“Gotta Get Thru This”
Unadulterated, emotionally driven sound is something often sought in recorded music, but not often achieved. Yet, the rising sounds of British singer/songwriter Daniel Bedingfield are contagious, infecting the music scene on a global level. Bedingfield recorded more than half of his debut album in his bedroom and only perfected the tracks in the studio before “Gotta Get Thru This” was released on Island/Def Jam Records last month.
The title track catches the attention of the listener with three simple notes and then grabs her with Bedingfield’s voice that calls out, “I just gotta get thru this.”
“What is he trying to get through?” the listener cries out, “I’m trying to get through something too!” And Bedingfield makes an instant connection with the listener.
With a vocal range that rivals the falsetto of Maxwell and the poppy-sass of Justin Timberlake, Bedingfield demonstrates talent beyond his ability to record his own songs on a computer in his room; becoming 00one of the youngest star players to jump off the UK charts and into the hands of American consumers.
Bedingfield has no shortage of style in “Gotta Get Thru This.” It is a conglomeration of sounds for a pop album, making up in quality of the individual parts what it is lacking in a consistent sound or mood. The skittishness of “Friday” is unnerving at first, but its bouncy rhythm gives the dance track an exciting feel because “She’s comin’ back on Friday.” The tracks on the album follow a pattern from upbeat dance tunes to sensitive ballads.
“Gotta Get Thru This” is a glimpse into Bedingfield’s life, which unfolds before the listener in a revelation of emotions that have emerged from various events in his life. Much of the album focuses on the various stages of love and relationships, bouncing between the Bedingfield’s plea for a lifelong commitment in “If You’re Not the One” to the “one that got away” in “Inflate My Ego.”
It is no surprise that Bedingfield’s portrayals of love are wildly variant in “Gotta Get Thru This,” because the inspiration is taken from four specific relationships, which Bedingfield credits in the liner notes. Bedingfield demonstrates a seemingly respectful and honest portrayal of his past relationships. Through the exploitation of emotion that each song extracts and reflects upon, this young bloke is now collecting on the success of his album and, ironically, his lack of success in sustaining relationships.
“Gotta Get Thru This” begins with the *NSYNC-like (minus four vocal parts) track “Blown it Again,” which sets the scene for his pattern of discussing the turmoil of relationships crying out “I’ve done it I’ve blown it again/Gone and lost my one true friend.”
However, it is hinted in “James Dean (I Wanna Know)” that Bedingfield is not looking to be “James Dean of the music scene” even though he could be, according to the lyrics. What he really “wants to know” comes through in the Michael Jackson influenced chorus; Bedingfield claims he “could be big Bad Daddy Warbucks/ And love you too.”
“Gotta Get Thru This” paints a lyrical picture of Bedingfield. It is through the acoustic version of the title track and the catchy “He Don’t Love You Like I Love You” that demonstrates his ability to catch the formula pop song and manipulate it to make it uniquely his.
— Review by Kristen Lowrey
October 31, 2002
