Paolo Nutini - Jenny Don’t Be Hasty (Atlantic)
3/5
By: Michael Cragg
First things first, my Nan loves Paolo Nutini. Now, this may cause an involuntary spasm for any of the so-called music lovers who think that anyone over the age of thirty has no right to like music. Or, more to the point,that anyone that appeals to someone of this age is surely not worth listening to, their albums being made purely for supermarket shelves. Well, she likes his voice, the melodies and most probably his cherubic face; three qualities that have helped him sell close to 300,000 copies of his debut album, 'These Streets'.
As with any young British singer songwriter these days, Paolo Nutini has immediately been placed in the box marked 'James Blunt Etc.'. Such is Blunt's omnipotence that he has almost become a genre himself, and Nutini - along with the equally fresh faced James Morrison - has clearly been marketed and packaged with this in mind. Live, Nutini's voice has an interesting tone and texture, sounding pained and yearning in equal measure. On record, however, the edges have been smoothed and the gloss sometimes threatens to smother some of the album's better songs.
'Jenny Don't Be Hasty', the second single from 'These Streets', comes hot on heels of top 5 hit, 'Last Request'. Whereas the latter was mannered and measured, 'Jenny Don't Be Hasty' at least attempts to inject some fire into Nutini's belly. Musically it's a fairly upbeat guitar-based number that could pass for any other radio-friendly song taking up the playlists, but it's the voice that saves it from becoming the aural equivalent of wallpaper. Coldplay producer Ken Nelson clearly has a credible CV when it comes to creating well performed, perfectly judged soft rock and this is no different. Lyrically, however, it's an odd mix of generic love loss and teenage sexual frustration (Nutini is still only 19 after all). At one point he claims, "I'll be around again to see these other men that are more adequate in the inch department". Hopefully my Nan hasn't been listening too closely.
Artists in this article: Paolo Nutini
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