Paolo Nutini - Best thing out of Scotland since kilts
I've been hearing women talk about James Blunt, but I think Paolo Nutini puts James Blunt to shame.
Paolo Nutini is from Paisley, Scotland. He was signed by Atlantic at 18 years of age because of his incredible voice. He's 20 now and "These Streets" is his debut album.
I caught the tail end of him on Last Call with Carson Daly tonight. He has the most incredible voice; the pure sex of Barry White with the pain of Billy Holiday.
At the very least, you need to get the song, "Last Request" for a romantic slow dance with your partner. It has to be the best make-up-/break-up you-know-what song I've heard in a long time. (Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more!)
The entire album consists of ballads. I like all the songs on the album and I rarely do like an entire album, much less ballads.
You can listen to his album on iTunes or at his website, PaoloNutini.com
And I agree, his stage presence is different. He reminds me of jazz musicians I've seen, how he hangs onto the microphone for dear life. They move with the music in different ways.
One of my favorite jazz pianists in Kansas City, Joe Cartwright, screws up his face a lot when he plays. At first it was off-putting, but then I really came to find it charming - he felt the music throughout his body as he played.
Maybe it is the same with Paolo, or maybe he is just very shy and hasn't come into his own mature stage presence. He's very young, so it will be interesting to see how he develops as a musician. Based on an interview with NPR, I don't think it is due to drugs or alcohol.
All the same, that incredible voice makes me give him Hell's own amount of credit. He can do with it as he will.
He did the Hogmanay show last year on TV and was supposedly quite drunk, didn't sound so great as I recall! However I listened to the CD later and liked it a lot. His song about the Scottish tabloids (it's new and not recorded yet as far as I know) is fantastic.
In Scotland, there is no such thing as bad weather - only the wrong clothes. - Billy Connolly
[B][COLOR="Red"][SIZE="1"]Reverend Earl Trefor the Sublunary of Kesslington under Ox, Venerable Lord Trefor the Unhyphenated of Much Bottom, Sir Trefor the Corpulent of Leighton in the Bucket, Viscount Mcclef the Portable of Kirkby Overblow.
Cymru, Yr Alban, Iwerddon, Cernyw, Ynys Manau a Lydaw am byth! Yng Nghiltiau Ynghyd!
(Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Cornwall, Isle of Man and Brittany forever - united in the Kilts!)[/SIZE][/COLOR][/B]
It's okay, McClef and Emolas. People either love or hate singers with distinctive voices.
I was thinking about this last night. It takes Style + Emotion + Texture to make a great distinctive voice.
For example, Macy Gray has great texture that gives her a distinctive voice, but not much emotion. She has a cold voice because she lacks the ability to communicate emotion in her singing. I enjoy her, but I don't think she is a great singer.
I love Billy Holiday, but some people just don't get her. I think those people can't hear the pain and suffering of her life in her voice. It is her ability to convey emotion with that textural voice of hers that makes her great.
Even when "Lady in Satin" came out and her voice was technically gone, the emotion seeps through the recording and envelopes the listener. That was why people responded to her songs. When others sing, "I'm a Fool to Want You", it just doesn't resonate.
Ray Ellis, the conductor for the album, said, "I would say that the most emotional moment was her listening to the playback of "I'm a Fool to Want You". There were tears in her eyes...
"After we finished the album I went into the control room and listened to all the takes. I must admit I was unhappy with her performance, but I was just listening musically instead of emotionally. It wasn't until I heard the final mix a few weeks later that I realized how great her performance really was." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_in_Satin (emphasis mine).
On the other hand, I am tepid about Ella Fitzgerald, while others rave about her. I think she is all style, without warmth or emotion. She is a technical singer and great in her own right, but I just don't respond to her. She has a cold voice, to me.
Tony Bennett's voice has seen better times, but he is still a great singer who resonates with his audience because he communicates emotion so aptly to his audience. He has a warm voice.
It's the same in other musical genres.
The great opera singers convey emotion with style, while other singers are competent singers, but can't communicate the emotion of the aria, which, to me, is entire purpose of opera - to communicate the human condition in song.
For example, any woman can sing the aria from Madama Butterfly, where she kills herself to allow her son to have a better life without looking back. She may be technically a great singer, but unless she communicates the love for her child and her breaking heart with her voice, what is the point? Without emotion, it just becomes a song that falls flat.
That was why Luciano Pavarotti was a better opera singer than Placido Domingo, although both were equal in style. When Pavarotti sang an aria, you could feel the emotion of the piece. He was great at communicating to the audience on a regular basis. He had a warm voice that surpassed style alone.
Of course, mere emotion without style doesn't work, either. Kurt Cobain had great emotional communication, but his voice wasn't distinctive or stylish enough. He was a great songwriter, but not as great a singer.
It is emotion conveyed by the human voice, paired with his distinctive, textural style that I like in Nutini. I don't think that he is consistent in communicating emotion yet, but he is young.
It is impressive that the songs he writes are as good as they are, given his age. I'm looking forward to seeing how he develops as a singer, as well as a songwriter. I think he could be a consistently great singer but only time will tell.
It's okay if everyone doesn't like him. I respect that others like singers that I don't like. It is all our differences that make the world an interesting place in which to live.
Last edited by AtagahiKC; 4th October 07 at 10:57 AM.
However I listened to the CD later and liked it a lot. His song about the Scottish tabloids (it's new and not recorded yet as far as I know) is fantastic.
Originally Posted by McClef
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