower” – Bob Dylan / Jimi Hendrix

• “Tambourine Man” – Bob Dylan / The Byrds

• “Baltimore” – Randy Newman / Nina Simone

• “I Will Always Love You” – Dolly Parton / Whitney Houston

• “Respect” – Otis Redding / Aretha Franklin

• “Take Me to the River” – Al Green / Talking Heads

• “Valerie” – The Zutons / Mark Ronson & Amy Winehouse

• “Crazy” – Willie Nelson/Patsy Cline

• “Hurt” – Nine Inch Nails / Johnny Cash

• “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” – Rolling Stone / Devo

• “Me and Bobby McGee” – Kris Kristofferson / Janis Joplin

• “Stop Your Sobbing” - The Kinks/Pretenders

• “Tainted Love” - Gloria Jones / Soft Cell

• “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” – Judy Garland / Israel “Iz” Kamakawiko’ole

• “Woodstock” - Joni Mitchell / Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

• “You’ve Got a Friend” - Carole King / James Taylor

The above is certainly not exhaustive and I am sure I have forgotten some of my and certainly many of your favourites, but also anticipate that many of you did not know the original, so powerful a presence are their respective remakes.

Finally, there are those that profess to not being fond of covers.

Prince complained quite a bit in interviews about covers and the applicable law that deprived him and other songwriters and original recording artists the revenue and recognition he felt were being denied, going so far as to state that there should be only one recognised recorded version. Ironically, this is from an artist who achieved great success by others covering his songs. Most notably Sinead O’Connor’ version “Nothing Compares 2U,” a song written and composed by Prince for his side project the Family; the song featured on their 1985 debut album, “The Family,” which only became a world-wide hit in the cover version. Prince himself was known to record covers, like Hendrix’s “Red House” on “Power of Soul: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix,” resulting in, and appropriately enough for the artist known as Prince, “Purple House.”

And then there is the case of “Scarborough Fair,” famously covered by Simon and Garfunkel. The original recording in this case, as there were previous recordings of the song, was made by Martin Carthy in an arrangement of the traditional ballad “Scarborough Fair.” This was adapted, without acknowledgement, by Paul Simon on the Simon and Garfunkel album recording “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme” in 1966. This caused a rift between the pair which was not resolved until Simon invited Carthy to sing the song with him on-stage at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2000.

While there are more who may not appreciate covers, I am not the first nor alone in this fascination with them, with many more than one website dedicated solely to the art of covers, with commentary and lists galore to be found at such sites as:

• Cover Me Songs at https://www.covermesongs.com/2022/12/best-cover-albums-2022.html

• Digital Dream Door at https://digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_coversongs.html>

The Cocktail Covers and Remakes

Now to the cocktail covers. The Negroni is in effect a remake of the classic Americano, in which sparkling water is added to sweet vermouth and bitters, in equal portions. As the legend has it, in 1919 the Italian Count Emilio Negroni asked a bartender to strengthen his favourite cocktail, the Americano, by swapping the usual sparkling water for gin. This has led to countless different versions, or covers and remakes, of which Fergus Henderson’s Fergroni is but one variation:

“’When I was younger, I lived in Florence,’ says Henderson, ‘in a vain attempt to learn Italian. After appalling results, I was called home. On my final evening it seemed right to head to my favourite bar (sadly no longer there), and that night the barman seemed to understand and capture my mood in his execution of the Negroni. Something mystical happened, a magic of sorts, and that evening I learnt a little more about what a Negroni should be.’

The recipe, should you require it, runs thus… 50% gin, 30% Punt e Mes and 20% Campari. Combine all the spirits in a glass with ice and stir thoroughly.

Garnish with strips of lemon - strictly no orange.