NO-HEADLINE

No surprises here, as the stick-insect Geordie keeps his foot firmly on the "pleasant" pedal throughout. There's the obligatory Paddy McAloon song ("Blue Roses" - nice, but not exactly a show-stopper) and a clutch of Nail's own compositions "in the style of", such as the Sting-sounding "Fear No Evil" and the Wilbury-esque soft-rocker "Running Man", the latter effectively a copy of a cliche.

It's all impeccably presented, and Nail has a canny grasp of his vocal limitations - though the opener, "Country Boy", strains the charm of that strained voice perhaps a touch too much. Rather more appropriate is the cover of "Still I Dream of It", one of Brian Wilson's more poignant admissions of loneliness, which suits his fragile larynx to a T.