Okay, end of year and nothing planned between now and January, so it’s time for a bit of reflection.  Let’s start with music which, I’m sure you have gathered, is like food and drink to me.

Best concerts?  Well, of course, Mayra Andrade at Ronnie Scott’s would win the top five places in my top five list, but that’s a bit unfair on the others.  Seeing one of the world’s great new stars in such an intimate setting and with such a fabulous band was a highlight of this or any year.  Along with Paul Simon’s “Born at the Right Time” tour  at the SECC in 1991 – a very different proposition – it’s definitely an all time favourite.

So if I am giving other places out, second goes to Ane Brun at King Tut’s, one of my discoveries of the year.  A fantastic night of gorgeous songs and transcendent sounds, it was gob-smacking in its emotional power.  Third is Love and Money at the Queen’s Hall, purely for nostalgic reasons.  Impeccable funk and charisma personified from James Grant, it was a wonderful reminder of a band I constantly return to on the CD player.  Fourth – Yasmin Levy at the GRCH in January: a  fantastic voice, beautiful Sephardic songs and a warmth of spirit that was captivating.

So many others: Lau’s set at the O2 ABC in January; Grethcen Parlato’s cool at the Tron; Imelda May’s raucous sexiness at the O2 Academy. But fifth spot in the top five goes to Catfish Keith at The Ferry in October.  A brilliant, brilliant guitarist, a growling voice and a genuinely nice guy; a perfect  blues night.

As for the albums that I’ve been playing a lot, I’ve been part of the so-called “vinyl revival” that never really went away.   On a good deck LPs still sound as good as any digital source, and on top of that, there’s the aesthetic of watching a record spin.  I’ve always felt turntables are as much musical instruments as anything else.  Mine, a thirty year old Alphason Sonata with MC-100s pure copper rewired tonearm, Atlas power supply, Dynavector Karat cartridge and Trichord Dino and Dino+ headamp,  is my pride and joy.

So what’s been spinning? Ane Brun’s “It All Starts With One” has been almost worn out.  “Undertow” fills the room, the flat, the whole fucking building with its huge sound (really, it does – ask my neighbours), and the last three “bonus” tracks – “One Last Try”, “Du gråter så store tåra”, “I Would Hurt a Fly” – are astonishing.  Album of the year for me…

Except I love Paul Simon’s “So Beautiful or So What”.  Simon’s inventiveness at 70 is incredible.  He’s always reinvented himself, done something new, refused to trade on past glories.  His latest is a huge return to form (I wasn’t too impressed with “Surprise” or “You’re The One” when compared with his legendary albums like “Graceland” or “Still Crazy…”) and is outstandingly produced.  His voice sounds just as gorgeous as it did when he was twenty.  Incredible.

Bought late in 2010 but worked hard this year was James McMurtry’s “Live in Europe”, an artist who may well be, after Simon, the greatest living US songwriter.  Recorded on the tour I saw him on, it contains some classic protest songs of blue collar America, including “Hurricane Party”.  It also contains one of the saddest, angriest, most beautiful love stories ever recorded: “Ruby and Carlos”.  If it doesn’t make you weep, you’re a robot.

Sevara Nazarkhan’s “Tortadur” is only available digitally, unfortunately, but it’s beautiful.  Her 2007 album “Sen” was phenomenal in it’s cool, Uzbek take on trip-hop – I heartily recommend the cool, cool, cool live recording of “Erkalab” on You Tube – and she then diverted into cheesy pop for a while.  “Tortadur” is a return to Uzbek folk roots, and its slow-burning gorgeousness is fantastic.  I’m hoping for a tour on the back of the album, though it’ll probably mean a trip to London.  Damn…

The Civil Wars “Barton Hollow” made a big impression too. Grounded in folk rock of the Sixties and a traditional bluegrass aesthetic, the duo of Joy Williams and John Paul White produce some of the most convincing harmonies since Simon and Garfunkel.  It may be gentle music – perhaps even at times twee – but it’s never less than utterly listenable because of the perfection of its pitch.

Other ear-grabbers included Vintage Trouble’s “The Bomb Shelter Sessions”, the seriously deranged My Brightest Diamond’s “All Things Will Unwind” and, a personal favourite and a lovely discovery from Poland, Mikromusic’s “Sova”.

I’ve missed out so much, but next year starts in just a fortnight.  Six gigs booked in January – methinks I’ll be busy!