Review Summary: Daniel Bedingfield captured the essence of everything good about late 90’s pop wrapped up into one truly enjoyable album.
UK Pop singer songwriter Daniel Bedingfield’s album ‘Gotta Get Thru This’ is an exceptionally strong debut release. It brings together elements of hip hop, dance, and even pop rock in order to create a diverse and extremely engaging album. The album reached #2 on the UK album charts in 2002 and sold over 1.5 million copies causing it to go platinum five times. This is especially impressive considering a large portion of the album was recorded and produced in Bedingfield’s bedroom using basic recording equipment without the help of a professional producer.
The production throughout the album is crisp to say the least. Where it lacks a certain professional quality edge, it makes up with sheer ingenuity and well composed instrumentation. The track layout of the album allows for it to switch seamlessly between energetic dance beats and heartfelt acoustic ballads without feeling out of place or uninteresting. All in all it makes for a much more effective release. Songs like “If you’re Not the One,” and “Blown It Again,” stand out the most as far as production is concerned. Bedingfield truly did a remarkable job with this aspect of the album.
The songwriting is also top notch as far as pop music is concerned and this is to be expected from a musician who classifies himself as a songwriter first and foremost. All of the tracks are catchy and well constructed. This is clearly evident as the songs do not drag on in a redundant or boring manner. I only found one section of a song to be unnecessary and that happens to be the rap section of “Blown It Again”. This is simply because it comes across as silly, out of place, and almost takes the momentum from an otherwise great track. Lyrically the album is everything one should expect from a pop album. At times the lyrical depth does reach a few prodigious moments but for the most part is comprised of simple love ballads or catchy phrases.
The undeniable accent of the album is Daniel Bedingfield’s vocal performance. His skill, diversity and power are stunning. The energy and movement he brings to each track keeps the listener on the edge of the seat waiting to hear the next edgy vocal flourish to be employed. His melodies are remarkably well crafted, catchy and cool.
At times some of the transitions on the album seem either uninspired or like recycled ideas. This is a negative although it is not a consistent factor. Another downside is that occasionally the falsetto notes can be slightly painful to listen to. This wouldn’t be as noticeable if there weren’t so many excellent examples of falsetto on the album, but sadly it just makes the weak sections that much more underwhelming. The final addressable flaw is not all that bad but it could have been improved upon; it is an issue with the album closer. “Inflate my Ego” just does not fit on the album. It is b- side material compared to some of the rest of the album. The repetitive lines and off pitch falsetto just seem to bring down the musical quality of the track.
Daniel Bedingfield’s debut album brings a lot to the table. The quality of the music is undeniable even to someone like me who has never taken interest to pop or dance music. It brings diversity to the table, which allows for it to carry a very accessible vibe. Standout songs “If you’re Not the One,” and “Friday,” are high energy pop rock numbers while “Honest Questions” is a restless acoustic ballad. Bedingfield excels at all these cross genre transitions and his dynamic vocal delivery keep all of the pieces uniform. “Gotta Get Thru This” is a truly remarkable album and despite a few minor flaws it is easily worthy of an excellent marking.
