Sunny Side Up is the second studio album by Scottish singer and songwriter Paolo Nutini, released on 29 May 2009 in Ireland and 1 June 2009 in the United Kingdom.[1][2] Nutini and his band, the Vipers, embarked on a brief tour of the United States before a UK tour leading up to the album's release.[3][4] The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart. Nutini self-recorded the album with his band the Vipers, while Ethan Johns contributed to the mixing and production.[5] Notably, the album includes guest appearances from trombonist Rico Rodriguez and Questlove.[5]
The album was the eighth best-selling album in the United Kingdom in 2009[6] and the sixth best-selling album in 2010.[7] On 3 January 2010, Sunny Side Up topped the UK Albums Chart for a second time, making it the first number-one album in the United Kingdom in 2010 and the entire decade.[8][9][10][11][12]
The first single from the album was "Candy", which reached No. 19 on the UK Singles Charts.[15] The song is Nutini's third highest peak to date, after "Last Request" and "Pencil Full of Lead" (see below). The second single was "Coming Up Easy", reaching No. 62 on the UK Singles Chart. The song became his lowest charting single to date, spending just one week within the top 75.[16]
The third single to be released was "Pencil Full of Lead". The song was released on 2 November 2009 and peaked at No. 17 on the UK Singles Charts.[17] It is his second highest chart success and the biggest hit single from Sunny Side Up, spending 21 weeks inside the top 75. The fourth single from the album was "10/10". The song was released on 11 January 2010 as a digital download only single.[18] Once "10/10" was released, the song debuted at No. 100 on the UK Singles Charts, peaking at #51. It spent a total of six weeks inside the top 75.[19]
The album received a generally favourable critical reception. AllMusic's Thom Jurek noted the move away from the sound of These Streets: "Nutini has taken huge chunks of America's (and Scotland's) pop and folk pasts and reshaped them in his own image," going on to describe it as "wise beyond this songwriter's years".[5] Andy Gill of The Independent commented on Nutini's progress since his debut, saying the album "sees the singer making giant strides in several directions", and going on to say "don't be surprised if, come December, this is one of the year's biggest-selling albums."[23] Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph was also positive, stating "his joyous second album organically blends soul, country, folk and the brash, horny energy of ragtime swing."[27]
Some reviewers were less impressed. It was described by The Guardian's Caroline Sullivan as "not bad", with opening track "10/10" described as "jaunty enough to make you retch".[22] Graeme Thomson of The Observer saw the album as an attempt by Nutini at "rebranding himself as a mongrel hybrid of John Martyn, Otis Redding and Bob Marley".[25]
Commercial performance
The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with sales of over 60,000 copies, fighting off strong competition from Love & War, the debut album of fellow male solo artist Daniel Merriweather. The album performed similarly well on the Irish Albums Chart, debuting at number two behind Eminem's new album before rising to the top of the charts the week after.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Paolo Nutini, except where noted
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
