Lacks Sunshine Big Style! (Pocket Full Of Sunshine - Natasha Bedingfield)

Member Name: blonde_girl774

Product:	Pocket Full Of Sunshine - Natasha Bedingfield
Date:	19/05/08 (244 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A Couple of Good Tracks.

Disadvantages: Quite a Few Bad Tracks & Uninspiring Lyrics.

"Pocket Full of Sunshine" is technically the third album release from British singer Natasha Bedingfield, however it's not actually been released in the UK and is only available online or by importing from America. Six of the tracks are present on "N.B." which was her second album release in the UK but this album never made it to America, instead they repackaged it with seven new tracks and renamed it "Pocket Full of Sunshine."

Her first album was released back in 2004 and certainly made its presence felt in the charts with a mixture of pop and r n b sounds. She sold over 2.5 million copies of it worldwide and I felt it was a pretty good album that I still listen to now from time to time. Following this she released "N.B." in April 2007 which had a much more r n b and reggae feel to it than her previous album. However this album didn't receive quite as much success as her previous.

Her sound is quite unique really and equally hard to describe. She started off very much as focusing on the somewhat safe pop field with hints of r n b making their way onto her first album which worked quite well. The majority of her songs were fairly happy and upbeat which seemed to work well for her. Since then her sound has altered and seems to have been less favourably received. With regards as to who she sounds similar to it's a hard one but I'd say a mixture of Ashlee Simpson, Sophie Ellis Bextor and Mutya Buena.

"Put Your Arms Around Me" is the first track on the album and has a relaxed pop feel to it, an ideal track for sitting in the garden in the summer. It's got quite an upbeat feel to it and is sung quite softly yet still manages to give feel quite energised. It's quite a good opening track in that it sets the mood for the rest of the album. The second track has a little more of an eerie sounding opening to it before developing quite a consistent beat which remains throughout the track. Again it sits quite comfortably in the relaxed pop field although her voice is stronger in this track and shines through much better than in the previous one.

"Happy" and "Love Like This" both have quite an underlying Jamaican beat to them in a sense and would be ideal to listen to while lying on a beach. The latter of the two is a duet with Sean Kingston and it's a brilliant track, what the former lacks in energy and quality is certainly made up for by the latter of the two tracks. While "Happy" does drone on a little in places and is slightly sickening with the whole "so many beautiful reasons I have to be happy" the second track is really catchy and quite quirky at times as well, absolute hit!

"Piece of your Heart" has a much more American feel to it and as this album was actually re-marketed to attract the American audience it's understandable that there should be some sort of American influence on it. It's much more Jessica Simpson-esque than any of the previous tracks although a little darker than the typical American pop princess music, perhaps Ashlee Simpson would have been a better comparison to use. However I really don't like this song and do tend to skip it whenever I listen to the album, although it's got good backing music her voice sounds a little harsh and it just doesn't sound great.

"Soulmate" is unbearably dull in all honesty, with very little backing music and a general depressing feel to her voice it just never really gets going. Although some of the lyrics are beautiful "who doesn't long for someone to hold, who knows how to love you without being told," they do drag on and are enough to send you to sleep! "Say It Again" and "Angel" do pick up the tempo of the album slightly although if I'm honest I do find them a little boring and similar sounding to each other. "Angel" is particular distinctly sounds like something I'd have expected from Beyonce so again the American influence is obvious here.

The last five tracks on the album follow in a similar suit to the previous ones; first up with have "Backyard" which never gets going and has that same drab and dull feel to it, "Freckles" has a slight country feel to it which just sounds out of place on this album although does sound much fresher than any of the other recent tracks and "Who Knows" just stands out as being a little odd and more Amy Winehouse sounding than anything else really. As for the last two tracks "Pirate Bones" and "Not Givin' Up" they really don't stand out much at all, I'm really not keen on their uneven beat and stinted lyrics.

In conclusion I'd have to say that I really don't favour this album at all, there are a few good tracks near the start of it but towards the end it really did disappoint me greatly. Unless you're a fan of her previous work I wouldn't recommend you buy this, especially without listening to a couple of the tracks first. She has been criticised in the past for a lack of inspiration in her lyrics and I'd have to agree, at best they're what I would call average and they certainly didn't motivate or stimulate me in any way.

Other critics seem to have agreed with what I've said, All Music Guide described the album as being "awkwardly assembled" and added that it felt "less personal and more vetted by executives." Newsday wrote that the album was "full of pale copies of other successful pop songs that don't necessarily work for Bedingfield" which certainly rings true with me, several of the songs would have been far better if they'd be sung by American artists - it was almost as if she was modelling herself on them, and failing.

So all in all this album only gets two stars from me, there are a few good tracks as I've already mentioned and some of the songs are ideal for sending me to sleep!

www.amazon.co.uk - £12.48

Thanks for reading.

Summary: The second album release in America from Natasha Bedingfield.