Paolo Nutini

“Autumn“
from the album These Streets
2006 (2007 U.S.)
iTunes

Much to my surprise, Paolo Nutini has not previously appeared on this blog.

I had logged on tonight with the intent of posting his cover of Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab,” only to discover no previous posts in my archive. I could’ve sworn otherwise. Looking in my blog images folder, the creation date of the album art file seen above was…. September 16, 2006! That was just a couple of months after Nutini’s debut These Streets dropped in the U.K. I had thought the blog posting came a few months later (after the album saw a January ’07 release in the U.S.), but apparently not.

With high temperatures in the mid-80s this weekend, it certainly doesn’t feel like October right now. But knowing Wisconsin weather, it may be snowing by my birthday on Thursday. So, if I’m going to be a numbskull and post about Paolo Nutini a year too late, it might as well be his “Autumn” that gets the nod. Besides, by now you’ve probably already heard “New Shoes” or “Jenny Don’t Be Hasty” or “Last Request.”

While those hits rock, it is “Autumn” that demonstrates how the then-19-year-old Scotsman needs little more than his voice to enthrall a listener. Despite being so young, These Streets is a surprisingly mature debut, one that assures we should expect great things from Paolo Nutini in the future. And I promise not to be so forgetful then.