Various Artists: Lou Adler – A Musical History

Jane Birkin: Mes Images Privées de Serge / Françoise Hardy: Message Personnel

Tyrannosaurus Rex: A Beard of Stars/T.Rex: T.Rex, Tanx/Marc Bolan & T. Rex: Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow

It’s a brave comic who steps into the spandex zucchini-stuffed loon pants of Spinal Tap. The – if you will – rockumentary will never be done better. But it is 30 years since Marty DiBergi went in search of the sights, the sounds, the smells of a hard-working rock band on the road. So the time is no doubt right for another set of industry jokes to be put into circulation. For the three parts of The Life of Rock, Peter Gabriel and Brian Eno should probably have their lawyers on speed dial.

Dory Langdon: My Heart is a Hunter

Various Artists: Love, Poetry and Revolution

Despite his nickname and habit of doing a bunk, George “Shadow” Morton was one of America’s highest-profile and most distinctive producers and songwriters. He was responsible for shaping the sound and style of The Shangri-Las, Janis Ian, Vanilla Fudge and The New York Dolls. Until the release of Sophisticated Boom Boom!! – The Shadow Morton Story, the musical side of his story had not been told. A consummate collection, this significant release was pulled off with style. The packaging was superb, as was the annotation. Its music was amazing too.

Since it’s Christmas time and everyone’s in office party mode, here’s the pub chat verdict on The Conjuring: “It’s that bloke who did Saw, starts off a bit naff, then gets quite scary for a bit, but blows it in the end. You getting them in? Mine’s a pint of Cobra. What? No, they always boil all the alcohol out of mulled wine in pubs, but I’ll have a port, if you’re buying. Yeah, there are a couple of bits that make you jump, like when this zombie-witch thing leaps off a wardrobe but it’s not as scary as the trailer made it look. Cheers!

“A cold coming we had of it,” grumble the three kings in T S Eliot’s poem “The Journey of the Magi” later set by Britten as his Canticle IV. “Just the worst time of year for a journey,” they complain, carried onwards by the ungulate bass notes of the piano. Barely 48 hours after having stepped foot on the harsh, wintry Russian soil my two travelling companions (Ian Bostridge and Peter Coleman-Wright) and I lined up on the stage of the Small Hall of the Moscow Conservatory and delivered Britten’s five Canticles, weary eyed and journey worn.

Various Artists: German Measles Vol 1 – Flames of Love / German Measles Vol 2 – Sun Came Out at Seven