Having reviewed Jamie's most popular album "Twenty something" I wanted to complete the set and review his first, lesser known album - "Pointless nostalgic." This way it gives an opinion from the same person on two works that are a little different too each other. Pointless Nostalgic is a little less relaxed than on twenty something. It seems that Jamie isn't entirely comfortable with his own style at this point and prefers to cover songs a little closer to the original rather than the great changes he makes to some of the covers on his later album.
1. You And The Night And The Music The album starts with an energetic rendition of this song. It does show quite a relaxed start to Jamie's approach to the covers but as mentioned above, this changes a little throughout the album. This song highlights the change in style that was made in between his two albums with this album providing a more swing jazz approach than twenty something.
2. I Can't Get Started This next song brings the mood down a fair bit. Starting with the lyrics "I'm the glum one..." It doesn't exactly leave you feeling on top of the world. Despite this it does bring a nice change from the first song and representing that he can do both styles of jazz and that the change to a ballad from energetic opener is easily accomplished.
3. Devil May Care The mood is instantly brought back up with the introduction of this song. The bouncy vocals and backing give the song a fantastic, foot tapping feel which can't help bring a smile
to your face. This song shows what Jamie Cullum is really capable of and a great saxophone solo which features throughout over half the song.
4. You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You A nice instrumental introduction leaves the listener guessing what the song is. Jamie's well known vocal melody is provided and a lovely little drum introduction bring you into the song. Again a 'foot tapper' and one that you cant help singing along too, as is the case with most the songs from the album. A nice piano solo to break up the song. Try not to sing along to this one on the third or fourth listen…..I dare you!
5. Pointless Nostalgic The title track of the album is no disappointment and again brings the tempo and the mood down a little. It is nice to have a change in songs throughout the album, this mean it doesn't get repetitive or boring and that the changes in style create a bigger impact when they appear. Anyway, back to the song… a slow song which is nice to relax to and give your foot a little rest from the previous songs. Good lyrics and a nice introduction to the writing skills of Jamie and his brother.
6. In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning Again another original which shows off the talent of the writing, but leaves you wandering why more originals aren't feature on his album. This is a very slow track, one of the slowest moving on the album but again does not seem out of place. It provides a view of missing a loved one, especially in the early morning, but in Scotland as the title seems to imply! Almost depressing which I wouldn't think would feature in a Jamie Cullum review but never fear because more uplifting track are soon to follow!
7. Well You Needn't A nice reminder of the energy featured on the Cullum albums appears in this song. Although it is nice to have varied styles throughout the album it is lovely to get back to the energetic, high tempo tracks. With fantastic vocals which leaves both the listener and Jamie gasping for breath, in parts! Again a nice piano, but mostly saxophone solo featured and the lyrics that do appear are simple yet effective.
8. It Ain't Necessarily So A great song about the liability of the bible and some of its maybe far fetched ideas but with a lovely twist. The lyrics are fantastic with an easy going backing to accompany them. Another piano solo is featured within the song. The song closes with lovely vocal melody lines which feature heavily within Jamie's songs but are completely original.
9. High And Dry When you ask what a Jazz start may cover I imagine your first guess wouldn't be a Radiohead song. Despite this Jamie manages to pull it off to great effect and you have to remind yourself that it is in fact a cover. The song is featured in many of his live sets due to its growing popularity and after listening it is clear why. The high notes seem simple when listening and does the original great justice.
10. Too Close For Comfort A fantastic swing jazz anthem, with great brass accompaniment which really adds to the depth of the song. Again the song leaves you humming along and maybe even a few finger clicks may be thrown in for good measure! You guessed it; another saxophone solo is featured in this. I didn't realize how many there were until writing this but they are far from repetitive or boring. The lyrics are simple and instantly recognizable. A fantastic ending with a great climax to end finish off this great song.
11. A Time For Love Uh-oh, another soppy one on the way! This song is another great change to the previous tracks. A fantastic ballad with lovely, simply piano to accompany the great lyrics. Quite repetitive at times but more of a song to play quietly in the background than listen to with great attention. A nice vocal show and the saxophone works especially well in accompaniment.
12. Lookin' Good A lovely song with lyrics referring to how much you can get away with whilst looking good. A rare feature of a double bass solo which could easily be featured more throughout the album. Not too slow but not too energetic whilst keeping the originality of featuring a few seconds of terrible instruments to emphasize what you can get away with. Things like this give Jamie the originality which has made him who is today and continues to grow in popularity.
13. I Want To Be A Popstar Probably one of my favourite tracks from the album. It combines all the great things about this man, originality, cheeky lyrics and great vocal melodies. The song refers to the difficulty of making it as a jazz star compared to the pop artists. This meaning seems a little ironic with the position that Jamie finds himself in today. Lines such as "maybe next year I'll pretend to be gay, ill sell some more records in a flash that way!" and "makes no difference if I look like a nut, every kid in the world is gonna copy my hair cut!" makes this song what it is and gets the point across brilliantly. A fantastic close to the album that has always been underrated and is often unknown to many people who enjoyed his second album so much.
As is clear this album is a little different to the second album but without doubt is worth getting hold of a copy. There is a fantastic variety throughout and it is good to see the differences between the two albums and how Jamie has got where he is today.
The album can be bought for £13.99 from HMV but if you look around you will probably find it cheaper. The Jamie Cullum website is defiantly worth having a look at and if you sign up to the member's area and there are many extras that make it worthwhile. I would recommend seeing Jamie live and his energy is really at the peak during the performance. A great all round artist.
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Another great Jamie Cullum review by yourself! I still don't know if I want to buy him though! It's really annoying, because I know how talented he is! But, I just feel I'll get bored of listening to him! I just don't know! You must like him though! Good review! Keep smiling, Alastair :o)
KarenUK 30.05.2005 20:17
You may wish to correct the spelling mistake / typo in the title ;-)
jacpuss 30.05.2005 19:20
i kind of like Jamie, he produces nice easy listening, the kind i like to chill out too.Having read your review i may just to out and get this.thanks......jacpuss
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