Nik Kershaw - To Be Frank (2001)

To Be Frank is the second album since Nik Kershaw re-emerged in 1999 from a 10-year recording hiatus--which he spent writing for the likes of Boyzone, Let Loose and Chesney Hawkes (he penned the one hit wonder's one hit, "The One and Only")--with his home-made fourth album 15 Minutes, as he further proves that popstars can get better with age. With that album, the former 1980s icon, known as much for his ludicrous gelled-up mullet as hits "Wouldn't It Be Good" and "The Riddle", remodelled himself in the classic singer-songwriter mould and consigned his former self to the past. But it was still only a tentative step; a hobby project released to unexpected acclaim. In every respect, To Be Frank is far more considered. Latin party single "Wounded", worldly wise acoustic ballads "One Day" and "Show Them What You're Made Of", and the dry-whited sneers at his motivationally-challenged alter-ego Frank on "Die Laughing", show that he can turn his nasally twang and sly humour to anything, plugging the gaps between David Gray and Paul Simon as he goes. But it's the life affirming choruses and unavoidable hooks that make instant radio hits of the likes of "Get Up" and "Jane Doe". And given that there's plenty more of them, To Be Frank's a near perfect collection from one of the UK's most underrated songwriters.