These Streets is the debut studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter Paolo Nutini, released by Atlantic Records on 17 July 2006. Preceded by the single "Last Request", the album debuted and peaked at number 3 on the UK Albums Chart and was later certified six times Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry for domestic shipments in excess of 1,800,000 copies. It also entered the charts in many other European countries, and in 2011 it was certified double Platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry for sales of over 2,000,000 copies in Europe.
Most of the songs featured on the album were inspired by the end of Nutini's relationships with his long-term girlfriend Teri Brogan, and another girl which began when they were still in their teens.[1][2] Among the others, "Last Request" describes the couple's last night together, while "Rewind" expresses the willing of turning back time before the end of another relationship were his lover left him alone in a hotel.[3][4] Another auto-biographical intimate relationship served as the inspiration for the album's second single, "Jenny Don't Be Hasty", which tells about Nutini's involvement with an older woman who refused him because of his age.[5]
Other tracks from the album explore different themes, like the title-track, which describes the feelings of a boy who leaves his hometown to move to a big city,[3] or "New Shoes", a song telling about a man who finds life easier as he wears a new pair of shoes. According to Nutini, the song was written trying to imagine if solving problems could be as easy as buying shoes is.[6]
These Streets garnered mostly positive reviews from music critics. Marisa Brown of AllMusic praised Nutini's ability to convey mature honesty by crafting songs that carry effective lyrics and catchy melodies, concluding that the record "won't blow anyone away with its creativeness or ingenuity, but it's done well and it's direct and open and enjoyable to listen to, which is more than enough."[7] Nick Levine of The Observer saw potential in Nutini's "talent for elegant, melodic songwriting and an admirable willingness to vary the tempo." He concluded with, "[T]here is a glut of singer-songwriters right now but, on this evidence, the half-Italian 18-year-old boasts more talent than most."[9]Rolling Stone's Christian Hoard felt the album didn't have any replay value because it had songs that lacked strong choruses and recognizable lyricism, saying that "For Nutini's lady fans, These Streets might be something to get hot and bothered about, but most of us could take or leave this useless beauty."[10]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
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