Paolo Nutini These Streets - Suprise Package!

Back in the days when I worked with The Gingerbread Man at a rather shitty little shampoo wholesalers, I made concerted efforts to get him into all my kind of music. He'd never admit it, but I kind of shaped his musical tastes. During this period we used to go to an awful lot of gigs, and he came into work one morning rather upset because he had two tickets to watch Paolo Nuitini at Manchester's Apollo Theatre but nobody to go with. Being the stubborn little sod that he can be, he'd refused to ask me before that morning in case I berated him for his venture into 'Pop' music. Regardless, he swallowed his pride and asked me, and never being one for missing an opportunity in music, I agreed. The deal was that if I'd drive he'd pays for the tickets. All of a sudden a boring Tuesday had become quite an adventure.

I had obviously heard some of Nutini's singles - at the time Last Request, Rewind, and Jenny Don't Be Hasty were all over the radio stations. I actually quite liked him on first listen - particularly Last Request, which is a lovely, melodic ballad about wanting one last moment with a lost love. By the time I'd heard These Streets, a fantastic, mature autobiography by Nutini, I'd decided that I really liked the sound of this young fella. So, on the quiet, I was quite happy to be going. The gig that night, at The Apollo Theatre in Manchester, was a great gig. I left very impressed indeed - Paolo was a nervous but energetic performer, and his band were superb. I vowed to pick up a copy of the album, which I did the very next day, and found myself, for the first time in a very long time, hooked on a Pop record.

The album, if I'm honest, is one written based on everyday teenage troubles. It is clever because it is presented with such passion and feeling; a believeability that stems from an honesty in the songwriting, and a soulful delivery from this great young singer. Uncut Magazine said "a major talent has hit the ground running"; The Herald claimed these were "tunes that sound like classics." Metro deemed the album "mesmerising," The Sun said it was "assured and timeless," and The Evening Standard declared Paolo Nutini "a gifted songwriter." Million Faces, the album highlight for me, is the song that first demonstrated the potential that Nutini has gone on to show. He is certainly a talented writer with an ear for a cute melody. This is a gorgeous love song. New Shoes is a real feel-good rocker, White Lies an adorable acoustic number with cunning chord changes, and Loving You a fantastic, soulful belter with a Motown feel. Autumn is another lovely, piano-led ballad, and the closing track Alloway Grove a delightful foot-tapper that has become a live favourite for Paolo.

After five days of being rained on non-stop by torrential down pours at the 2007 Glastonbury Festival I was thoroughly depressed. It was a great hour-long set on the Sunday lunch time as the sun finally broke through the clouds by Paolo Nutini that pretty much saved my festival. I was finally in the right frame of mind after that to go on and enjoy the rest of the final day - or, drink copius amounts of cider and go crazy to The Who, which is what really happened. These Streets is a superb debut, and a definite contender for one of the top albums of the noughties.