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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Is there still a place for Natasha?, 24 Jun 2007
Natasha Bedingfield's 2004 debut "Unwritten" is, in short, absoloutley phenomenal. Original, lyrics with a point, and an album to set her apart from the rest of the industry.
But now the year is 2007 and the industry is somewhat different. Now you can't turn around without seeing someone who's new and original. Sadly, this means Natasha may have waited too long in between albums and thus began to lose her place. The No9 debut of "NB", and it's rapid decline down the chart in the weeks that follows, says something. It's unfortunate, but Natasha's music seems to have lost some of its appeal.
Which is a shame, because "NB" does have moments of pure Natasha brilliance - the superior Bedingfield sibling doing what she does best, which is taking what she feels, putting it to paper in genuine lyrics, and accompanying it with a damn catchy tune ("How Do You Do?", "No More What Ifs"). When you hear such moments of magic you are grateful to the woman for keeping her music the way it was. But in some places the magic seems to have faded a bit ("Backyard", "Smell The Roses"), and it seems to be comprised of both killer and filler in equal measure. It's good, no disputing that, but is it as good as "Unwritten"?
The potential singles are packed towards the front end of the album. The first five tracks are all radio-friendly yet different. "Say It Again", which borrows the vocals of Maroon 5's frontman, is arguably the pick of the bunch, but die-hard Natasha fans will love the originality and thought behind "How Do You Do?".
"NB" is ultimatley inferior to "Unwritten". It does grow on you and although you may be initially disappointed, if you give it time you will see the Natasha Bedingfield we know and love. But let's just hope that sales pick up so she gets the opportunity to make a third.
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Grower, 13 Jul 2007
It does take a few listens to get the full impact of this album.
1)How Do You Do- It's not so much a song but an introduction to the album.
2)Wanna have your babies- Very catchy song, to get the song you need to listen to the lyrics. You'll have this song in your head for days!
3)Soulmate- It's a beautiful song, but it shouldn't have been chosen as the second single. Very nice to listen to and is sung with passion.
4)Who Knows- Definately catchy and a good contender for third single! A bit slow to start but once you hit the run up to the chorus, it's a very good solid song.
5)Say it again- Probably the worst song on the album, however it's a decent "album filler". It is sung with passion and honesty which gives it a bonus.
6)Pirate Bones- A completely new style of song. Never heard anything like it before, it is refreshing and unique but it does take too long to get into the song. The chorus gets stuck in your head! Overall a good song.
7)Backyard-Americanized! Unfortunately America has been too much of an influence on this BRITISH artist. The song is similar to one of the songs on her first album (see if u can work it out). However, looking past the American influences you can see that this song was written carefully and is a favourite of Natasha.
8)Tricky Angel- A bit to rushed and hard to listen to. All over the place. The last section of the song is a lot better than the first
9)When You Know You Know- A VERY good song. Has a Joss Stone edge to it (better Vocals than Joss!). Slow, Jazzy and Uplifting. A great listen
10 AND 11) Interlude/ No More What If's- A highly produced song featuring artist and rapper Eve. Not a great song, more of a "skip" song. Just a bit boring
12)Still Here- This song is deeply moving. Think Wild Horses (Unwritten) without the uncomfortable shouting. Sylvester Stylone asked Natasha to write this (she part wrote it). Listening to this song on a loud volume gives it the full impact. And is very moving. Beautiful ballad with Piano, what more could you want.
13) Smell the Roses- Also similiar to another song from her first Album. A great song in all. very catchy.
HIDDEN SONGS. NOT ONE BUT TWO!!!
7 minutes 21 seconds- This song should have been part of the Main song list not hidden. It shows a lot of emotion in her voice and is thought provoking.
14 minutes 40 seconds- A beautiful slow melodic song sung with thought and meaning, Sung in a different way to the rest of the album, her voice has no effect on it and has not been altered in anyway. It is honest and sung closely to the microphone. a beautiful song.
Overall this album is a very good one. Not as good as "Unwritten" but a lot more mature and meaningful than it.
Let's hope her third studio albums takes aspects from Unwritten and this one.
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Some good, some not so good...exactly what you'd expect really, 9 May 2007
There's no doubting that Natasha Bedingfield is an acquired taste. Her first album was great in parts, distinctly average in other. In fact this would tally with most people's opinion of the more agreeable Bedingfield. Some great tracks, some absolute dross.
NB, her second album, doesn't totally eradicate this equation but it is a definite step in the right direction.
Album opener How Do You Do sets a perfect opening tone; it's as lyrically daft as ever and sets off what would appear to be the theme of the album. Women have control over their own love-life destiny. Gone are the days when women had to wait for men to make the first move. All very admirable, but all very hen-night and school playground. What saves it though is that the tune is a catchy one which pretty soon is lodged in your brain. Indeed, we've started off on a high note indeed.
There are others too.
Say It Again nails a perfect pop chorus with such aplomb that I'll be very disappointed if it doesn't top the charts for weeks and will be the one where the audience waves their lighters (and mobile phones) in the air and sings along wholeheartedly at her concerts. Who Knows may be even better; it certainly was the one I found myself singing in the bath after listening to the album.
There are times though when it doesn't quite work. I doubt people will be remembering Eve's appearance here with the fondness reserved for her Gwen Stefani collaborations and Smell The Roses doesn't quite manage to disguise just how dull it is, despite the Aguilera style histrionics and luscious strings floating around in the background.
The sheer list of names that helped with the album (Mike Elizondo, Adam Levine, Diane Warren, Nate Hills, Danielle Brisebois and Pat Leonard to name but a handful) proves that this was never going to be a dull record, and indeed the sense is that it doesn't matter if you like a particular track or not...there's be another one you do like along any minute.
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