Sparkling energy and sheer talent

Blues, soul, R&B, pop, gentle acoustics, raucous rip-roaring rock numbers, reggae — and whatever you’re having yourself.

You wonder when Paolo Nutini will make his mind up.

Then, again, you’re glad he hasn’t, as his fans get to enjoy the ride, absorbing shades of Bob Marley and David Bowie while taking in Otis Redding and Marvin Gaye on the way.

He writes sad songs, carefree numbers and political manifestos and delivers each with an edgy, slightly unnerving voice that stretches from baritone growl to effortless falsetto. The Scot-Italian singer-songwriter is already on this third studio album, with sold-out concerts along the way.

His Raphaelite looks help, of course, as he cascades over the mic stand, eyes wide shut, crooning and swooning. But it is the sparkling energy, the playful swagger, passionate vocals and the sheer breadth of his talent that wowed the crowd at Live at the Marquee last night, the first of two sold-out gigs on the banks of the Lee.

Ably abetted by a superb nine-piece band, Nutini moved from sunny to sultry as quick as a key change to provide plenty of hormone replacement therapy for the mostly female audience.

The three Phelan sisters from Waterford hooked up from the four corners to hail their hero. Deirdre liked how he “gets down and dirty” while Rhona “loves the mad circus” of his stage shows. Helen frets, though, that “he mightn’t be taken seriously because he is so pretty”.

She need not have worried as he moved from rock to roll with the grace of a dancer.

A highlight was the old-school ‘Looking for Something’, dedicated to his mother, Lucinda and songs from his third album Caustic Love, released last April, got an outing. The new collection shows how he has grown since his Sunny Side Up almost five years ago. That album sold 1.8 million copies in the UK and Ireland while his 2004 pop debut, These Streets sold 1.5 million. Not bad for a 27-year-old lad who spent his early years doling out chicken suppers in his parents’ chip shop in Paisley.

As for his hormonal fans, let’s just say that the Marquee was cougar country last night and the residents would have loved to wrap Paolo up with salt and vinegar and take him home.