This week, I’m taking myself back to one of the first albums to make me fall in love with music, from probably my first ever “favourite” musician. I’m heading back to 2009, when I was just a 7 year old boy, with Paisley-born singer-songwriter Paolo Nutini’s second album – Sunny Side Up.
Following his monumental 2006 debut, These Streets, which rocketed the young Scot to the forefront of indie/pop music, Nutini seemed keen to move away from the crooner labels and James Blunt/James Morrison comparisons he’d been branded with thanks to his earliest output. There’s no doubt that with Sunny Side Up, those were certainly quelled, and Nutini successfully began to forge a different path for himself; the record has grit, edge, and a more distinctive blending of folk, soul and swing inspirations.
To me, there is a much greater diversity in sound throughout Sunny Side Up. Some songs are plainly just beautiful (Candy, No Other Way), whilst others possess an almost corny joviality (Pencil Full Of Lead, of course). Elsewhere, there is an unfiltered folk essence (Chamber Music) and at times injections with a dose of funk and soul (10/10, Coming Up Easy).
Perhaps it’s not surprising that Nutini was able to explore a few more dimensions with his sound, when you take a look through some of the musicians recruited to support with the record. Legendary drummer Questlove and pianist James Poyser (of The Roots, Soulquarians) are featured on the album’s opener, 10/10, as well as ska and reggae trombonist Rico Rodriguez (the Members, the Specials). Producer and multi-instrumentalist Ethan Johns was heavily involved in the recording and production of the album; having previously produced for/played with the likes of Kings of Leon, Razorlight and Ryan Adams; he would go on to win a BRIT award for the Best British Producer in 2012.
A testament to Nutini’s immense popularity and subsequent anticipation surrounding his second release, and the positive reception of the album itself, the record debuted straight to number one in the UK Album Charts. It won two best album awards in 2010 – at the Ivor Novellos and Meteor Awards, and was nominated for the Mastercard British Album of the Year at the BRITS.
For me, though, this is one of those albums which just means so much more than its critical reception, which musicians featured where, and the awards and honours it received. Sunny Side Up was released when i was 7 years old (I’ll admit that I wasn’t a keen follower of the Ivor Novello Awards at 7, and I didn’t know who the Soulquarians were) and it was the first album I owned as a CD (not too long before the streaming revolution). Pencil Full of Lead was my first ever ‘favourite song’; a younger version of me would listen to it on repeat. It’s a record with such a deep, personal meaning to me, and one which really reminds me how important and subjective music can be.
Everyone has their own albums which hold a special place, and everyone has records they will hold close for their entire lives, for whatever reason.
Whether it reminds you of childhood, a particular holiday, or a particular person, some albums just stick with you. Nobody else’s opinion will ever change that for you. That’s what Sunny Side Up is to me.
Waxing Lyrical 