The song is Scottish (a cover of Gerry Rafferty’s 1977 hit); the groove is Jamaican (a gentle reggae skank); the percussion is Latin (timbales and conga); and the guitar-playing is classic rock by way of Chicago blues. The singer – and, of course, the guitarist – is Bonnie Raitt, who has been turning rootsy sounds into smart, moving and unflashy pop rock for decades. Like the rest of Raitt’s catalog, this tune from her forthcoming Slipstream LP is understated, almost to a fault. But Raitt’s vocal hits just the right note of rueful worldly wisdom – and on her guitar solo, she shreds.

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“All Along the Watchtower”

Jimi Hendrix got hold of Bob Dylan's early John Wesley Harding tapes and in late 1967 recorded a version of "All Along the Watchtower" with the Experience in London. Dissatisfied with that first development, Hendrix brought those tapes with him to New York in early 1968 when he began work on Electric Ladyland. Eddie Kramer, Hendrix's engineer at the time, told Rolling Stone that Hendrix "was still looked upon by his basically white audience as the mammoth black guitar hero. There was a constant fight within him to expand himself." Hendrix's successful take on Dylan's work has long been recognized by the songwriter. "I liked Jimi Hendrix's record of this and ever since he died I've been doing it that way," Dylan wrote in the liner notes to his Biograph box set. "Strange how when I sing it, I always feel it's a tribute to him in some kind of way."