Our girl, bless her, is soon to be 12 years old. We have taught her well, with an appreciation of music unlike that of girls her age.
None of that Spotify nonsense, but an appreciation of musicians, albums and artists. As quite the guitar prodigy herself, here's 10 of her current favourite albums.
Steve Vai - 'Passion & Warfare' (1990)
"It's all about the songs. The instrumentals. Steve is my hero. This is like the Alpha and the Omega of music. The styles, the playing, the writing. Everytime I play it I hear something new."
Steve Vai - 'Alien Love Secrets' (1995)
"It's not fancy. Just a small band. Short record too. It has 'Juice' and 'Die To Live' on it which are my two favourite instrumentals of his."
Eric Johnson - 'Ah Via Musicom' (1990)
"I love Eric. He mixes all sorts of styles and sounds. Some songs, some instrumentals. Sings good too."
Frank Zappa - 'One Size, Fits All' (1975)
"It's really complicated music but with these really lovely melodies on top. It has 'Inca Roads' on it too, which is just so much fun."
P!NK - 'M!ssundaztood' (2001)
"The Queen of pop music, to me. Mum has Madonna, I have P!NK if I want to listen to something catchy. The first one I heard."
Pale Waves - 'Who Am I ?' (2021)
"Indie or alternative, I s'pose. This is their 2nd album. Really good."
Rival Sons - 'Feral Roots' (2019)
"My mum, Samantha, played this a lot when Covid was happening. A happy memory of jumping around the house, after schoolwork, to this."
Linkin Park - 'Meteora' (2003)
"Aggressive and beautiful. Great lyrics. Sounds really on point."
Meat Loaf - 'Bat Out Of Hell' (1977)
"I think I was 8 when mum sat me down and said 'I think you're old enough now' and played me the album. Never heard it before. I think it's much more bonkers than Frank Zappa! Never heard anything even close to it."
Queen - 'Queen II' (1974)
"Like before, blame my mum. Heavy and progressive. Brilliant songs."
There you have it. Maybe 'Hope' (pardon the pun!) in the future, after all!
