THESE STREETS - PAOLO NUTINI
He has the name of a great opera singer and the looks of a movie star, but it’s his voice that hits you first, a raw and elegant yearning much too deep-rooted for a 19-year-old singer/songwriter. Channeling Al Green, U.K. sensation Nutini sings classic soul-tinged pop songs in a thick Northern accent. On the bouncy standout “Jenny Don’t Be Hasty,” the Scotsman falls in love with an older woman, hoping to belie his age with husky vocals and vintage guitar hooks (”You said you’d marry me/If I was 23″). Elsewhere on this remarkable debut, his vocal bursts conjure Prince circa “Purple Rain” (”Loving You”), dying to move beyond cushy adult-pop. Heartfelt ballads like “Last Request” or “Rewind” will invite comparisons to James Blunt, but Nutini’s falsetto flights are more soulful and dynamic, less Starbucks-ready, though definitely latte-friendly. Billboard
