Paolo Nutini has quietly become a commercial A-lister. His second album, Sunny Side Up, made the Paisley singer-songwriter the bestselling British male artist of last year; his ability to put bums on seats is demonstrated by the remarkable speed with which these two Royal Albert Hall shows sold out.
Sunny Side Up saw Nutini jettison the James Blunt- and James Morrison-style anaemic soul of his debut album, These Streets, in favour of a more maverick concoction of folk, blues and, primarily, Celtic soul. This variety can give his live show a scattergun effect, not least when he opens his set with the horribly jaunty cod-reggae of recent single 10/10.
Flanked by brass and string sections, Nutini is a slight, boyish figure who can lack the gravitas that he strains to impart through his music. Yet he possesses a fantastically raw and powerful larynx, imbuing the gritty blues of Loving You with the gravelly heft of his hero, John Martyn.
Nutini's looks can prevent him being taken seriously by blues aficionados – teenage girls' screams ring out between songs – and his remedy is to throw himself into his rhythms with relentless earnestness, whether the Van Morrison-like blue-eyed soul of Coming Up Easy or the burlesque swing-pop of Pencil Full of Lead.
The show's pathologically eclectic nature is encapsulated in the encores, including a big-band treatment of Nat King Cole's jazz standard Nature Boy and a spirited assault on Dr John's mutant-blues anthem Such a Night. Nutini speaks many musical languages fluently, but will only become a true creative force when he finds his own.
