You know how it is, you're at a party, the conversation turns to music, someone mentions Bob Dylan, they turn to you and say "What do you think about him going electric?".

Well, avoid the ensuing embarrassing silence with this compact guide to Dylan, featuring his career summed up in a dozen tracks.

Here's a video of the wonderful Rachael Warwick, with clips from gigs in 2005 with me playing keyboards, including a festival in Interlaken, Switzerland and the Americana festival in Newark, UK. I'm also strumming away on a guitar at a radio interview. As it isn't hosted on YouTube or anywhere else public, you'll need to click through to Rachael's website to view the video.

Before recording technology, music came in two forms: written and performance. With the arrival of recorded music, the concept of 'recording artist' arose and the recording itself became the most important form of a piece of music. Mention 'Hey Jude' to someone, for example, and they’ll think of the recording made by The Beatles on that specific day at Abbey Road, not the sheet music or a live performance. The recording is the music. As such, a cover version is a reworking of a recording.

There have been many great cover versions over the years and everybody has their own favourites. Here are some basic principles to stick to when considering songs to do cover versions of:

• Choose wisely. Pick a song that you think sounds like a sketch of the song it could be. Try to think like Jimi Hendrix must have thought when he heard Bob Dylan's original Country strumming version of 'All Along The Watchtower'. Don't cover a song because it's your favourite, or it's a classic recording. You may be trying to recreate the ambience of the studio, a moment in time that can never be reproduced.

• Innovate. Do something different with the song. Don't just learn it and play it note for note. Try female vocals instead of male, a different tempo, rhythm or chord structure. If you have choosen your song wisely this will be easier.

• Live limitations. Don't try a faithful reproduction of a recording unless you have the right band set up. Even then, some tracks may still be out of reach. Bohemian Rhapsody is a great song and a classic recording, but even Queen struggled to play it live

I recorded a demo of this song at my great mate Errol Walsh's home studio years ago. When he sent me the tape there was this version on it that he did with his own, far superior, vocals.

Errol Walsh: Vocals, Guitar
Jack Stow: Piano
Words & Music by Jack Stow

Come Pick Me Up Again (demo) on soundcloud.com

The band was called 'The Blues Connection'. The gig was 1990s somewhere in southern England.

Richard Studholme: Guitar, Vocals
Jack Stow: Keyboards
Andy Pyle: Bass
Steve Thorneycroft: Drums
Words & Music Richard Studholme/Jack Stow/Andy Pyle/Geoff Nicholls

Angry Young Man (live) on soundcloud.com

Jack Stow: Keyboards
Richard Studholme: Guitar
Andy Pyle: Bass
Luce Langridge: Drums
Music by Jack Stow

Tanglefoot Boogie (demo) on soundcloud.com

Here's a demo of my song 'Dead Man Blues'.

Jack Stow: Vocals, Keyboards
Richard Studholme: Guitar, Harmonica
Andy Pyle: Bass
Luce Langridge: Drums
Words & Music Jack Stow

Dead Man Blues (demo) on soundcloud.com

Piano, Vocals, Programming, Words & Music: Jack Stow

Here's a demo of a track I wrote with Errol Walsh several years ago, digitised from a cassette copy I found in the loft. Errol's on guitar & vocals, I was probably making a coffee or something..

Foolish Fire (demo) on soundcloud.com