Paolo Nutini - Sunny Side Up Review [2]
Posted by Paul Schofield on 06.28.2009
Can ‘the Scottish James Blunt’ outgrow his comparisons, or is he just another singer/songwriter clone?
Track Listing:
1. 10/10
2. Coming Up Easy
3. Growing Up Beside You
4. Candy
5. Tricks Of The Trade
6. Pencil Full Of Lead
7. No Other Way
8. High Hopes (album)
9. Chamber Music
10. Simple Things
11. Worried Man
12. Keep Rolling
13. High Hopes (Live)
Before I start (even though I technically have already) I would like to say that I hate James Blunt. Beautiful is annoying and tedious in my eyes, and the amount of praise he got for it was ridiculous. He’s also done bugger all else of note. I also don’t like how any singer/songwriter now is labelled in the same boat as Blunt, like he was the first person of his kind. But this album review is about Paolo Nutini, who I feel gets unfairly compared to Blunt. Fortunately, this album only furthers my belief that Nutini is in a different boat to Blunt and the rest. Nutini is sailing a yacht, while the rest are in a rubber dinghy that’s sprung a leak, while sharks, crocodiles, and one ferocious lion swim around them.
I’ve been lucky enough to see Nutini live too, at Isle Of Wight festival in 2007, where he almost stole the show with a cover of I Wanna Be Like You from Disney’s The Jungle Book.
Couldn’t find the video for it, but hopefully it will show that Nutini has a sense of humour that his comparees seem to be lacking. Could you honestly see Blunt covering that so well?
But anyway, enough about Blunt (for now) and on to Sunny Side Up, Nutini’s latest offering. It begins with 10/10. Look no further as to why Nutini shouldn’t be compared with anyone else. A reggae/ska effort that you could easily imagine an on-form Amy Winehouse singing over, it’s a vibrant way to start the album. Coming Up Easy is a more laid back effort, perfect for those lazy Sunday afternoons (or, if you’re like me, lazy Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays etc.). It kicks up a gear near the end, just to keep you on your toes, and becomes more memorable due to this. A good start then.
Growing Up Beside You is heart-warming, it’s sweet without being sickly, like a well made chocolate fondant. Mmm. Compared to the opening tracks, it doesn’t linger as long in the memory though. Candy, nicely following on from my dessert theme, is a trifle (ha) more sickly, due its final chorus lines, “I’ll kiss your eyes and lay you down on your rug/Just give me some candy after my hug.” It’s a line that doesn’t deserve to be included, as the rest of the song is passable. Much like the second song, it tries to build to something near the end, but it doesn’t quite reach the same heights, although it does its best to erase that line from your brain. Some bright spark at the record company chose to make this the lead single as well. It’s not the worst song you would hear on the radio, but it’s one of the weakest songs on this album. Here it is anyway, seeing as you all love video links.
Tricks Of The Trade is an instant highlight, acoustic and simple, like a late career Johnny Cash. More songs like this would be most welcome. Pencil Full Of Lead actually sounds like the cover of I Wanna Be Like You due to the trumpet-like opening, but it’s a proper song in its own right. It’s like a blues song on acid at points, and it’s really enjoyable to listen to. More songs like this would be welcome too it seems. But alas, a ballad follows in No Other Way. It’s listenable, but it’s just not his forte. James Morrison seems to pull songs like this out his sleeve and make them work, but for Paolo it’s never quite there. He has a strong voice, but for whatever reason it doesn’t fit to this style of song. It works better on High Hopes, but that’s probably due to it being more folk-like rather than ballad-like. Chamber Music is short but gentle, with the emphasis more on the band than the lyrics which is nice, but personally I wanted to hear more about the big trampoline. There aren’t enough songs about trampolines.
Simple Things is lyrically twee, Paolo sings about going to his mum’s for tea and arguing with his sister, but it’s only once the song has a nitro boost towards the end that it improves. The rockabilly style seems to suit Paolo more. Worried Man tries the cinematic western theme of The Last Show Puppets, and succeeds, this time sounding like early career Johnny Cash. You could imagine this playing from the big screen as a weathered sheriff heads towards his showdown at dawn. It’s nice to hear something a bit more ambitious, and it’s something that Paolo should try more of. Keep Rolling could well be what plays over the final credits of the same cowboy film. It’s understated and tranquil, and it would have been a fine way to end the album, but instead there’s a live version of High Hopes thrown on the end. I know no-one buys singles anymore, but things like this belong as B sides. Yes it’s nice to hear a live version, but I’d rather wait til I see him live to hear it. It's needless, and it’s almost a downer to finish the album off.
The 411: As an album goes, it’s a mixed bag. There are some really enjoyable songs on Sunny Side Up, but the lackluster ballads leave it jumping from the second turnbuckle rather than soaring from the top rope (can you tell I’ve done my 411 homework?). It’s a shame, as if the ballads had been cut out and replaced with songs better suited to Paolo’s style, it could have been a really good album as opposed to just a good one, in the same way that the strong songs save it from becoming an average album. I’d still rather listen to Nutini than James Cun… oops, nearly, Blunt.
