MY YEAR IN MUSIC 2021

 It seems that every few years i make a Major Musical Discovery – a brilliant and extremely popular artist (in the rest of the world) i'd never heard of before. Recent inclusions in this merry bunch were Dan Fogelberg, Happy Rhodes, Caro Emerald and, most recently, Zaz (the stage name of Isabelle Geffroy), whose voice rips my heart out. And this year ... there wasn't anyone.

I bought a couple of CDs each by artists who were new to me – Patty Griffin and God Is An Astronaut -- and they were both fine but not staggeringly brilliant (although Ms Griffin deserves more attention); the vast majority of albums i bought in 2021 were digital replacements for old vinyl (which i can no longer play) and a few new releases by old favourites.

And what, i hear you ask, were my faves of the new releases?

I have loved Kate Rusby's gorgeous voice ever since i heard her perform with Kathryn Roberts 'way back when. She's primarily a singer of English folk songs but her new album, “Hand Me Down,” is full of covers of pop songs and it's absolutely wonderful. It's a little disconcerting at first, hearing songs by James Taylor, The Bangles, Cyndi Lauper, The Cure etc., sung in her thick Yorkshire accent but she makes it work brilliantly. “Hand Me Down” is my 2021 album of the year.

Of the CDs i bought to replace old vinyl, i picked up a few of Laurie Anderson's early records and they're all great but i think i'll have to give the golden apple to “Mister Heartbreak,” Plus a runner-up apple to Jeff Beck's “Blow By Blow.” Why did i not have this already? Jeff is extraordinary.

In radio stations, there's nothing much new there: favourite station remains Radio Paradise (where i first heard Patty Griffin and God Is An Astronaut) and my pick for Program Of The Year is once again KSHE's Sunday Klassics Show. KSHE, incidentally, now runs another station dedicated to Klassics. I haven't listened much because, unlike the deep cuts on Sunday mornings, these tracks aren't deejay-mixed but determined by some algorithm and who needs that?

Th-th-that's all folks!