Twentysomething [Special Edition]

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Twentysomething is a stunning second album. After rising to prominence with his debut album Pointless Nostalgic, Jamie Cullum signed to Verve in spectacular fashion with a million pound deal. If there was any pressure involved, Cullum certainly doesn't let it show on his first album for the label. Where Pointless Nostagic was recorded with a student loan, the follow-up was made on analogue tape at London’s Mayfair studios (where Radiohead and Oasis had recently recorded) and was produced by Stewart Levine (Simply Red, BB King, Masters at Work, George Benson). Like its predecessor, it finds Cullum lending his warm, distinctive voice to jazz standards and popular classics such as "What a Difference a Day Made", "Singing in the Rain" and "I Get a Kick Out of You". There are renditions of more contemporary songs too, most notably Jeff Buckley's "Lover, You Should Have Come Over" and Jimi Hendrix's "Wind Cries Mary", and Jamie's own material (written with his brother Ben), including the gently rolling "All at Sea" and the Van Morrison-esque title track. Difficult to know whether anyone is worth a million pounds, but Twentysomething certainly sounds like a million bucks and re-establishes Cullum as indubitably the coolest crooner on the block. --Paul Sullivan