Crocodile Shoes CD EastWest, 4509-98556-2, 1994, 11 Track Amazon.co.uk Like the very nose on his face, Jimmy Nail is a man going in two directions. Despite being one of Britain's most in-demand actors, he's always cited singing as his true vocation. In 1994, Nail was afforded the luxury of not having to choose when he was landed the lead in a TV drama about a jobbing singer-songwriter. Crocodile Shoes was a project very close to Nail's heart. Despite a cluster of hits under his belt, this was Nail's major songwriting debut. One might infer from songs like "Once Upon A Time" and "Bitter And Twisted" that Nail is happiest in the pub rock idiom. Perhaps though, he was writing for the part. Either way, the standard of his compositions is predictably dwarfed by three submissions from Paddy MacAloon, including the single "Cowboy Dreams". Lest we forget, the frontman cut his teeth on the Tyneside pub circuit. "Love Will Find Someone For You" and "Dragons" strike a balance between sentimentality and poetry that Nail would do well to mind. --Peter Paphides