500th Post Special: My Top 10 Studio Albums to paint and draw to; a Spotify experience

Access to Spotify has allowed me to relive my 'youth' by streaming music I had on cassette tapes and compact discs. The former has gone the way of the dodo bird while the latter is nearly there if it hasn't already. That some of the artists here don't even make my Top 10 favorite artists list isn't a discrepancy at all. Because for me there is a marked difference between the totality of an artist's body of work and a sole studio album that just works on every level, every song. Even so I do regret not including one particular band as one of my favorite artists; they come in at No.6 in this list.

Before we start here are some ground rules as to what type albums are allowed on this list. First and obvious condition is album tracks should mostly be recorded in a studio. Secondly, each artist is only allowed to appear once in this list. And whilst the occasional cover song is acceptable, the album should comprise mainly of original songs. Finally these albums have been more than the sum of their brilliance in music alone in that each has coincided with a few milestones in my life. So without further ado and in no particular order, here are my Top 10 English Language Studio Albums:


No.1: Oasis - (What's The Story) Morning Glory
(Creation, 1995)

Stuck in a biochemistry research lab late into the wee hours day after day in my final year of uni brings back fond memories only because of one thing. Oasis and their sophomore album (What's The Story) Morning Glory? Liam Gallagher's irreverent vocals coupled with the band's guitar driven wall of sound made for a compelling listen, over and over again. Liam's brother Noel was a songwriter who had a decent set of pipes himself. Putting aside the sibling discord that continues to this day, this album was a musical roller-coaster ride that I still listen to repeatedly till this day.   


No.2: T'Pau - Bridge of Spies
(Siren, 1987)

At a time when pop music was my world, the music of T'Pau perhaps epitomized all that's good of this oft derided music genre. In general, pop albums tend to lose their appeal upon repeated playback as the hooks that make you fall in love with the music quickly will in turn, ironically so, make you tire of the song just as fast. But Bridge of Spies is different in that it's one of the very few pop albums that has sustained my interest even after all these years. Moreover the group's name is inspired by a Vulcan character in Star Trek, my favorite sci-fi universe. What's not to love about that.


No.3: Norah Jones - Come Away With Me
(Blue Note, 2002)

For a calming effect, there is only ever going to be one singer for me ... Norah Jones. My years in the financial sector was easily the most stressful work-wise. Through it all, listening to the bluesy, jazz and folk influenced album of Come Away With Me was a soothing balm to my then shattered soul. Coupled with her mellow voice, Norah Jones has a way with song phrasing that just melts the troubles away. Her debut effort was a joy to behold and it remains a firm favorite in my albums playlist. Most notably she is the only solo artist to have made it to my top ten list.  


No.4: AC/DC - Let There Be Rock
(Atlantic Records, 1977)

To me, every AC/DC album with Bon Scott at lead vocals was a rock masterpiece. Now I'll admit their first album sans the late singer at the helm was their best ever album. But overall I still prefer the band's body of work during the Bon Scott era. And of all the albums ACDC produced with him as the frontman, Let There Be Rock was arguably the best of the lot. Bon Scott's drawl was the voice of Rock music. In my opinion, no other singer can compliment lead guitarist Angus Young's insane riffs so well. Are there better singers? Sure of course. In tandem with ACDC's Blues/Hard Rock, no.    


No.5: Paramore - Brand New Eyes
(Fueled By Ramen, 2009)

As we grow older we tend to cling to the music of our younger days; seemingly unable to embrace new sounds in a big way. Technically this isn't actually music of my youth seeing I was already on the wrong side of my 30s by then. Brand New Eyes made the list seeing that Paramore was the last band I took to in a big way and that was nearly a decade ago. This is an excellent album. In it, Hayley Williams showcases vocals that are full of attitude and emotion while accompanied by a tight band with forceful sounds arising from quickfire beats of her fellow band members' guitars and drums.


No.6: The Beatles - Abbey Road
(Apple, 1969)

The Beatles need no introduction. And trying choosing just one Beatles album for this list was almost impossible. Almost. Abbey Road, the band's penultimate studio release (but their final one recording-wise) remains my favorite Beatles album. For me, what tipped this album above the rest was the 16 minute medley of eight short songs toward the latter half of the album. Incidentally, Abbey Road also has my favorite album cover of all time. Inexplicably and unforgivably, I had left The Beatles out of my Top 10 artists list. Back when I did that list, it had been ages since I had access to their entire discography and had forgotten the genius that is their music. With Spotify that's no longer the case.


No.7: Queen - A Night At The Opera
(EMI; Elektra, 1975)

What can I say about this album that hasn't been said. It has that six minute operatic rock song. You know the one. But more than that the entire album just works as a whole. In the years Queen were together, each band member wrote more than one No.1 single. That talent is out in full force in A Night At The Opera. As Wayne Campbell puts it "I think a little Bohemian Rhapsody, gentlemen."     


No.8: Nevermind - Nirvana
(DCG, 1991)

Admittedly I never gave Nirvana a listen when they burst into the mainstream music scene. It would take a completely unrelated incident (see Special Mention below) to eventually point me towards Seattle Grunge. My enduring memory of this album relates to their first hit single. Back when record stores were still a thing, I used to walk by one on the way to school. And on this shop's window were numerous TVs were linked together to make a huge display to play music videos. One day the shop front was just packed with people. All of them watching Nirvana perform Smells Like Teen Spirit. You know a band is big when it can make people from all walks of life to just stop and listen.


No.9: Guns N' Roses - Use Your Illusion I & II
(Geffen, 1991)

Peer influence got me listening to Gun N' Roses when they debuted with Appetite For Destruction. But if I'm honest I never really truly got into GNR until their third and fourth consecutive studio album releases. Although strictly speaking each is an album in its own right, I've always considered them as an inseparable whole. Studying for my uni entrance exams, not doing that well, and feeling just absolutely fed up - I guess GNR music was an outlet for my teen angst. To each is own.      


No.10: Metallica - Master of Puppets
(Elektra, 1986)

I started listening to Metallica right about the time they were entering mainstream music via The Black Album. This was sometime in the early '90s. But as appealing as Enter Sandman sounded, it wasn't the Metallica music I connected with. That came later as I searched their album backlog and came across Master of Puppets. Machine gun riffs, loud and headbanging music - it all appealed to me as I was slowly transitioning from the world of pop music to something heavier. The special mention album below lit the spark but it was the heavy metal of Metallica that made it burn.


Special Mention: Ugly Kid Joe - America's Least Wanted
(Mercury, 1992)

America's Least Wanted is strange one. It's not a great album; it's not bad either. But in terms of epic personal milestones, this album tops them all. Up until the time I got my hands on it I was still mainly into pop and classical music. Weird as it may sound, this Ugly Kid Joe album was an a-ha moment for me musically in which a door to many other genres be it rock, punk, folk, alternative, metal, jazz, blues, etc. was suddenly opened to me. The story of how I got this album is even more unbelievable. You see, my late dad was on a business trip overseas and happened to pass by a record shop. For some reason he went in and asked the owner what do kids listen to nowadays. Well, he was given an album with a cartoon figure showing the middle finger and he still bought it. The rest is history.         

There are of course many albums which have been undeservedly left out of this personal Top 10 Studio Albums list. Some are included in the photo montage above. How many can you name? If you had patiently read through this post until the end then I thank you profusely for having indulged this old hobbyist his trip down memory lane. The next post will be strictly about model kits. Promise.

400th Post Special: More Music to paint and draw to; My favourite live albums

Music is irrevocably intertwined into my art projects as they play in the background during my lengthy painting sessions. It seems only yesterday that I wrote my 300th post and now I'm already hitting the 400 mark. So bear with me as I do yet another vanity post to mark the occasion. This one's about my favourite live albums. Not many artists can pull off a live performance. Then there are those who can but for some reason or other have never made a good live recording. The following are some of my favourite live acts arranged alphabetically, first the soloists then the bands.

No.1 - Adele, Live at the Royal Albert Hall

Adele is a vocal talent who sounds equally at home live accompanied with either just a guitar or piano or neither or even with the full backing of a band/orchestra. That she can sing live effortlessly was already evident in the expanded version of her debut album '19' which included a live acoustic set recorded at the Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles. The Boston Globe said it best in their review when they wrote ... With the voice of an angel – and the potty mouth of a sailor – she's a force throughout.


No.2 - Diana Krall, Live in Paris

Diana Krall has toured Kuala Lumpur a few times but I never could afford the tickets to her shows. Me and the missus nearly made it to her concert once but then life happened and any excess budget we had was wiped out paying unexpected bills and such. So I settled for her first live album instead. Her vocals here are sublime as are her piano playing, both backed beautifully by her band and an orchestra. The DVD version of this album actually has more song performances in it and that one is worth getting just for her rendition of the classic jazzy blues ballad Cry Me A River alone.


No.3 - Eric Clapton, Crossroads 2 (Live in the Seventies)

Great as they sound, it is unlikely the jamming sessions found in this live album can ever be recreated. If I recall correctly, Eric Clapton himself said something to this effect in his autobiography. A combination of drugs and alcohol meant a lot of the guitar licks were likely played in a stupor and haze. In fact if you listen closely you might even catch Clapton forgetting the words to the lyrics a couple of times. Imperfection begetting a near perfect album for blues rock guitar aficionados.

No.4 - Gary Moore, Blues Alive

If there was only one a musical fantasy I could ever have come true, it would be to play Parisienne Walkways as well as Gary Moore. During the live performance, the sustain he manages on his electric guitar is simply unbelievable. This live album would've easily made my Top 10 on the strength of that song alone. But Blues Alive is more than just one song. It's electric blues at the top of its game.


No.5 - Joe Bonamassa, Live from The Royal Albert Hall

At the tender age of four, he was inspired to pick up a guitar after watching Eric Clapton perform at The Royal Albert Hall. At the age of 12, he opened for the legendary B.B.King. And at the age of 32, blues rock musician Joe Bonamassa recorded his fourth live album at the same venue on which Clapton first inspired him. Bonamassa's live performance in this album would undoubtedly inspire many other youngsters in turn. Oh, and that double drummers act was just wicked.  


No.6 - John Mayer, Where The Light Is (Live in Los Angeles)

In case you haven't already noticed by now, the electric guitar is predominant in my list of favourite live albums. Nothing is cooler musically to me than the solo singer songwriter blues rock guitarist. Before my time were greats like B.B.King, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Hendrix and Robert Johnson. In more modern times, you have Eric Clapton, Gary Moore, Joe Bonamassa and of course John Mayer. While I'm not too much of a fan of Mayer's celebrity shenanigans, I am a fan of his music. His live album Where The Light Is showcases his talent and brings blues rock to the fore in a pop era.  


No.7 - Rory Gallagher, Irish Tour

Yet another Northern Irish guy with a guitar playing blues rock. (If you were wondering, the first was Gary Moore). And unless you are a blues rock fan you'll most likely never even heard of Rory Gallagher. A musician who was at his best only when playing live, Gallagher's mastery of the electric guitar is evident every time he's on stage fretting the guitar. He wasn't as commercially successful as other artists in this list but Irish Tour is to me one of the best blues rock live albums ever made.


No.8 - AC/DC, If You Want Blood

AC/DC live was a different beast entirely, especially during the Bon Scott years. The energy that projects through the speakers is so infectious that you want to strut around your room lip-syncing to the lyrics with a sneer in your face. Of course there is riff-master Angus Young backing up Scott's in-your-face vocals - a match made in rock heaven. AC/DC would eventually have critically-acclaimed commercial success with Back In Black and new front-man Brian Johnson. But for me, their best ever album would be their live effort If You Want Blood (You Got It). Bon Scott was one of a kind.


No.9 - The Allman Brothers, At Fillmore East

Although I'm not strictly an Allman Brothers Band fan, their live album At Fillmore East is a must-have in any blues rock enthusiast's music collection. Some songs on this live show would turn into 20 to 30 minute jam sessions, all of it good.Technically they are a rock band but there are some elements of the blues and jazz incorporated into their music. Rock, blues and jazz ... enough said.


No.10 - Nirvana, Unplugged in New York

Nirvana Unplugged in New York is an emotionally haunting live performance. In retrospect when taking into account the fact Kurt Cobain wanted the set decorated like a funeral and was eventually found dead a year later, the pain and heartbreak that showed in his vocal performance was perhaps all too real. If melancholy made an album then this was it. Ironically this album got me out off some bad moments in my life as if it was osmotically sucking out any depression into its own black hole.


Honorable mentions outside my Top 10 Live Albums

Clockwise from left to right - Johnny Cast (At Folsom Prison), Deep Purple (Made In Japan), Eric Clapton (Unplugged), The Corrs (Unplugged), Iron Maiden (Rock in Rio) and Led Zeppelin (How The West Was Won)

Then there are those just outside my Top 10. They, to name a few, include live performances by Johnny Cash (At Folsom Prison), Deep Purple (Made in Japan), Eric Clapton (Unplugged), The Corrs (Unplugged), Iron Maiden (Rock In Rio) and Led Zeppelin (How The West Was Won). All good albums in their own right. And all part of what constitutes a good painting session. Normal service will resume in the next post with a figurine update on my T-55A project. If you had taken the time to read this post (or even parts of it), I thank you for your patience. See you soon on my 401st post.

300th Post Special: Music to paint & draw to

Do forgive me for this vanity post. I never truly expected to last this long in the blogosphere, so I figured I'm overdue one self-serving piece. Regardless, I hope this post might still do some good by getting you interested in music that on the off chance you may not have heard before. Here then is my Top 10 music to paint/draw to - a list that isn't by all means exhaustive but is a fair representation of the type of music I love - arranged by artist plus two of my favourite songs from each of them.

No.1 - Eric Clapton

Blues has become my undisputed favourite genre/form of music. And Eric Clapton is the main reason why I gravitated towards this genre, either through his original blues rock pieces such as Bell Bottom Blues or from his Robert Johnson covers like Me and the Devil Blues.With the local airwaves devoid of any blues music of note, it took a great album - Eric Clapton Unplugged (1992) - to introduce me to this form of music. Many Clapton albums/songs as above later and I was well and truly hooked.

No.2 - AC/DC

More widely known as a hard rock band, AC/DC is actually also a blues rock band with lots of its music heavily influenced by the blues. While the band's current lead singer Brian Johnson has his moments, I generally prefer AC/DC during their Bon Scott years. His vocals and Angus Young's guitar licks were a match made in heaven. That means my favourite Angus/Bon Scott moments predated the Back in Black album i.e. Highway to Hell and The Jack (the naughty live version).   

No.3 - Elton John

Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be A Long, Long Time) for me, in my humble opinion, is the quintessential song of science fiction. It's the song I would play were I an astronaut out in deep space heading to heaven knows where. And as for Tiny Dancer, it's a song that has come to represent one of my favourite movies of all time - Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous. An interesting trivia - like me, the first time David Grohl (lead singer for Foo Fighters) heard the latter song was in the movie.

No.4 - Paramore

Paramore is the music I play when I just want to flash the middle finger at the world. Yes the band has amazing ballads like The Only Exception but lead singer Hayley Williams puts in a lot of attitude into her other songs e.g. the hugely underrated Playing God which is a great in-your-face song. Frenetic beats tend to pseudo-mask what are essentially very melodic songs and it's that strange hybrid that makes me keep coming back for more and more, and more. 

No.5 - Norah Jones

At the most stressful time of my working life, there was Norah Jones. Her debut album Come Away With Me single-handedly took me through some dark times. Her single also titled Come Away With Me just melted all those stress away and mellowed me out like no song ever did. Together with Diana Krall (another jazz singer who didn't make the list), Norah made jazz more mainstream. Another song I like a lot is What Am I To You? from her even better sophomore album Feels Like Home. 

No.6 - John Mayer

Yet another artist whose work is heavily influenced by the blues. Granted a lot of his early work was pop-rock but then came his third studio album Continuum. It incorporated more blues elements and deservedly won Best Album in the Grammy Awards. For me, Slow Dancing In A Burning Room was the highlight of that album. That doesn't mean I can't appreciate his more commercially driven pop-rock stuff. Music is music and Why Georgia? from his debut album sounds great regardless.

No.7 - Dido

I first heard Dido in an Eminem song featuring a track from her song Thank You. She is one of the very few straight-up pop artists that I follow. Another Dido song that stands out for me is Life For Rent though to be honest it's hard to pick just two out from her entire repertoire.   

No.8 - Adele

In the past decade, no new artists have held my attention for long, except for Adele that is. Her amazing voice punched through my wall of cynicism regarding present day music that seems preoccupied with dances moves and video imagery. For Adele, practically every song is about a simple thing called vocals as it should be. From the live version of her classic Someone Like You to the latest When We Were Young, I am in awe of her ability to sing a story.

No.9 - Abba

What can I say. This was the music of my youth. An the age of four going on five all I ever played on cassette tape was ABBA, ABBA and more ABBA. Oddly enough, 40 years later ABBA's music still sounds great to me. It might be uncool to like ABBA but I don't care. From their breakthrough Waterloo to their most popular song Dancing Queen, ABBA was unquestionably 1970s pop.

No.10 - Foo Fighters

David Grohl must be one of the few singers who can shout out a song and still sound good. Case in point is Best of You and The Pretender from their In Your Honour and Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace albums respectively. Something good did come out of the ashes of Nirvana.

Other great music that didn't make the list
It's impossible to chose a Top Ten. There are so much great music which didn't make it ... where do I even begin: Star Wars Original Trilogy Musical Score (John Williams), Get Back (Beatles), Stay (Sugarland), Man of Constant Sorrow (Alison Krauss & Union Station), Sweet Virginia (Rolling Stone), Muddy Water (Free), Waiting for the Bus (ZZ Top), I Loved Another Woman (Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac), Don't Stop Me Now (Queen), Roll With It (Oasis), Night Moves (Bob Seger), At Last (Etta James), I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor), Battery (Metallica), Come As You Are (Nirvana), Little Wing (Jimi Hendrix), Still Got The Blues For You (Gary Moore) ... and the list goes on and on.

Well, enough of  the music I paint and draw to. Normal service resumes in the next post with new updates on my Bandai 1/144 Millennium Falcon project. Until then, stay safe and be happy.

Le Petit Chaperon [WIP - Hair, eyes, lips and corset]

Taking it slow just about sums up my approach to painting Le Petit Chaperon. I have lost count of the actual hours put into the 80-mm Nocturna Models resin miniature but if I had to guess, I believe at least 60 hours have been spent working on Le Petit so far. Latest work done on her includes giving her blonde hair, green eyes, pinkish lips and a blue corset. At first glance she seems to be in the colours of the French flag ... she is, and there is a reason why I chose to give her a French theme.  

Nocturna Models Le Petit Chaperon, work-in-progress

In its original telling, Little Red Riding Hood is a gruesome tale where both granny and her sweet grandchild end up in the tummy of the big bad wolf. It is in France that the earliest printed version of this fairly tale is known to exist. Back in the 17th century, this tale was known as Le Petit Chaperon Rogue. So as an acknowledgement of her origins, I decided to drape her in the colours of France.

Painted in the colours of France as befitting Le Petit Chaperon's fairy tale origin

As I see it, blonde hair was the best option to go with in view of the red, white and blue clothing Le Petit Chaperon was wearing. Historically, Red Riding Hood has been portrayed in black, auburn and blonde locks so it was just a matter of choosing one I felt best suited to the colour scheme at hand. 

Le Petit Chaperon seems to be staring wistfully into the distance

For a miniature this large - Le Petit Chaperon is roughly 9 cm in height from head to toe - her eyes were large enough to work on without having to use any form of magnification. Although I am sure it would have helped me paint better eyes if I had used a magnifying lamp, I decided to do without. Moreover, her fairly large sized eyes meant I could attempt to paint eyes as how they would look in a traditional 2D painting. Normally miniatures are too small for such an attempt. 

One way to paint eyes on larger scale miniatures e.g. 80-mm

Having blonde hair and fair skin meant her eyes should also be of a lighter shade. Four colours came to mind namely blue, green, grey and hazel. In the end, green was chosen purely because I always had a soft spot for green eyes. It also meant I got to introduce a new colour to the existing scheme.   

Spaces between the joints should be covered up by the cloak which will be added later on

Addition of the cloak should also hide all the imperfections on her back

Vive la France!

Painting Le Petit in the colours of the French flag also put me in the mood for some French music to paint by. Admittedly (and shamefully ignorant I might add) I didn't know of any French singers until roughly 15 years ago when I heard a tune being belted out from an old gramophone in the movie Saving Private Ryan. Later on, I found out that the tune was Tu Es Partout by Edith Piaf. Being an old soul when it comes to music, I loved that tune instantly. It led me to arguably her most famous song La Vie en Rose which in my humble opinion is the most romantic song I have ever heard.

Édith Piaf, a great French singer of old

So it was under the music of old France that my latest progress on the Nocturna Models Le Petit Chaperon was made ... interspersed with some Foo Fighters and my current favourite album i.e. Guardians of Galaxy Awesome Mix Volume One ... good music is good music regardless of the time period involved. Thanks for following my updates on Red Riding Hood so far. She is close to completion now so I might need to take a step back and paint some other miniature for awhile. I find that this helps me spot mistakes I would have otherwise missed if I had continued on without a break. Speaking of breaks, the weekend is upon us yet again so have a good one doing something you love!  

Knight Models Spider-Man [WIP - Basecoating Spidey]

It was supposed to be a fairly straightforward exercise. After all, how hard could it be to basecoat a miniature. But things never come easy to me and so it proved with the Knight Models Spider-Man.

Knight Models Spider-Man, work-in-progress (basecoat, lower mid-tones)

Firstly, I wanted to recreate a particular look or comic book version of Spider-Man which caught my fancy. This meant I needed to find the exact shade of reds and blues that would allow me to recreate the version in question. After experimenting a fair bit with (almost) all the reds and blues in my collection, I finally settled on Citadel Mechrite Red and Vallejo Model Dark Prussian Blue as the starting point, both of which forms a sort of lower mid-tone (close to the final shadows) basecoat. 

Looking for the right shades of blue and red for Spider-Man

One of the many comic book versions of Spider-Man which I particularly like

Secondly, I haven't got the vaguest idea of how to firmly (but temporarily) anchor Spidey so that I can paint him without having to touch the miniature with my bare hands. So for now, I am painting as fast as I can to minimise the transfer of any oil in my hand on to the miniature itself. Only time will tell whether this is will be a problem as I start painting additional layers e.g. shadows and highlights. 

Old school spider symbol on Peter Parker's back

The more I work with the Knight Models Spider-Man the more I appreciate how dynamic the sculpting is

White Spidey eyes are screaming out for some shading

Still trying to figure out how to paint the web linings on Spidey's costume

Staying on the subject of superheroes, I managed to catch the latest Marvel movie recently and really loved it. [Minor spoiler alerts ahead] For me, Guardians of the Galaxy easily ranks as one of the best if not the best Marvel movie ever made. Chris Pratt was excellent as Peter Quill aka Star Lord. He reminds me of Han Solo for some reason. The rest of the cast were also great as there was a real chemistry between them. But the movie's appeal is also due in large part to the superb song selection that was incorporated into the movie so much so that the songs became part of the plot/story itself.

Guardians of Galaxy's Awesome Mix Volume One is a compilation of great music

Comprising songs from the 1970s and late 1960s, the Awesome Mix Vol. 1 had many of the songs that I listened to and enjoyed when I was very young. But after the movie, I can never look at some of them in the same way again, especially the song O-o-h Child by Five Stairsteps which gives a whole feel to the final boss fight ... err dance off. Another song, among the many others that I now see in a new light is the one that plays in first scene i.e. Come and Get Your Love by Redbone, brilliantly acted out by Chris Pratt. A lot of the songs were guitar driven which suited me just fine. Now if you will excuse me, I need to put my headphones on and listen to the awesome mix yet again. Cheers!