Review: “Gotta Get Thru This” by Daniel Bedingfield (CD, 2002)

Today’s Pop Rescue from an uncertain fate is the 2002 debut album Gotta Get Thru This from New Zealand-British singer, songwriter and producer, Daniel Bedingfield. Will we Get Thru This album, or is it Not The One to keep? Read on…

Daniel Bedingfield – Gotta Get Thru This (2002) album.

This 16 track UK edition CD album opens with Blown It Again, dropping in us on some nice piano and beats, and it swiftly hits the vocals, resulting in a rap track loaded with attitude that you could possibly imagine as something that boyband Blue might have released in collaboration with Mark Morrison. Instead, it’s Daniel layered in the vocals, with Solid Rock on rap duties. It’s quite a nice catchy start to the album.

A beat drops in as second single James Dean (I Wanna Know) arrives. Once again, Daniel throws his vocals around in some great harmonies, leading with a semi-growly rock vocal that sits well alongside the acidy synths. The track’s simplicity is definitely a quality here, and it results in quite a nice track. The public agreed, and took Daniel to #4 on the UK singles chart.

Lead single Gotta Get Thru This is next, and from the first vocal samples and garage beats, it’s definitely a foot-tapper. When this track first appeared, I was firstly surprised to see that it was actually a guy singing it, courtesy of his higher register, but at times it also gives him some moments to show off a bit more vocal range (roughly in the accompanying video where he looks like he’s suffering from acid indigestion). This heartbroken track hit the #1 spot in the UK singles chart in 2001.

That’s followed by Right Girl, teasing us with orchestral synth stabs, record scratches, castanets, and car alarms. This gives the track quite a nice delicate sound, allowing Daniel to show off his vocal range and harmonies once more. It’s quite a lyrically verbose track and at times the vocal layers get in the way, but contrast arrives from Solid Rock’s rap in the middle. The track builds nicely though.

If You’re Not The One is next, and thankfully the dilemma was solved when the track was released as the third single and did indeed become ‘the one’ when it hit #1 on the UK singles chart. This is a somewhat nauseatingly slow plodding ballad, where Daniel gets to show off his saccharine loved-up lyrics and breathless lyrics. This is an X-Factor contestant’s wet dream.

Then it’s He Don’t Love You Like I Love You, which gives us a wash of acoustic guitars generously strummed, as Daniel joins in with some softer mid-tempo vocals. It’s a nice gentle song.

Next up is fourth single I Can’t Read You and keeps us amongst the acoustic guitars. A speedy soft beat arrives, adding the speed needed for Daniel’s bridge to the chorus, which itself contains a nice flourish of harder guitars and bass as well as vocal harmonies. The track is nice enough, but it’s a surprise that it made it as a single, and that it reached #6 in the UK singles chart.

Friday is thankfully next, giving us some harder beats and promising us something a bit more uplifting, but sadly it’s not the Rebecca Black track (which would probably make for a magnificent mash-up), and as the album’s sixth single, it stalled at #28 in the UK chart. Daniel is audibly gasping as he delivers the lyrics alongside the galloping tracks. Feels like a Friday afternoon track.

Then it’s time for Honest Questions, and we’re back into ballad territory, and we’re joined here by soaring orchestral strings, and this inspires Daniel to show off some wonderful heartfelt little vocals. I’m sure it’s a nice song, but it’s also quite boring.

Girlfriend is next, hinting that we’re about to get a roaring rock song, with the chugging guitars and harder vocals. When the beat drops in though, it’s a wonderful up-beat shuffle, backed by some warm vocal harmonies. At times, this makes if feel a little Beatles-esque in this vocal delivery.

That’s followed by plodder Without The Girl, in one of those sort of Westlife-does-a-pseudo-vintage-nod song. There’s some funky R&B guitars and vocals here, and the layering works really well, resulting in a nice warm slow song. This probably could have been a successful single.

Then it’s time for fifth single Never Gonna Leave Your Side, taking us back to another ballad. Here, muted drum beats are as breathy as Daniel’s vocals which at times makes him sound like he’s channeling James Blunt or yet more Westlife. The track provided another hit despite the dreariness, reaching #1 in the UK singles chart.

Inflate My Ego is next, containing a sample of Peter Gunn Theme by The Blues Brothers, and here it plays an ominous undercurrent to Daniel’s higher register vocals to start with before the track bursts properly with a hard beat. This return to this vocal style feels a little jarring as aside from the lead single, it’s not present on the rest of the album very much. Thankfully, he does manage to deliver some other vocals too, and it allows for the track to feel pumped with energy and attitude, just long enough to hold it all together, ending in a live crowd applause.

We’re on to Gotta Get Thru This (Acoustic Version) now, and this feels like I’ve stumbled across Daniel with a guitar in the back room of someone’s house party – you know, THE guy who plays guitars at parties. Thankfully, he’s not annoying, and this is a nice simplified version.

Following on from that is James Dean (I Wanna Know) (Acoustic Version), which unsurprisingly follows on at the similar style, with the addition of Daniel vocalising some of the beats too in between singing. I think I actually prefer the acoustic version of this song – as he makes it sound almost a bit Michael Jackson-y.

The album closes with If You’re Not The One (Acoustic Version), which also sounds nicer than the fuller version. The delicate acoustic guitar allows Daniel’s vocals to sound rich and soft. It’s a nice ending to this long album.

Daniel Bedingfield’s lead single ‘Gotta Get Thru This’ (2001).

Verdict

Over all, this album is mixture of heartfelt ballads with blasts of (at that point) cutting edge slices of garage.

16 tracks is a long slog, but I gotta get thru this, and I did! Stylistically, the mixture is a bit nauseating in the ballad category, meets not-really-my-sound in the more uplifting tracks, but there are some tracks that shine brightly – Blown It Again, If You’re Not The One (both the single and acoustic version), and Girlfriend lead the way here, leaving the rest of the album as a sort of middle-of-the-road ‘meh’ which inevitably results in the rating we’ve given it. There’s some nice concepts here – Inflate My Ego may have worked better by fully embracing the Blues Brothers sample and allowing it to take more of a prominent role.

The ballads get a bit tedious at times, although Daniel does frequently show off some wonderfully rich and warm vocals and harmonies, so it allows you to forgive these plodders.

It’s a nice album, and I suspect that you too will Get Thru This.