Jamie Cullum - Pointless Nostalgic (Remastered) '2001/2023

Tracks list

With a few hard-to-find releases under his belt, Pointless Nostalgic marks the
more widespread debut of piano-pounding British crooner Jamie Cullum. Barely in
his twenties, Cullum has a wise old rasp that usually takes decades of
chain-smoking to acquire. Cullum's move to mix jazz standards, American songbook
classics, and contemporary popular music was a risky one that could easily
isolate fans of each genre. However, Cullum managed to find a unifying thread in
all of the styles, tying them together in a manner that seemed like the natural
culmination of a diverse record collection. Jazz plays heaviest in the mix, but
Cullum's version of it is lively and roguish. A rock & roll spirit among
erstwhile snobs, he brings blue jeans to the beret set. The only real downfall
of the album is that the music is often outmatched by Cullum's pipes to the
point of distraction. The blaring horns are too often off-key and grating,
detracting from an otherwise well-performed album. Highlights come courtesy of
Cullum's diverse and well-chosen array of cover songs. While so many Harry
Connick, Jr. wannabes stick to the standards and limply mimic moves lifted from
Frank Sinatra's catalog, Cullum hops from Radiohead to Thelonious Monk with
equal verve and accomplishment. Closing number "I Want to Be a Popstar" is a
playful rumination on the advantages of being a pop star rather than a jazz key
pounder. The mischievous romp exemplifies the lighthearted approach that has
become Cullum's calling card, endearing him to jazzophiles and screaming young
girls alike. Cullum's popularity subsequently skyrocketed with 2004's
Twentysomething, which exhibited a fuller grasp of his vocal strength and
featured a strong backing band to match. On that album, his increasingly
scratchy croon wrings every sultry note out of Jeff Buckley's "Lover, You Should
Have Come Over," and he puts a sly dance club spin on "I Could Have Danced All
Night." Even with the expert selection of covers, however, it's his own cheeky
nod to the restlessness of youth, "Twentysomething," that steals the show.

Tracklist:
1.01 - Jamie Cullum - You And The Night And The Music (Remastered) (4:10)
1.02 - Jamie Cullum - I Can't Get Started (Remastered) (5:16)
1.03 - Jamie Cullum - Devil May Care (Remastered) (3:24)
1.04 - Jamie Cullum - You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You (Remastered) (3:43)
1.05 - Jamie Cullum - Pointless Nostalgic (Remastered) (4:04)
1.06 - Jamie Cullum - In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning (Remastered) (6:29)
1.07 - Jamie Cullum - Well You Needn't (Remastered) (3:21)
1.08 - Jamie Cullum - It Ain't Necessarily So (Remastered) (4:32)
1.09 - Jamie Cullum - High And Dry (Remastered) (4:54)
1.10 - Jamie Cullum - Too Close For Comfort (Remastered) (3:25)
1.11 - Jamie Cullum - A Time For Love (Remastered) (5:07)
1.12 - Jamie Cullum - Lookin' Good (Remastered) (3:10)
1.13 - Jamie Cullum - I Want To Be A Popstar (Remastered) (4:00)

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