Paolo Nutini

Obviously, my next podcast is still delayed ... and I haven't been posting much otherwise, either. I haven't had a whole lot of time to myself lately, at least the time that I need to "get into" doing a podcast. I'll have some time off before the end of this month, so you can expect a podcast by then. But for now....


PAOLO NUTINI
"SUNNY SIDE UP"
(Atlantic, 2009)

Three years ago he enchanted us all with his first single, the irresistible shuffle of "New Shoes", and his debut album, "These Streets", a refreshing blend of Jason Mraz pop and James Taylor folk. Now, with his sophomore album, it sounds kind-of like Jim Croce has filled in for James Taylor, and that all three have recently come back from a vacation in the West Indies, what with the noticeable calypso and reggae overtones that appear throughout. (And the red-green-gold color scheme of the cover art does nothing to dispel that influence, either.)

It's probably Nutini's delivery more than anything else that gives the songs a Caribbean feel, truth be told. In terms of musical styles, Nutini draws on everything from jazzy-soul ("Coming Up Easy") to blues ("No Other Way"), the moods reach all the way from an old-fashioned Dixieland/ragtime stomp ("Pencil Full of Lead") to subdued, acoustic Croce-esque tunes ("Chamber Music") to a radio-ready pop tune ala his debut album ("Candy"), and pulls from his own Scottish heritage ("Worried Man"), ironically more than he seemed to on his debut album.

It had been so long since Nutini's debut that I had started wondering lately if it was just too good an album for the public to embrace, and if Atlantic Records had sent him packing, but fortunately it turns out that the major label has, for once, given an only marginally successful artist a second chance. I for one think it was well worth their patience; let's hope the listeners think so too.

High Hopes (album) - Paolo Nutini